I've noticed something in my few years of teaching math that really irks me- for some reason, it is acceptable (and sometimes expected) to be bad at math. I can't tell you how many times I've heard from a parent "Well, I was really bad at math, so..." or "This math is so much different than what I learned, I can't help at all".
Was is this allowed?? Why is ok to be bad at math? Why is it ok to not try as hard because it is a difficult subject?
I know I had it easy in school, to be honest the first time I ever had to study was when I got to Math 309- Linear Algebra my junior year of college. Up until then nothing (especially math) had really challenged me. Yeah, calculus was a little more taxing than Algebra, but nothing a bit of paying attention in class and doing my homework couldn't help me overcome. I had a system down of memorizing the process a teacher presented and regurgitating it back on the test. This worked well until I was forced to think. In Linear Algebra, the problems aren't all the same. The idea of learning a new skill and then practicing that one skill 15 times in the homework flew right out of the window. I actually had to think through the math and it was hard. I resisted. I hit my wall.
Obviously some of my students hit this wall much earlier in their educational career and I can understand the stress and frustration and that I was much more mature and found meaning behind what I was doing to help push me through. But it doesn't help these students one bit when everyone they know is telling them it is acceptable to be bad at math.
I have always hated English class (or Language Arts or ELA). I don't enjoy reading, I am terrible at writing and I cannot spell to save my life (right now there are at least 15 words with red squiggles underneath them as I type- thank God for spell check!). I have never once had anyone tell me that it was ok to be bad at those things. I just had to try harder!! On my college application, I still had to write an essay even though I would be much better at solving a calculus problem.
I know every subject has changed over the past few years- especially from the time my students' parents were in school, but that is not an excuse either. In a social studies or science course if a student brings home a question they can't answer, most parents can find ways to help their students (looking in the book, googling it...). Why can't they do that for math too?? There are plenty of online resources to help, not to mention the 100$ textbook their child drags around all day.
I don't know how to change this attitude or to help parents see that telling their children that they were also bad at math discourages them from trying. I know math can be a difficult subject for some students. Instead of accepting defeat, we need to encourage our students and inform them that just because something is difficult doesn't mean you should try, it just means you might have to try harder.
