A middle-aged man with short brown hair, glasses, and a maroon shirt smiles at the camera against a dark background—embodying transformative teaching and inspiring others through teacher advocacy.

“Leadership comes in a lot of different formats, but anyone interested in influencing change can orchestrate experiences to disrupt unproductive beliefs.”

Mike Flynn

Meet our host, Ana Torres.

In each episode, Amplify Senior Biliteracy and Multilingual Product Specialist Ana Torres gathers teaching tips, lively stories, and hard-won lessons from veteran teachers around the world. Over her 30 years in education, Ana has developed a passion for biliteracy and supporting students from all walks of life. And on Beyond My Years, she’s excited to connect with legendary educators from all subject areas about their lives in education—and what they wish they’d known as younger teachers.

A woman with long dark hair and hoop earrings smiles at the camera while wearing a black blazer, standing outdoors—ready to discuss classroom challenges or share insights on her teacher podcast.
A man with short, closely-cropped hair and a trimmed beard smiles at the camera against a light gray background, ready to inspire diverse learners in the math classroom.

Meet our Classroom Insider, Eric Cross.

Eric Cross is a middle school science teacher who hopes to someday be as knowledgeable as the lifelong educator guests on Beyond My Years! In each episode, Eric connects with host Ana Torres to discuss the insights her guests have gleaned from their long and rewarding careers in the classroom. Then, he'll dig into the practical ways he brings their wisdom into his own busy classroom—and how you can, too.

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Beyond My Years Season 2

Beyond My Years returns for an exciting second season, focusing on the most common classroom challenges. Host Ana Torres will connect with numerous educators—from longtime teachers to science of learning researchers—to get you answers in less time than it takes to plan a lesson. Our Classroom Insider, middle school science teacher Eric Cross, offers practical takeaways so you can put what you’ve learned to work as soon as the episode ends. You’ll learn how to find your teaching style, gain understanding on how to help students develop critical thinking, hear about the most current research on engaging students, garner tips on serving multilingual learners better, and more!

To celebrate this second season of Beyond My Years, Ana is joined by Mike Flynn, nationally recognized expert in mathematics education and online learning. He explains how “disorienting dilemmas” can bolster our productive beliefs and lead to transformative change in our teaching. Mike and Ana also discuss the importance of teacher advocacy, the power of the collective voice, and ways to overcome barriers to change. Our favorite Classroom Insider, Eric Cross, joins Ana to discuss how important it is to challenge our assumptions as we continue to grow and change.

Listen now
A man with short brown hair and glasses smiles at the camera; the background features a colorful pattern of stars, books, and apples—setting the tone for transformative teaching.