[Yes. The Smooth Away works. I don't know how, but it does. Just wanted to share.]
On occasion, I hear or see something that just really sets me off. This was the case this past Tuesday evening. We had the local news on the TV. I was preparing dinner but was somewhat listening to it. I'm not an avid news watcher. I tend to just scan the newspaper. Maybe that's an irresponsible way to be as an adult, but I am guilty of it. There is so much content that I completely do not care about or which stresses me out to the point that it's just not worth my time. I'll stay on top of major news stories, and that's good enough for me.
There was a particular story this night that I couldn't help but overhear. I was just minding my own business when I heard Ethan, the news anchor, say something to this effect...A study has shown that female elementary teachers' math anxiety may convince girls that they are bad at math....He went on to say that it's known that boys, in general, do better in math than girls. Now this study has shown that female elementary teachers at the first and second grade levels may be projecting their own anxiety onto their female students.
Apparently, they found that female teachers are more likely to feel anxious about performing math in public and somehow subconsciously transfer this anxiety to the girls in their classes. Are you kidding me? It ticked me off enough at the moment that I didn't dare address it on here right away.
Okay. If there are any teachers out there feeling anxiety over performing math at a first or second grade level, we have real problems! And can someone please tell me why someone is wasting their time studying this theory in the first place?? Are there not more important issues that could stand a little research to be applied to them?
I cannot say that girls are just as good at math as boys. I don't know. I do know that girls have the potential to be just as good at math as boys. If they are not, I certainly am not looking into the psyche of their female math teachers.
Why do we, as a society, always look to point the finger at someone else for our shortcomings? I suck at some elements of science. I own that. I wasn't interested enough in those areas to care what my teachers were saying about them. I seriously doubt that my teachers were projecting that disinterest on me.
Let me stop and say that I do acknowledge that there are some sorry teachers out there that may be causing students to fall behind in many areas. That is an issue that I'd like to see addressed. The reason they are sorry teachers cannot be blamed on their subconscious self-doubt. More often than not, it is simple laziness or indifference. Hmm. Maybe we can trace those problems back to some professor they had or something. ??? Give me a break!
Here's a link I found online to the same story. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/ct-met-0126-girls-math-anxiety-20100125,0,198793.story
If you are good at something, good for you! If you are struggling with something, buckle down and work harder. Quit worrying about whose fault it may be. Take ownership of your own frailties. Only you can overcome them!
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
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