Although it’s very cute, it shows how frustrating it can be to learn math, and how important the role of the teacher is in making the classroom a good learning environment.
To understand how to make math accessible and fun to our
future students, we should recognize where certain views concerning math are
coming from.
For example, there are several myths associated with math
(Math Myths). One being that math is a “boy subject”; a subject that is
primarily associated with boys, because girls do not have the tools that it
takes to perform mathematics as successfully as boys. A second Math Myth, is
that some people are born innately better at math skills than others, and that
no matter what amount of work goes into the subject, there will be a divide
between those who are good at math, and those who are not. Both of these
stereotypes are wrong, and it has been proven that math is something that is
learned rather than genetically given, meaning that whatever the gender or
family background of students, all of them are equally equipped to perform math
at an equal level depending on the work that goes into their studies. Making
students interested, makes their studies more enjoyable and successful.
Besides coming from society, Math is portrayed negatively in
Hollywood film:
Although subtle, the influence that film has on a student's life can be immense.
The reality is, that Math Myths are inaccurate
stereotypes that are harmful to the growth of a student. Instead of relying on
an idea that people are given a certain skill set by nature, and cannot stray
from that skill set, research shows that the brain actually accommodates new
learning by expanding. In this way, all students are given the opportunity to
learn and love math. All students are capable of learning the concepts taught,
but those who are motivated to learn will take learning more seriously, and
will improve their skills more rapidly than those who remain unmotivated. For
this reason, the duty of the teacher is to motivate students, rather than to
feed them the information that we wish them to learn without enticing them to
learn it.
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you mentioned that it is these stereotypes and myths that cause a student to hate math. Very often, when a student dislikes the subject, they blame the teacher, but really it is also influenced by the years of negative connotations they are introduced to. For example, movies which portray characters hating math or making fun of the subject, are only a few ways it is put in a negative light. Students internalize this and therefore bring this bad attitude into their own classroom. If a teacher works towards creating a positive atmosphere and brings forth determination and encouragement, it is most likely that students will experience a positive outcome and potentially learn to love math as they advance in school. I like how you mentioned that if we refrain from these myths in the classroom, we as teachers can create success for all our future students who claim they "hate" math. Great post Anna!
-Jessica Scozzari
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteWonderful blog post talking about the stereotypes and myths that are associated with math. I love how you incorporated the videos into the blog post for reference, and provided great examples on these stereotypes and myths. Like Jessica mentioned in her post, it is indeed very common to blame the teacher for these negative perceptions towards math. Personally, I fall into that category, as I definitely found my math teachers to be the cause of my hatred towards math. However, this was not the case, as it started from only one teacher telling me that I did not have the ability to achieve in math class, and this negative attitude only continued on. We definitely need to put a stop to this in our future as teachers, and work to taking our negative attitudes towards math and shaping our belief into a more positive one in the classroom. Looking at your post, I'm wondering what your views would be on the math stereotypes involving race and ethnic background, such as students of Asian descent being "automatically" good at math? I know you mentioned gender, but I wonder what you might have to say about these stereotypes also. Overall, great post and I look forward to reading more in the future!
- Elysse