Generations of kids weren't kidding: math does hurt

[Phillip V]

Women really need to get better at math so that they are prepared for their future single motherhood.

[The Brain]

maths

Don't do that.  Just-- please, don't.

Hurts, doesn't it?

[merithyn]

Oh, I figure it's socialized in some way, but the questions are why and how?

Considering one of the traditional roles for women in western civilization is managing the family finances I have a hard time sorting out the why.  As to the how, the women's studies class I took had some speculations around absolute correct answers and something about competition...which I found a little wooish.  My wife hates math but she is certainly competitive and usually thinks her answers are absolutely correct

But it certainly exists, or at least the stereotype does.  But isn't it true that girls tend to get better grades in math than boys, even though the boys do a bit better on standardized tests?

I think that's only true up to middle school. At that point, girls start to do worse in math and science while boys start doing better. By high school, there's a distinct gap between boys and girls, with girls doing far worse than boys.

This is on average, of course. There are always exceptions, and it doesn't apply to Asian cultures. (I'm not sure about European cultures, but I think it's true of nations like Italy, Spain, and Ireland.) So, it's clearly societal, and there are whole studies being done to try to understand it. I don't think anyone has come up with a definitive reason for it.

I do know that my problem is that math wasn't taught to me as a foreign language. It was taught as though I already understood certain concepts, which I had never heard of. It made the whole process so frustrating that now I completely shut down when math comes up. I don't even want to hear about it, and I would guess that it's that pain thing kicking in.

[Valmy]

This is on average, of course. There are always exceptions, and it doesn't apply to Asian cultures.

We have been over this before and the exact same phenonmenon exists in Asian cultures.  Remember when I showed you all those test results and you were suprised?

[Valmy]

I do know that my problem is that math wasn't taught to me as a foreign language. It was taught as though I already understood certain concepts, which I had never heard of. It made the whole process so frustrating that now I completely shut down when math comes up. I don't even want to hear about it, and I would guess that it's that pain thing kicking in.

Well if they doing great until Middle School, they clearly get the basic language and concepts.

[MadImmortalMan]

Around middle school, the teachers get worse.

[merithyn]

I do know that my problem is that math wasn't taught to me as a foreign language. It was taught as though I already understood certain concepts, which I had never heard of. It made the whole process so frustrating that now I completely shut down when math comes up. I don't even want to hear about it, and I would guess that it's that pain thing kicking in.

Well if they doing great until Middle School, they clearly get the basic language and concepts.

The language changes at Middle School. It goes into Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry, which uses a different language than basic math concepts. I'm still really good at the basic math stuff.

[MadImmortalMan]

The language changes at Middle School. It goes into Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry, which uses a different language than basic math concepts. I'm still really good at the basic math stuff.

The language changes from "here's some more cool stuff to learn" to "we're about to get into some really hard and scary stuff but you have to do it anyway".

[Valmy]

The language changes from "here's some more cool stuff to learn" to "we're about to get into some really hard and scary stuff but you have to do it anyway".

2 + 2 = ? FUN

2 + x = 4 SCARY

[The Brain]

I didn't notice any language change.

[merithyn]

The language changes from "here's some more cool stuff to learn" to "we're about to get into some really hard and scary stuff but you have to do it anyway".

2 + 2 = ? FUN

2 + x = 4 SCARY

To be honest, I had no problem with Algebra or Geometry. In fact, I was asked to be a tutor for Geometry. That stuff made sense. Then I got into Trigonometry, and it was like the teacher started speaking Russian. None of what he said made sense. When I asked him to explain it, he just kept talking in Russian. At a certain point, I said, "Peace out!" and dropped the class.

[The Brain]

In the words of Boney M: Oh, those Russians!

[Valmy]

To be honest, I had no problem with Algebra or Geometry. In fact, I was asked to be a tutor for Geometry. That stuff made sense. Then I got into Trigonometry, and it was like the teacher started speaking Russian. None of what he said made sense. When I asked him to explain it, he just talking Russian. At a certain point, I said, "Peace out!" and dropped the class.

I had this exact experience many times, particularly in BC Calculus, but all my friends were doing it so peer pressure made me keep trying.  I got it all eventually.

[merithyn]

To be honest, I had no problem with Algebra or Geometry. In fact, I was asked to be a tutor for Geometry. That stuff made sense. Then I got into Trigonometry, and it was like the teacher started speaking Russian. None of what he said made sense. When I asked him to explain it, he just talking Russian. At a certain point, I said, "Peace out!" and dropped the class.

I had this exact experience many times, particularly in BC Calculus, but all my friends were doing it so peer pressure made me keep trying.  I got it all eventually.

Maybe that's part of the problem. None of my girlfriends were in my math class. In fact, I was one of only two girls in the class of 20+ students.

[MadImmortalMan]

Maybe that's part of the problem. None of my girlfriends were in my math class. In fact, I was one of only two girls in the class of 20+ students.

Did any of the girls you knew say why they didn't take that class?