On being stupid.

Your comments on the last entry were very poignant. There are reasons for visceral reactions to “stupid”. Hearing (and, maybe, believing) these words affect our experience and perceptions of the world in which we live. I've decided to continue the blog and explore the concept of “stupid” in daily, family and professional life.

My stupidity is rooted in math.

In school I studied advanced math, algebra, geometry, and probability all-of-the-time. I’m fortunate to have a father who has forgotten more math than I’ll ever know. He tutored me nights and weekends (and occasionally helps even today). When I wanted to give up and conclude I was stupid in math, he insisted I was not. When, after much effort, I dropped advanced math with a failing grade, the teacher told my parents, " I tried my best."

Isn’t trying your best and still failing to master the concept the very definition of stupid? I thought so.

Feeling stupid often precedes being stupid. And despite my father’s encouragement, I felt stupid in math. And apparently I’m not alone. Many share similar experiences in math (Tobias, 1991). Experts suggest that the way math is taught may be to blame (Marshall, 2006). Ah, maybe my father was right after all!

While it’s nice to know my failure may be blamed on poorly delivered education. It’s not so nice to know that parents can pass feeling “math stupid” on to their kids.

Teaching kids that numbers are an abstraction versus forcing them to count to ten when they have no concept of what “five” or five-ness is a good start in math. Marshall (2006) shares some great ways to help early elementary students understand that numbers are an abstraction of sets, a symbolic language describing the relationship of elements that share the sigular characteristic of three-ness or five-ness.

And for parents who feel stupid in math, don’t. Stick with it—for your kids. Take calculus this summer—(stop laughing, I’m serious.) There are more learning resources at our disposal than ever before. And you may be surprised at how much your brain has changed in a decade or more. When studying standard deviation and beta after watching a gazillion YouTube videos on the subject. I got it!! (I think.) And now I feel a little less stupid in math.


Marshall, J. (Jan. 2006) Math Wars 2: It's the Teaching, Stupid!, The Phi Delta Kappan. Vol. 87: 5. pp. 356-363.

Tobias, S. (Summer, 1991) Math Mental Health: Going Beyond Math Anxiety, College Teaching, Vol. 39: 3. pp. 15-26.