We recently connected with Shametria Banks and have shared our conversation below.

Shametria, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I was developing the plans for my business, I knew I wanted to include part of my name in the title so it would always be tied to me. My maiden name is Routt, which is a bit obscure and doesn’t flow nicely with many educational phrases; however, when I thought about my experiences as a teacher and what I thought good math teaching looked like and sounded like, the name “rowdy” kept coming up. Good math talk is “rowdy,” and anyone who walked into my classroom would hear and see this productive chaos happening. Thus, the name of my company was born . . . The Routty Math Teacher.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My Story:

I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Even as a little girl, I took over a room in our home and decorated it like a classroom. I then lined up my dolls and tried to teach them the same way my teachers taught me. But, it wasn’t until I got to college that I discovered my passion for creating lessons and learning experiences. As a college junior, we were required to create a massive curriculum unit centered around Thanksgiving. I worked on that project for months, but I found I had a real passion for creating the lessons and activities with a variety of resources that I found, including picture books, puzzles, games, and worksheets. My professor was so impressed with my work that she actually said she thought I had a future as a curriculum designer.

When I started teaching in 2002, I brought that passion with me into the classroom. I loved creating lessons for my students that engaged and challenged them, allowing them the opportunity to dive deep into the content and develop a conceptual understanding of math skills. In 2012, I discovered a website called Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace where teachers purchased lessons from other teachers. It was the perfect opportunity for me to combine my love of teaching and creating curricular resources for other teachers.

What We Do:

At The Routty Math Teacher, we create standards-aligned math activities for upper elementary teachers that engage all learners through rigor and critical thinking so that students will be prepared to be productive members of their communities and solve problems in the world around them. At The Routty Math Teacher, we support teachers through standards-aligned resources, courses, and workshops.

Who We Help:

At The Routty Math Teacher, we help upper elementary teachers, in grades 3-5, with all levels of experience. Many of the teachers in The Routty Math Community have been teaching for a long time and are looking for ways to improve their practice. On the other hand, our community also includes new-to-the-profession teachers who are looking to get started teaching math on the right foot.

Our Products and Offers:

Currently, The Routty Math Teacher offers teacher resources listed on Teachers Pay Teachers and a small group learning course, Small Group Math Made Easy. From time to time, we also offer in-person or virtual workshops based on current teaching strategies and best practices in math.

What I’m Most Proud of:

At The Routty Math Teacher, we pride ourselves on being creative thinkers who foster curiosity of mathematics. Every resource we create or professional development experience we provide promotes quality instruction and rigorous thinking that challenges the minds of all students.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One word– COVID. I can still remember when I left school on Friday, March 13, 2020. It was the last day before Spring Break. And, while I didn’t know it then, it was the last normal school day before the whole world fell apart. Over Spring Break, it became clear that we would not be returning to school in person and teachers would need materials they could share virtually. I had been working on a variety of new paper-and-pencil products, but due to our quickly changing reality, I decided to shift to creating products students could do on their computers. My digital product line helped many teachers continue to provide quality instruction during COVID and has become one of my best-selling product lines.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Do It Scared by Ruth Soukup

Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.therouttymathteacher.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therouttymathteacher/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therouttymathteacher
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRouttyMathTeacher

Image Credits
Photos by The AWE Studio, 2020.