Thank you *so* much for writing this, and posting the link in my thread so I could find it. It's a strong data point towards one of my longstanding hypotheses: math is often the first class that a smart kid has to really try in. Being really unfamiliar with the need for effort and persistence, because everything else has come easily up to that point, the (extremely convenient) narrative of left brain vs right brain, always towards an angle of the superiority of being "right brained," becomes the major impediment to math literacy. (BTW my therapist spends half of every session pointing out my own extremely convenient narratives; I'm not remotely judging!) I am extremely grateful to you for such a clear, thoughtful elucidation of exactly how this happens. I will be sending your marvelous essay to future tutoring students and homeschool parents (I do consulting on math curricula) who believe this narrative to varying degrees.
We are in an age of widely divergent narratives. At the same time, we also have wide access to much less divergent statistics which can be used to determine which narratives are contra factual. We need numeracy like never before.
I'm in some weird Twilight Zone episode today where everything in my feed is about taking personal responsibility! Substack is on to me I suppose. On another note: as a teacher, I was asked to read Carol Dweck's book about Growth Mindset where she talked about people not trying because - exactly as you said - it's easier to say you didn't try than to receive mediocre scores and see them as a sign of a mediocre intellect. You articulated this phenomenon very well.
I figured this out when I went back to college as an adult and watched younger classmates ask, "Hey, Dude, did you read the book? Did you study for this test?"
I was like, "Yep. read the book. took notes on it. and studied 6 hours for this test. You?"
It took me a couple of years at Med school to discover that playing rugby, drinking lots of beer and chasing nurses wouldn’t help me pass my exams. So I stopped playing rugby, rarely went to the bar and studied hard - two out of three changes seemed to work because I cruised through finals and embarked on a fifty year career in medicine.
PS I married the nurse which was the best decision I’ve ever made
My teachers were trying to tell me this. I just didn't want to listen. I don't think that I ever got a report card that didn't have the word "potential" in it:
Jason, this was such a joy to read. I really admire your self-awareness and ability to harness that into something that others can learn from.
Question: Why did you categorize art and literature in the hedonistic pleasures category?
For me, a big part of my journey to finding what I’m good at and working hard at it has been carving out time to focus on reading and small creative pursuits.
Many forms of art and literature are meant to provide pleasure. Additionally, I did well in those in classes, in part, because I grew up in a home where they were discussed. They were easier for me. Math only provides pleasure to someone who excels at mathmatics. In my case, I had to work harder to feel the rush of pleasure that one gets from mastering a skill. I just didn't want to do the hard work.
I am curious about one thing--how did you do in Geometry? It is the most right-brained math in my opinion. Yes there are absolutes--a postulate is still a postulate and a definition is still a definition but when it comes to proving theorems there is sometimes flexibility, much as there is flexibility in writing a paragraph. There is also room for creativity--did you ever do string art? It is primarily based on angles and making curves and other shapes from those angles.
I'm sorry that you had the "all right or all wrong" teachers. Were your teachers the ones who used only red ink and the entire evaluation on a problem was an X? If so, I wish that you had experienced a teacher who put checks on the parts that you did correctly and didn't make you feel that you had bled all over your paper!!
I am glad that your overcame your hate for math. It really can be fun if you can overcome your fear! Sadly the Venn diagram for success in math and English has a much smaller overlap area than it should!
I relate to this. I wasn't horrible at math, but I was brilliant everywhere else. Everything was so easy. Except math. I chose my college degree based on what required the least math. It was not the degree I wanted. I could get an A or B, but I never understood what I was doing. I would basically memorize the steps and forget them as soon as the test was done. What a chicken I am.
i read ... how to find you if you arehaving a sucessful life,,, the answer is .... if you are happy then you are sucessfull , and if you icrease your chances of going to heaven
i read ... how to find you if you arehaving a sucessful life,,, the answer is .... if you are happy then you are sucessfull , and if you uncrease your chances of going to heaven
By 9th grade, I was done with math. I enrolled in math classes to get my high school diploma, but I didn’t really do any work. I was given Ds instead of Fs in high school because my teachers were nice. Like you, math was hard for me, and reading and writing were so much easier and fun! In 12th grade, I was exposed to trigonometry, which I thought was cool…except for the memorization part, but I had missed out on years of information and practice. Decades later, I took remedial algebra at a community college and the light came on. I found tutoring, visited my professor, and did homework with my husband, who has a BS in math and could help me. This time, I passed. I felt the pleasure of succeeding at hard work and I saw beauty in algebra. I wish I had had the same experience with statistics. I tried twice. The third time, I took a lab class where we used a statistics program instead of a graphic calculator, and I got a B, but I scarcely remember anything I “learned.” I have struggled with addiction as well. I’m slowly outgrowing my sense of entitlement and my addiction to comfort, thanks to my program and good friends. I’m working on learning to be responsible. I’m excited to read your part two. Good luck and Happy New Year! 🎊
Thank you *so* much for writing this, and posting the link in my thread so I could find it. It's a strong data point towards one of my longstanding hypotheses: math is often the first class that a smart kid has to really try in. Being really unfamiliar with the need for effort and persistence, because everything else has come easily up to that point, the (extremely convenient) narrative of left brain vs right brain, always towards an angle of the superiority of being "right brained," becomes the major impediment to math literacy. (BTW my therapist spends half of every session pointing out my own extremely convenient narratives; I'm not remotely judging!) I am extremely grateful to you for such a clear, thoughtful elucidation of exactly how this happens. I will be sending your marvelous essay to future tutoring students and homeschool parents (I do consulting on math curricula) who believe this narrative to varying degrees.
Hilarious, love the charts. Glad I subscribed.
I aim to please. Thanks for sub and the comment. 😀
The world's shortest Act 3 :)
It's surprisingly boring how I got over my math deficit. But, I'll give more detail in a follow-up post. 😉🙂
I'd be interested in the details.
We are in an age of widely divergent narratives. At the same time, we also have wide access to much less divergent statistics which can be used to determine which narratives are contra factual. We need numeracy like never before.
This could have been the story of my life. Thanks for these insights.
Thank you for this essay, a great template for my own introspection.
Glad you liked it.
Thanks
Glad you found some value in this confession of my foolishness. :-)
I'm in some weird Twilight Zone episode today where everything in my feed is about taking personal responsibility! Substack is on to me I suppose. On another note: as a teacher, I was asked to read Carol Dweck's book about Growth Mindset where she talked about people not trying because - exactly as you said - it's easier to say you didn't try than to receive mediocre scores and see them as a sign of a mediocre intellect. You articulated this phenomenon very well.
I figured this out when I went back to college as an adult and watched younger classmates ask, "Hey, Dude, did you read the book? Did you study for this test?"
I was like, "Yep. read the book. took notes on it. and studied 6 hours for this test. You?"
It took me a couple of years at Med school to discover that playing rugby, drinking lots of beer and chasing nurses wouldn’t help me pass my exams. So I stopped playing rugby, rarely went to the bar and studied hard - two out of three changes seemed to work because I cruised through finals and embarked on a fifty year career in medicine.
PS I married the nurse which was the best decision I’ve ever made
Marrying a nurse. Good call !
“It turns out that when I applied myself…” now that’s something that should be added to tap water.
I look forward to your next episode.
My teachers were trying to tell me this. I just didn't want to listen. I don't think that I ever got a report card that didn't have the word "potential" in it:
Jason has a lot of potential
I would like to see him reach his potential
Jason isn't working up to his full potential
ALthough he has a lot of potential. . .
Jason, this was such a joy to read. I really admire your self-awareness and ability to harness that into something that others can learn from.
Question: Why did you categorize art and literature in the hedonistic pleasures category?
For me, a big part of my journey to finding what I’m good at and working hard at it has been carving out time to focus on reading and small creative pursuits.
Many forms of art and literature are meant to provide pleasure. Additionally, I did well in those in classes, in part, because I grew up in a home where they were discussed. They were easier for me. Math only provides pleasure to someone who excels at mathmatics. In my case, I had to work harder to feel the rush of pleasure that one gets from mastering a skill. I just didn't want to do the hard work.
I am curious about one thing--how did you do in Geometry? It is the most right-brained math in my opinion. Yes there are absolutes--a postulate is still a postulate and a definition is still a definition but when it comes to proving theorems there is sometimes flexibility, much as there is flexibility in writing a paragraph. There is also room for creativity--did you ever do string art? It is primarily based on angles and making curves and other shapes from those angles.
I'm sorry that you had the "all right or all wrong" teachers. Were your teachers the ones who used only red ink and the entire evaluation on a problem was an X? If so, I wish that you had experienced a teacher who put checks on the parts that you did correctly and didn't make you feel that you had bled all over your paper!!
I am glad that your overcame your hate for math. It really can be fun if you can overcome your fear! Sadly the Venn diagram for success in math and English has a much smaller overlap area than it should!
I relate to this. I wasn't horrible at math, but I was brilliant everywhere else. Everything was so easy. Except math. I chose my college degree based on what required the least math. It was not the degree I wanted. I could get an A or B, but I never understood what I was doing. I would basically memorize the steps and forget them as soon as the test was done. What a chicken I am.
i read ... how to find you if you arehaving a sucessful life,,, the answer is .... if you are happy then you are sucessfull , and if you icrease your chances of going to heaven
i read ... how to find you if you arehaving a sucessful life,,, the answer is .... if you are happy then you are sucessfull , and if you uncrease your chances of going to heaven
truth aboutyourself is very funny ,i suspect a natural comedian talent
By 9th grade, I was done with math. I enrolled in math classes to get my high school diploma, but I didn’t really do any work. I was given Ds instead of Fs in high school because my teachers were nice. Like you, math was hard for me, and reading and writing were so much easier and fun! In 12th grade, I was exposed to trigonometry, which I thought was cool…except for the memorization part, but I had missed out on years of information and practice. Decades later, I took remedial algebra at a community college and the light came on. I found tutoring, visited my professor, and did homework with my husband, who has a BS in math and could help me. This time, I passed. I felt the pleasure of succeeding at hard work and I saw beauty in algebra. I wish I had had the same experience with statistics. I tried twice. The third time, I took a lab class where we used a statistics program instead of a graphic calculator, and I got a B, but I scarcely remember anything I “learned.” I have struggled with addiction as well. I’m slowly outgrowing my sense of entitlement and my addiction to comfort, thanks to my program and good friends. I’m working on learning to be responsible. I’m excited to read your part two. Good luck and Happy New Year! 🎊