Why Do We Say “I’m Bad at Math”?

Veronica Johnson — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 15:50:00 +0000

How math anxiety affects performance, and what we can do about it

We’ve all likely heard someone say, “I’m bad at math,” or even “I hate math.” In the United States, math is too often considered a subject that either comes naturally or doesn’t — there are “math people,” and everyone else can expect to struggle with it. If you stop and think, though, this makes as much sense as saying we’re all naturally good (or bad) at sports, or music, or writing. It’s true that becoming skilled in any of these areas may come more easily to some people than others, but we generally understand that no one becomes expert at baseball without learning the game and spending a lot of time practicing.

Math Anxiety

Why Do We Say “I’m Bad at Math”?