The Myth Of I M Bad At Math Summary

1. Which statement expresses a general principle that serves as a foundational basis for the argument the author sets forth?
a. In the article, “The Myth of ‘I’m Bad at Math’”, the authors Miles Kimball and Noah Smith include many well said points that contribute to the main idea of this topic. Based on the text, the authors are explaining how math is not really a genetic ability, and that “inborn talent is less important than hard work, preparation and self confidence”. However, the thought that the ability to do well in math is based on genes, proves the fact that students who aren’t prepared for tests or quizzes (and get a bad grade) assume that they aren’t “math people”, and don’t try to excel in future classes. This being said, if the students were told that they can always change how smart they are, because “intelligence was substantially under their control”, they would most …show more content…
The question the author is trying to answer is: Why people believe that they aren’t a “math person”? In the article, the authors explain how not being a “math person” is a myth and just a statement for people who don’t work hard enough in their classes. Many students who thought they were born dumb or that math was an inborn talent were told that their intelligence was in their hands, and that their “IQ itself can improve with hard work.” This being said, it is important to convince students that they can make themselves smarter by hard work, because this increases intellect, which leads to higher grades. Also, it is important that people know that not being a “math person” is a myth, because like it says in the article, “math skills are increasingly important for getting good jobs these days—so believing you can’t learn math is especially self destructive.” This shows that kids who grow up thinking that they aren’t good in math has a higher chance of not getting a job, because many jobs depend on math, and kids don’t try to work harder if they believe they can’t do