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Mostly about maths teaching: a rant
Sep. 26th, 2014 11:34 amRadio 4 is talking in a very interesting way about maths and maths teaching and it's making me think about how I was taught.
Which was badly. What I learnt early on was that maths was scary and hard, that girls in particular were never going to be good at it and that mistakes were something to be ashamed off, because they were badges of inadequacy. Boys, on the other hand, were naturally good at it, and this was a sign of how much better and more important they were. This gendering has stayed with me lifelong -- as an undergraduate, I was regularly patronised and shamed by male friends because I was 'only' studying an arts subject which they assumed was easy. (I should, in retrospect, have handed them a chunk of Old Irish and said 'Fine, it's easy: so translate this.') This putting down and patronising of me because I'm neither a mathematician nor a scientist has continued throughout my adult life. About 4 years ago a man told me he'd decided he did respect me after all, because a 3rd party had convinced him that history is a science (sort of) after all.
I was silenced. I could not think of a single thing to say that wasn't, essentially, 'wtf?'
It's okay, even now, to put women down in public because they aren't brilliant with numbers. Girls see this happen to their mothers, teachers, friends all the time.
I had one year of good maths teaching in my entire school career and that year I got the top marks of any student in that year. I speak 3 languages (and have some ability in 2 others) and I can work with sources in a further 6. We grow up and are educated in an environment that is toxic for women. Our culture continues to handicap, discourage and bully women and girls when it comes to maths and science education.
This R4 programme suggests there are people out there who are working hard to redress this. That's great. I'd love to go and learn maths alongside this cohort of junior-age children, because it sounds like they are being taught to learn by positive reinforcement, not by the use of shame, fear and gendered expectations.
So, if you find yourself on the edge of putting someone down about their mathematical ability, especially if that person is someone who was disadvantaged by gender, race or ableism at school, I have a suggestion for you: don't. Bite your tongue. And then ask yourself what assumptions you've internalised about others.
Skirt of the day: short blue bird print.
Which was badly. What I learnt early on was that maths was scary and hard, that girls in particular were never going to be good at it and that mistakes were something to be ashamed off, because they were badges of inadequacy. Boys, on the other hand, were naturally good at it, and this was a sign of how much better and more important they were. This gendering has stayed with me lifelong -- as an undergraduate, I was regularly patronised and shamed by male friends because I was 'only' studying an arts subject which they assumed was easy. (I should, in retrospect, have handed them a chunk of Old Irish and said 'Fine, it's easy: so translate this.') This putting down and patronising of me because I'm neither a mathematician nor a scientist has continued throughout my adult life. About 4 years ago a man told me he'd decided he did respect me after all, because a 3rd party had convinced him that history is a science (sort of) after all.
I was silenced. I could not think of a single thing to say that wasn't, essentially, 'wtf?'
It's okay, even now, to put women down in public because they aren't brilliant with numbers. Girls see this happen to their mothers, teachers, friends all the time.
I had one year of good maths teaching in my entire school career and that year I got the top marks of any student in that year. I speak 3 languages (and have some ability in 2 others) and I can work with sources in a further 6. We grow up and are educated in an environment that is toxic for women. Our culture continues to handicap, discourage and bully women and girls when it comes to maths and science education.
This R4 programme suggests there are people out there who are working hard to redress this. That's great. I'd love to go and learn maths alongside this cohort of junior-age children, because it sounds like they are being taught to learn by positive reinforcement, not by the use of shame, fear and gendered expectations.
So, if you find yourself on the edge of putting someone down about their mathematical ability, especially if that person is someone who was disadvantaged by gender, race or ableism at school, I have a suggestion for you: don't. Bite your tongue. And then ask yourself what assumptions you've internalised about others.
Skirt of the day: short blue bird print.
