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Debunking widely-held myths about Maths

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JR_StudyEd:
You've heard it all before:

"I'm gonna fail". "I'm never going to understand this, no matter how hard I try". "I'm just not a Maths person and I never will be". "He/she is so good at Maths, I'll never be like him/her". "Well, he/she is just naturally gifted and I'm not, so what's the point of even trying?". "I'm not a robot. How can I derive this in 5 seconds". "I feel like absolute trash. Why does maths always find a new and wonderful way to ruin my day AND my self-esteem"*

*These may, or may not all be thoughts that I've had in the past, or right now. Plz help me.

a) Are these myths? (The ones about not understanding and not bothering, and the ones about natural aptitude) To what extent are they true?
b) How can I cope with such widely-held attitudes towards Maths, especially as one who is not naturally gifted?
c) I know I can't control everything, but is it true that some students are just naturally gifted in Maths? As someone who certainly is not naturally gifted, how do I cope?
d) What other common attitudes have you seen regarding Maths over the years?

caffinatedloz:

--- Quote from: JR_StudyEd on June 12, 2019, 07:22:17 pm ---You've heard it all before:

"I'm gonna fail". "I'm never going to understand this, no matter how hard I try". "I'm just not a Maths person and I never will be". "He/she is so good at Maths, I'll never be like him/her". "Well, he/she is just naturally gifted and I'm not, so what's the point of even trying?". "I'm not a robot. How can I derive this in 5 seconds". "I feel like absolute trash. Why does maths always find a new and wonderful way to ruin my day AND my self-esteem"*

*These may, or may not all be thoughts that I've had in the past, or right now. Plz help me.

a) Are these myths? To what extent are they true?
b) How can I cope with such widely-held attitudes towards Maths, especially as one who is not naturally gifted?
c) I know I can't control everything, but is it true that some students are just naturally gifted in Maths? As someone who certainly is not naturally gifted, how do I cope?

--- End quote ---

Hello hello!
I am only in Year 10 in the methods/spesh stream at my school, and I hear this a lot in my class. A lot of my friends assume that I am naturally gifted at maths because I understand the content in class and get good marks, but it takes a lot of hard work that they don't see. I think that believing that just because someone seems to be better at maths means that it is natural for them or that you cannot achieve that is unhealthy.

I always ask my teacher what the next topic is ahead of time and before I go into a class I have read up on it and made some notes as well as tried questions. This is so that when the teacher explains it, I already have a basic understanding. Our school has a drop in maths-help program three times a week and I am there every day, asking a million questions.

I think that a subject like maths takes a lot of work and that no one is really a "natural maths person". For me, when people start talking so negatively I just take a deep breath and zone out of the conversation. I find the way that students talk can be really unhelpful and often makes me doubt myself and my abilities.

Once I figured out that "naturally gifted" was not enough to get you through class and realised that hard work is what actually gets good grades, I started doing a lot better. Anyway... I definitely think that those myths are unhealthy. Do you really think the people getting good grades (even if they claim that they don't) don't study or work hard? I know that is definitely not the case for me but would love to hear what you think.

Sorry this is so rambly,
Laura

JR_StudyEd:

--- Quote from: laura_ on June 12, 2019, 07:33:28 pm ---Hello hello!
I am only in Year 10 in the methods/spesh stream at my school, and I hear this a lot in my class. A lot of my friends assume that I am naturally gifted at maths because I understand the content in class and get good marks, but it takes a lot of hard work that they don't see. I think that believing that just because someone seems to be better at maths means that it is natural for them or that you cannot achieve that is unhealthy.

I always ask my teacher what the next topic is ahead of time and before I go into a class I have read up on it and made some notes as well as tried questions. This is so that when the teacher explains it, I already have a basic understanding. Our school has a drop in maths-help program three times a week and I am there every day, asking a million questions.

I think that a subject like maths takes a lot of work and that no one is really a "natural maths person". For me, when people start talking so negatively I just take a deep breath and zone out of the conversation. I find the way that students talk can be really unhelpful and often makes me doubt myself and my abilities.

Once I figured out that "naturally gifted" was not enough to get you through class and realised that hard work is what actually gets good grades, I started doing a lot better. Anyway... I definitely think that those myths are unhealthy. Do you really think the people getting good grades (even if they claim that they don't) don't study or work hard? I know that is definitely not the case for me but would love to hear what you think.

Sorry this is so rambly,
Laura

--- End quote ---
Laura, this is brilliant. Thanks for your wonderful insight!  :)

What's this "drop-in Maths help program" you speak of? What's its purpose? Do many students taking maths at your school use this? Because I think something like that at my school will benefit many!

In terms of your question, I too used to think that the higher-achieving students in my Maths classes hardly studied. When it came to Maths Methods, I sort of questioned that a little bit as the workload ramped up. I got concerned that I was the only one that found the content and doing practice questions a struggle. What helped me was reaching out to one of these high-achievers. I found out that they too struggle at times. And they definitely put a lot of work in!

colline:
10000% agree with what Laura said above! Methods is no easy subject, but with enough effort, perseverance, and also smart studying strategies you can do just as well, and in fact even better than someone who was born with maths genes littered in their DNA.

a) Are these myths? YES THEY ARE. This sounds horribly cliched, but your mindset is what's ultimately holding you back, not your abilities. Yes, there are people who seem more natural with maths and STEM subjects overall, but unless they work hard their gifts can only get them so far.

b) I'd say first thing first is to stop repeating to yourself that you're not naturally good at maths. Say it enough times and you'd end up trapped in that mindset. Next, shut out opinions that aren't going to help you improve with maths. If you spend time with people who despise maths to the core, you aren't gonna get any better. Instead, talk to people who like math and listen to what they have to say.

c) Duuuude! C'mon, let's stop with the 'I'm not naturally gifted at maths' thing. ;D
I totally get you. I never thought of myself as a maths person, English / humanities / arts is where my heart lie. But you have to have some faith in yourself!
Again, yes some people are naturally gifted at maths but their natural gifts can only get them so far, and it's not gonna get them a raw 40 in methods if they don't work hard to develop their gifts.

d) There's someone in my class who uses Maths Quest as a pillow. I aspire to be like him.

Sine:

--- Quote from: JR_StudyEd on June 12, 2019, 07:22:17 pm ---You've heard it all before:

"I'm gonna fail". "I'm never going to understand this, no matter how hard I try". "I'm just not a Maths person and I never will be". "He/she is so good at Maths, I'll never be like him/her". "Well, he/she is just naturally gifted and I'm not, so what's the point of even trying?". "I'm not a robot. How can I derive this in 5 seconds". "I feel like absolute trash. Why does maths always find a new and wonderful way to ruin my day AND my self-esteem"*

*These may, or may not all be thoughts that I've had in the past, or right now. Plz help me.

a) Are these myths? (The ones about not understanding and not bothering, and the ones about natural aptitude) To what extent are they true?
b) How can I cope with such widely-held attitudes towards Maths, especially as one who is not naturally gifted?
c) I know I can't control everything, but is it true that some students are just naturally gifted in Maths? As someone who certainly is not naturally gifted, how do I cope?
d) What other common attitudes have you seen regarding Maths over the years?



--- End quote ---
a) I would both agree and disagree with this
- I believe anyone can improve on anything if they put the effort in (maths included)
- However, if you consider someone "gifted" if they also put in the same effort as others it is likely they are going to do better  (unless they max out on 100s since there is a cap)

b) I feel doing really well on just one test can be a really good catalyst for further overall improvement - Anecdotally from some friends who wouldn't/don't care too much for maths and weren't necessarily wanting high ATARs (only did further maths with not much reasoning to it) - once they scored well on one test it is good motivation to continue that standard.

c) Honestly idk and I don't think anyone can say for certain since there will be so many confounding factors but I do perceive that some people just to have natural affinities to certain things in life.

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