09/06/2025
This data came across my desk today, and I truly had to take some time and reflect on it. Buckle in, friends. This one gets personal. ❤️
You see, even as a successful 1:1 math coach in our community for Grades 3-8, math brought a lot of pain and confusion my way as a girl.
It stumped me.
It defeated me.
I felt no connection to the process.
Yes, I knew it was important. But the inequalities in math? I personally experienced them: for years and years and years. I skated by in class, but I walked away from each school year more confused than the last. It was an internal struggle that I could not get ahead.
In fact, it wasn't until an amazing professor of mine at UGA stopped my excuses in my tracks. I had to write a paper related to math understandings, and I failed it. I went to her office, panicked, confused, overwhelmed. I wasn't expecting to fail.
She was level-headed, patient, and honest with me. She broke it down for me. She made it clear. It was the first time, in over a decade, that someone was willing to answer my deep-rooted questions surrounding math. Without judgment and without patronizing me.
I was so grateful. She let me fix my mistakes. Little did I know, at the time, this pivotal experience would send a ripple effect through my career in education.
I taught the complexities of fifth grade math and challenged my girls to face their fears and rise to the occasion. Show up for themselves every single day. I would not let their talents in math escape them. They would conquer this, early on, to set up a big and beautiful future in math and science career paths. Many have come back and told me of their accomplishments related to the science and math fields. This was exactly what I wanted for them.
Since then, I conquered Grades 3-8 Math content with a passion and vigor that can not be tamed for Ashley Newman Education, LLC. Why? Because girls need female math coaches who personally have been in their shoes. Who have overcome their own fears and built the life they dreamed of through hard work and true love and appreciation for math. Most importantly, I was able to finally heal my own math journey from years of pain and confusion. ❤️