Make Math Happen
Make Math Happen (formerly known as PD for the SOUL) is the podcast for educators ready to move with intention and teach with impact. Hosted by math coach and equity-focused educator Laneshia Boone, each episode bridges practice and purpose to help you design instruction that centers students, builds capacity, and makes learning stick—especially for those pushed to the margins.
Every week, you’ll get strategies that work in real classrooms, grounded reflections that challenge the status quo, and conversations with educators who are making bold moves in math education. From planning with purpose to using charts that anchor learning, from building strong routines to disrupting expired rules, this podcast is where meaningful math instruction comes to life.
You’ll walk away with ready-to-use tools, fresh insight, and the confidence to make every lesson count.
Because when we move with care, plan with clarity, and teach with courage, we make math happen.
Make Math Happen
Building Capacity from the Inside Out: A Conversation with Raquel Hopkins
Dear Educator,
Discomfort isn’t a sign to detour—it’s often the doorway to growth.
Whether it’s an unfamiliar math concept, a challenging conversation, or a new instructional shift, we are constantly navigating spaces that stretch us. And in those moments, our first instinct may be to push it away, label it as “hard,” or find someone or something to blame. But what if we didn’t?
What if we sat with it instead?
This episode is an invitation to explore what it means to feel, without reacting. To pause before we project. To stop outsourcing our discomfort and start reflecting on what it might be trying to teach us.
In classrooms and coaching spaces alike, emotions run high, and they should. But emotional literacy isn’t just for our students. As educators, our ability to name, process, and manage our emotions is central to the way we show up, for others and ourselves.
Join me for a soulful pause and a necessary reflection on how learning to sit with discomfort is actually the beginning of transformative growth.
You are doing sacred work—and reflection is part of the rhythm.
With care and clarity,
Laneshia
Learn more about the Capacity Expert, Raquel Hopkins!
P.S. - Grab the summer podcast companion journal here :)
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Make Math Happen podcast! If you enjoyed today’s conversation, subscribe on your favorite listening platform, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow educators.
You can also join the discussion and connect with me directly by clicking the link to join the Math Collective. Together, we’ll keep exploring practical strategies to transform classrooms and inspire students.
Remember, new episodes drop every Sunday at 9:00 am, so mark your calendars! Until next time, keep making math happen, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.
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