Comments on: New study suggests girls learn math anxiety from their teachers

By: Tony Karakashian

Tony Karakashian — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:35:28 +0000

I remember reading recently that one issue kids have with math is the multiplication tables. The first couple years of math faced by a kid in elementary school is just rote memorization, which is hard and boring. They then get the impression that math is hard and boring and give up. It doesn’t surprise me, however, that the teacher’s attitude toward math would have such a dramatic effect as well.

Our educational system does need a dramatic overhaul, but starting by overhauling what we teach at home is guaranteed to have an immediate effect indeed!

By: I learned it by watching you! « SCIENCE-BASED PARENTING

I learned it by watching you! « SCIENCE-BASED PARENTING — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:43:21 +0000

[...] Well, this post isn’t about drugs, but it’s the first thing I thought of when I read Laurie T.’s post over at Rational Moms titled New study suggests girls learn math anxiety from their teachers. [...]

By: Jodi

Jodi — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:24:04 +0000

Great post, Laurie! I am guilty of the “I suck at math, don’t ask me” syndrome with my daughters. But, I was happy to learn at our parent/teacher conference yesterday that my oldest daughter gravitates more to the math problems and projects than anything else. So, this is a great reminder for parents like me to talk up math at every opportunity.

I always tell my husband “I *wish* someone had told me growing up that I would use math EVERY SINGLE DAY of my life. I would have tried harder to learn it!” Instead, I know a lot of pointless trivia about things like U.S. Presidents and ’80s popular music–which will do me NO good unless I go on Jeopardy.