To the Editor:
The May 23 article, “Three Ways to Build Student Confidence in Math,” resonated deeply with my research on psychological safety and feedback in math classrooms. The article highlights formative assessments and student reflections as tools to gauge who needs help—but I’d argue we must also ask: How do students experience help?
As an instructional coach, I worked with 4th and 5th grade math teachers who used poetry reflections after exit tickets (a short assessment at the end of a unit) to hear students’ perspectives. These daily poems disrupted the notion of math as neutral, surfacing students’ fears, longings, and identities. One student wrote, “I want my teacher to pull me to the back table and help me.” That line reshaped a teacher’s entire feedback strategy.
The poems revealed something powerful: Academic performance didn’t guarantee psychological safety. Even students who scored high on formative assessments expressed anxiety about making mistakes. Their poetry made clear that math identity is less about competence and more about feeling seen and safe in learning environments.
What made these reflections transformative wasn’t the poetry alone—it was the teachers’ commitment to respond. Each week, they analyzed the poems and adjusted their feedback practices to reflect what students said they needed. This reciprocal feedback loop—students write, teachers reflect and respond, students notice the change—created classrooms rooted in listening, care, and belonging.
If we want to raise student confidence in math, we must go beyond identifying gaps in understanding. We must cultivate psychologically safe classrooms where students trust their teachers to help them learn—and listen when they speak.
Rachel C. Cason
Special Education Instructional Coach
DC Scholars Public Charter School
Washington, D.C.
