Let's Stop the Stereotyping

I've heard a lot of math teachers (and by math teachers, I mean me) complain about societal attitudes toward mathematics. If I hear one more person tell me, "I'm just not a math person," I may have to shave a pi symbol into my hair in protest. I think Neil DeGrasse Tyson, as he usually does, said it best:

"Somehow it's o.k. for people to chuckle about not being good at math. Yet, if I said, 'I never learned to read,' they'd say I was an illiterate dolt."

There is plenty of research into the fallacy of the 'math person' (Dr. Jo Boaler is a good source to start), and I'm certain that this topic has been widely covered in the blog'o'sphere. There is a worrying trend of other teachers, in a well-meaning attempt to connect and empathize with their students, perpetuating this belief. It's a frustration many math teachers feel.

However, at a math conference recently, I noticed something interesting. Presenters and attendees alike would occasionally make comments to the effect of, "I'm not an artist. That's why this diagram is sloppy," or "I'm not an English person; grammar doesn't matter." These were comments made by people whom I respect deeply. These are comments I have made on occasion (despite a BS in Medieval Literature and a stack of art supplies at home that threaten to swallow the spare room). Then, at an assembly, a former math teacher turned athletic director made a comment that finally drove it home for me. He said, "You know I used to be a math teacher, and sorry to the four of you over there, but math teachers are not creative people."

Holy cow bells, we are part of the problem.

These stereotypes are so pervasive that, without realizing it, educators often become part of the mechanism that supports them. Comments like these reinforce the idea that you can be one thing or another, or that if you are a "math person" other subject areas no longer matter. This certainly isn't the message I have been trying to send, but when I am cavalier with my speech, that is the danger I run.

Maybe this is just a secondary thing. Maybe in primary, where teachers aren't relegated to a single subject, it isn't so bad. I don't know. What I do know is that from now on, I won't be making excuses for my weaknesses or laziness. I won't label myself as one thing or another. I won't allow my personal biases to influence the way students view different areas of study. I'm going to try to start thinking of myself holistically. I'm done with the stereotyping.