I Can't Do Math

THOUGHT

Student's, and people in general, use the word "can't" a lot, as in, "I can't do math."

REFLECTION #1

It was brought up in my Science Methodology class that students also use this phrase, replacing "math" with "science". As a teacher, we must not tolerate these types of defeatist concepts in our classrooms. If we tolerate these beliefs about what one can and cannot do, we are perpetuating the negative self-talk, and non-verbally telling children that it is OK to write something off because you cannot do math YET!

REFLECTION #2

To help remove this negative talk from students' vocabulary, the teacher might seek out intelligent speakers to invite into the classroom to speak positively about math, the possibilities of math, and why it is important. This can be especially empowering for female students, who are generally more likely to state these beliefs about their math and science inabilities, if a female mathematician visits the classroom. This is one way to change students' minds about negative perceptions.

One does not have to look far to find the noteworthy female mathematicians. These figures could even be brought up when students do a unit on biographies in Language Arts.

Sofia Kovalevskaya, one of many
noteworthy female mathematicians.