Resource Blog #1- The Myth of 'I'm Bad at Math'

We've all heard it before- "I will never be a math person." Though that might be true, this article by The Atlantic, analyzes why some people believe that and how we, as a society, can alter this pessimistic mind-set. 

We begin with mathematics as almost being a "a nature vs. nurture" debate. Many people believe that math is just innate and one cannot excel in it if it is not in the genes; however, this cannot be farther from the truth. The Atlantic describes "different kids with different levels of preparation come in to a math class", students that are more prepared excel faster while the ones less prepared do not (The Atlantic, 2013). The unprepared kids realize just how well the prepared kids are performing and "assume that genetic ability was what determined the performance differences" and immediately claim themselves as just "not being math people" (The Atlantic, 2013). 

This wrongful accusation of themselves, the unprepared people, is why we as a society have so many people that do see math as a mental asset. While there are many jobs and places in the work force where math will never be used, I believe it is still an important subject for students to know and value. The Atlantic goes on to explain that math is not the luck of the gene pool, but the ability to work hard. Instead of not performing well on a math test and simply giving up, students should "respond by working harder at it" and challenge themselves to do better next time. 

While I cannot convince everyone to love math the way I do, I can try and help them realize they have the potential to be a so called "math person" if they work hard and are willing to face challenges.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/the-myth-of-im-bad-at-math/280914/

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