Gender and math

I am a product of my time. As author Jo Boaler implied in her writing, there was a price for being “sugar and spice,” and I paid it. I was raised by a father who believed I was not college material and discouraged me from attending. I had two strikes against me: I was a girl, and I could not grasp the concepts of higher math. After reading Boaler’s article in Improving Access to Mathematics, I have come to a better understanding of why math was harder for me than the other subjects. Even though I was an honor student, I struggled to maintain a “C” in algebra and geometry. My father could not understand my inability to understand his basic explanations and gave up on me. My math teacher was also not helpful, and I grew up feeling I was incapable of math and only took what I was required to take.

Years later, when I convinced myself that I was college material and had to take Algebra I and II in college, I was shocked when my teacher told me I was good at math. It’s true I was now getting A’s, but I believed it was only because she was a great teacher and had worked so hard explaining everything to me. Boaler’s article helped explain this to me. My college teacher’s patience with my questions and her ability to explain the concepts in detail caused me to understand them at last, and when I understood those concepts, I enjoyed math and did well in it. Boaler helped me to realize that I am a living example of the theory that girls/women need to understand the concepts, not just follow the given steps to do the problems (pp. 31-32). How many others of you feel the same way? I was fortunate enough to have a teacher in my life to help me believe that I could understand math concepts. I hope I can do the same for my students someday.