The article talks about the prevalence of math phobic attitudes among many adults in North America, and I personally resonance a lot with this phenomenon. One of my motivations for becoming a math teacher is my numerous encounters with math phobia. Whenever I introduce myself as a math major student, I hear two things from people's reactions: 1) You must be really smart, and 2) I hate math/I suck at math. My experience is consistent with the social presumptions concluded in the article where "those who like mathematics are nerds" and "there is no shame, and lots of positive social valuation. for those who claim to be incapable of doing and understanding mathematics". The fact that such presumptions are still prevalent is concerning, and I hope to be a math teacher who can change people's attitude towards math instead of reinforcing them.
I am surprised to discover the close relationship between math education and politics. The fact that math curriculum is designed to fit political and social needs, whether it's the promotion of democratic thought processes or the need for rocket scientists, makes a lot of sense. This makes me question what is the purpose of math education today? Is the rise of computer technologies in the recent decade another period of "New Math"? Or, should we develop a curriculum that centres on students' understanding and their individual needs, instead of on society needs?
Well done Yiwen!
ReplyDeleteHey Yiwen, I really enjoyed reading your response to the article! I totally connect with your 2 points about how people react whenever they heard I was a math major. I think that the "I hate math" idea starts at a young age and can push students away from wanting to learn, but it's so nice to see your motivation to changing these students' minds. How might you respond to a student who says that they hate math?
ReplyDeleteHi Tyler, thank you for your comment! I really like that you mentioned in your blog how the media and movies portraits people who love math as nerds, and its impact on students in real-life. How would you react is your friends jokes around and call you a nerd for doing a math major?
DeleteAs for your question, I will ask them "How come you hate math?" It's probably too late to change the minds of mature students as they already developed a fixed mindset about math. But, we can learn from their experience and change our teaching strategies when introducing math to younger students, making sure them don't start with a fear towards math.
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