There are several different myths that are associated with math. These myths are the reason that children do not enjoy or even try at maths.
Myth 1 – Some people get maths because they have the ‘math gene’ and others don’t.
There is no such thing as a ‘math gene’. Nobody is born knowing everything about maths and just ‘getting’ mathematical concepts. Some children have just been exposed to mathematical situations more than other children. However, this is something that is difficult to explain to children.
How can you explain to a child who is adamant that they do not have the ‘math gene’ that there is not such thing? Simple answer, you don’t! They will see one child understand a new maths area straight away and they will not. Weeks later they will start to understand the new area while the other children have moved on to something else.
Dispelling this attitude in a classroom can be extremely difficult if children have already decided that this is the case. This makes the teachers job even more difficult when teaching math.
Myth 2 – You are cheating if you use any tools.
This myth is one of the most irritating out of all if them. A common myth within math is that you are cheating if you use something to help you. Not everyone can do maths in their heads very quick. Me personally, I struggle with doing maths quickly in my head and I would much rather write it down on a piece of paper to work through it and use a calculator.
There is no shame in using your fingers or a calculator to help you. Why shouldn’t you use all of the tools that you can if you are struggling to understand something. The fact that a child cannot add up in their head should not stand in their way of working out a bigger, harder problem. They should be able to use a calculator, number square or their fingers if it helps them.
If children are told that they can not use a tool or that using one is ‘cheating’ then they will disengage with what you are trying to teach them as they cannot use the only thing that is helping them through.
Myth 3 – Nobody actually uses maths in the real world anyway.
This myth is one of the most common and is the one you hear most throughout society. A lot of people think that you do not need math in the real world so what is the point in learning about it. The myth comes from several different angles. Parents or guardians may tell their children when they are struggling with their homework ‘It doesn’t matter; you wont use it anyway’. This then shows children that disengaging with math is okay as you do not need it.
This myth could not be further from the truth. I have always known that we need math in the real world but never have I realised this more than since I have started this module.
And lastly,
Myth 4 – You must always know how to get the answer.
Many associations with math is that you need to show everything that you did to get the right answer. But you don’t! If you can get the correct answer several times for the same kind of problem then you know wheat to do, you should not need to explain that.
There are many myths to do with mathematics but none of them are true. These are the myths that come in between children being open to learning math. In my classroom I hope to have no preconceptions about math and let children use whatever they need to understand the subject.
