About twice a week, I fly from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to schools across the U.S. in an effort to inspire others to discover their inherent mathematical abilities. You may not be surprised to learn that many individuals have a feeling about math that I describe as “the math blues.” I’ve asked thousands of educators to write three words to describe how they learned math and most often the words are repetition, drill, and memorization. This approach to learning math has caused many to disconnect from careers in mathematics and worse yet, has resulted in the damaging self-belief of “I’m not a math person.” When asked how they wish their students would learn math, the words change to visual, hands-on, and collaborative.

This quilt represents a modern, equitable approach for our youngest mathematicians to learn math that begins with seeing “the math blues” on this visual array of 24 x 24 to uncover mathematical relationships. The technique used to sew the squares into rows and columns highlights the properties of operations. Look closely at the shades of blue. How many squares do you see? How do you see them? I invite you to share your thinking on Instagram and Twitter! #themathblues

L: 24”

W: 24”

Year Completed: 2019