The article “The Myth of ‘I’m Bad at Math’” was written by Noah Smith and Miles
Kimball in 2013 and was published on The Atlantic’s website on the 23rd of October. In their
article Miles Kimball and Noah Smith have offered the idea that being “Bad at Math” was a
myth. They claim that “in high-school math, inborn talent is much less important than hard
work, preparation, and self-confidence.” Both of them have been teaching math for years, and
realized that “the unprepared kids, not realizing that the top scorers were well-prepared, assume
that genetic ability was what determined the performance differences. Deciding that they just
aren’t math people, they don’t try hard in future classes, and fall further behind.” In their article
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Kimball and Smith expose thesis in which they state their concerns on some people’s want to make high school math an “option” or even totally take math off a 9th to 12th grader’s schedule. According to them, “people think that math ability can’t change” but they also state that it is false.
“Convincing students that they could make themselves smarter by hard work led them
to work harder and get higher grades”, in other words, Smith and Kimball believe that the
muscle that our brain is can be trained to do what we want it to do, which means learning
math.
Response :
I believe that math ability is changeable, a point that needs emphasizing since a lot of
people (especially middle and high schoolers) believe that once they failed one or two math
classes there is no way that they are able to “do math”. The brain is still developing and will
keep doing it until the person reaches 25 or so. Adolescents still looking for a place to fit
themselves in society -in life, in school- get discouraged easily and end up giving up on the
subject and not even try to improve anymore.
N&M surely are right about hard work, preparation and self confidence being a key to
“math success”, these are the key to mostly anything, (“don’t only work for it, work hard”) but
they might also be aware that according to some studies, if the subject isn’t taught right and
explained properly, those three “keys” aren’t built on good bases. Bases are the
most Important part in anything that is accomplished in one’s life. Self confidence is the key to make those bases strong, believing in their own capacities allow oneself to prepare and to work and achieve their goal I think that N&M are mistaken because they overlook the idea that Americans are more susceptible to believe that their math abilities are genetic. Their word choice feels really self centered.The world is big, and even though we are all different, we all have the same moments of doubt about ourselves. Even math. As humans we look for someone or something to blame our failure on. In that case, genetic is the answer for a lot of people from different countries.
If someone absolutely loves math or science or writing or art or education or any other subject, they should be able to choose to immerse themselves in that as much as they are allowed to in high school. This will help them see if it is really what they want to do with their future, and it will take away a lot of added stress from “math anxiety” or just fear that they experience when they are forced to take subjects that they aren’t good at and make them feel
Gelernter disagrees with the comment made by a school principal, “Drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time” (279). He reveals the bitter truth that American students are not fully prepared for college because they have poorly developed basic skills. In contrast, he comments, “No wonder Japanese kids blow the pants off American kids in math” (280). He provides information from a Japanese educator that in Japan, kids are not allowed to use calculators until high school. Due to this, Japanese kids build a strong foundation of basic math skills, which makes them perform well in mathematics.
United States. National Center for Education Statistics. Long-Term Trends in Student Mathematics Performance. Sep. 1998. Web. 2 May 2009. .
Barr, C., Doyle, M., Clifford, J., De Leo,T., Dubeau, C. (2003). "There is More to Math: A Framework for Learning and Math Instruction” Waterloo Catholic District School Board
Both A and B’s answers appear to equate numeracy to math, which contradicts Australian curriculum’s definition, but, in a small way, fulfils the 21st century model’s (appendix 2) first requirement, that “a numerate person requires mathematical knowledge.” (Goos, 2014). Person A elaborates further
This statement leads me ro beleive that the students who fail actually realize in the "real world" life is not something you take for granted.
With this promise came serious concerns over education taught students ranked 28th in the United States out of 40 other countries in Mathematics and Sciences. 80% of occupations depend on knowledge of Mathematics and Science (Week and Obama 2009). In order to ensure that educators have enough money to fund the endeavor to be more competitive with the rest of the world in Mathematics and Science, President Obama will increase federal spending in education with an additional 18 billion dollars in k-12 classrooms, guaranteeing educators have the teachers, technology, and professional development to attain highly quali...
Ward (2005) explores writing and reading as the major literary mediums for learning mathematics, in order for students to be well equipped for things they may see in the real world. The most recent trends in education have teachers and curriculum writers stressed about finding new ways to tie in current events and real-world situations to the subjects being taught in the classroom. Wohlhuter & Quintero (2003) discuss how simply “listening” to mathematics in the classroom has no effect on success in student academics. It’s important to implement mathematical literacy at a very young age. A case study in the article by authors Wohlhuter & Quintero explores a program where mathematics and literacy were implemented together for children all the way through eight years of age. Preservice teachers entered a one week program where lessons were taught to them as if they were teaching the age group it was directed towards. When asked for a definition of mathematics, preservice teachers gave answers such as: something related to numbers, calculations, and estimations. However, no one emphasized how math is in fact extremely dependable on problem-solving, explanations, and logic. All these things have literacy already incorporated into them. According to Wohlhuter and Quintero (2003), the major takeaways from this program, when tested, were that “sorting blocks, dividing a candy bar equally, drawing pictures, or reading cereal boxes, young children are experienced mathematicians, readers, and writers when they enter kindergarten.” These skills are in fact what they need to succeed in the real-world. These strategies have shown to lead to higher success rates for students even after they graduate
However for many individuals, this isn’t a simple matter of disliking math. In schools today, there are currently 2.4 million students diagnosed with a learning disability. Learning disabilities are capricious disorders that affect one’s ability to “speak, listen, think, read, write, spell, or compute”, and thus have a negative impact on learning (Kaye, 2010). Math learning difficulties can range from mild to severe and, contrary to popular belief, are just as inescapable as reading problems; yet students with math deficits often do not receive the attention and concern they need to achieve success. The effects of repeated math failures through school years, combined with math illiteracy in adult life, can have detrimental effects for both diurnal living and occupational projections (Garnett, 1998).
Finally, in early public schools they didn't teach math or reading. They only taught about family, religions, and community. “Then they started to work on math and reading”.
Anyone can be a math genius. An individual that puts in all their hard work and effort could acquire the same abilities as someone who is “naturally good” at math. I have a growth mindset. Although I may not be a mathematical genius, I believe I can excel to a great extent if I strive to expand my knowledge. In order to achieve my goal of expanding my knowledge and remembering everything I learn, hard work and focus would need to be put in. Hard work means effort, persistence, endurance, focus, and commitment. This is shown a lot in those who take a bit more practice and explanation to understand a concept. It is also shown in those who make huge progress throughout the year. I understand that math doesn’t come easily to everyone, but those
In the same article, it is said that 50% of the population have a math anxiety and it is found more in women. When I was studying at Louisiana Tech University, I came across an article about women who do not take school seriously on purpose. At a certain age, the female student starts to believe that mathematics, sciences, and histories are all
The topic is of extreme importance in a time when it seems there is school reform every few years. Claims that our students aren’t “college and career ready” or are falling behind students in other nations have inspired the No Child Left Behind act and the adoption of the hotly debated Common Core State Standards. Many people believe that American school systems need total overhaul, and there is no consensus on what that overhaul should look like. It is important that educators keep in mind how a child learns not just what the child learns. Subscribers to different methods and styles tout the benefits of their favorite method while discounting the benefits of other methods. Recently the media has been inundated with frustrated parents angry with the methods being used to teach their children, usually in mathematics. The argument over “old math” versus “new math” are renewing interest in the ways young minds learn. “Old math” refers to the way the majority of adults were taught math. Using direct instruction, math facts were taught and memorized and flash cards were the prevailing study aid for young math students. Today’s parents argue that this has made the recall of those math facts automatic for them, meaning that they don’t have to think about the problem, the answer is “just there” in their minds. The “new math” is one in which the student is taught how to figure the problem by using
Towers, J., Martin, L., & Pirie, S. (2000). Growing mathematical understanding: Layered observations. In M.L. Fernandez (Ed.), Proceedings of the Annual Meetings of North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Tucson, AZ, 225-230.
Allowing children to learn mathematics through all facets of development – physical, intellectual, emotional and social - will maximize their exposure to mathematical concepts and problem solving. Additionally, mathematics needs to be integrated into the entire curriculum in a coherent manner that takes into account the relationships and sequences of major mathematical ideas. The curriculum should be developmentally appropriate to the