Hating math?

About this thing where people say, "I hate math", or "I'm not good at math", or "I never understood math", or similar things. It's well-known that in the U.S. at least, people seem to be able to say such things with ease -- it is totally acceptable socially -- but no one readily admits similar things about their reading abilities!

I just read two interesting posts by Bon from Math is Not a Four-Letter Word that deal with this topic... They can HELP you or others you know overcome this line of thinking.

How to Get People to Stop Saying "I Hate Math"

How to Quit Saying "I Hate Math"

You might also be interested in an old blogpost of mine: Developing a Positive Attitude (towards math).

Comments

RadMommy87 said…
I just found your blog through a site to help me review my math skills and I love it! Thank you for helping make math painless for me and giving me a new perspective on it. I now look forward to helping my kids with their math instead of dreading it.

~ Rachel :)
10:44 PM, August 25, 2011
PragmaticMom said…
There is a real disease for Math Anxiety and I posted on it here: http://www.pragmaticmom.com/?p=17901

But for those who just need more exposure to math to make it more enjoyable, I have a bunch of posts on math here: http://www.pragmaticmom.com/?cat=1378

One popular post is Picture Books That Teach Math Concepts http://www.pragmaticmom.com/?cat=1378 which is a sneaky way to make math relatable and fun.
6:05 PM, August 29, 2011
Unknown said…
thank you! I always need "math encouragement" ! my math wiz son is going to outdo me here in a year or so- he's 10! lol (seriously)
2:24 PM, August 31, 2011
Dale Callahan said…
Maria, it is so true that most do not say they hate reading. But, many do hate grammar.

And really a lot of what we do in math is just that - the grammar of math. Math is, like grammar, a tool or a set of rules.

English (or other languages) grammar is needed to be able to communicate with others.

Math grammar is needed to be able to understand the way things work in the world. Math is the language of science.

So the way to teach - and to love - math is to focus on using it for its purpose and not just learning it to be learning the rules.

And by the way - your tools and worksheets do an excellent job at this!
12:07 PM, September 06, 2011
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