Math Anxiety or the Wrong Math?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/04/25/stop-telling-kids-youre-bad-at-math-you-are-spreading-math-anxiety-like-a-virus/

In response to this article in the Washington Post...

Who in the world enjoys saying they are bad at anything? When did telling the truth become a crime? I am not ashamed to say that I am bad at some types of math and not math in general. Specifically, I struggle most with be the math I NEVER use as an adult! Of course that was also the math I had to take in high school and college. None of that had to do with bad teachers or bad textbooks because the appropriate phrase for such a thing would be bad curriculum!

To this day I still look back and wish I had math classes that would have been more useful to me instead of having to struggle each day while sitting next to kids who had an aptitude for the types of math that killed my GPA. Some of these classmates of mine went on to work in fields that made use of the algebra and geometry material that I struggled though. Good for them. I know that these forms of math along with even more complex forms serve a purpose in the world but what did that mean to me when I knew from a very early age that those careers would never hold any interest for me? And, that didn't come from a fear math as a child. It came from an awareness of knowing what I wanted to and a willingness to do whatever I had to do in order to prepare for my future. 

I could care less about the social view of a subject. So the French revere math. So what? That's as pretentious as people who know fifty different words that have the same meaning just so they could look more sophisticated.  In the real world it's about learning things that are useful and now as a parent with children dealing with this common core nonsense I continue to wonder yet again why we are wasting our time with something so useless. The answer I hear as to why this new method is effective is because, it makes them think! Really? Are you blind to the stupid choices young people continue to make? There are still young girls getting pregnant and teenage boy getting arrested for committing violent crimes. Will watching them do common core problems in the delivery room or in their jail cell ease a parent's anxiety? Or, if common core math helps students think how will it influence them later in life when they are sitting in a high school or college class with an instructor who is more interested in proselytizing them than teaching them to think for themselves in that particular discipline? In case no one is looking, the instructors are winning in most cases. 

Perhaps it would have served me and others  best to sit in classes that taught us how to balance a check book, how to buy a house or a car or how to invest in the stock market. These are examples of math continuing as a part of my daily life because I have actually done these things as an adult. Yet, how much of that is emphasized in high school and college studies to the point where learning such things could apply towards our math credits in order to graduate? In many cases they are elective courses so that means you can take them if you want to. Here's an idea: let the future engineers take algebra, geometry, trig and calculus if they choose to the same way kids choose to take AP classes in other subjects. Meanwhile, require all of the students to take personal finance because everyone needs to learn to manage their money, right? Then they can take other math classes that relate better to what they want to do with their futures. I have even spoken to math teachers who agree with me on this issue because they too have expressed the frustration they feel for their students who struggle through an advanced math class who they can see will not work as engineers in the future. 

I do not see math as my enemy because I am in fact good at the math I do make use of on a daily basis. There are others who are certainly in the same situation as I am but those who design our curriculum are only interested in differentiated learning if it applies to the math they want us to learn while not allowing us to focus on the math that will benefit each student in life. I make part of my living as a professional drummer and I can also read music so I write out charts when I have original ideas at a moment when I am not near an instrument or when I have to write out a chart for a live performance or a recording session. Imagine what my GPA would have been like in high school if I was able to study this kind of math while also taking a personal finance class? That sounds like a great idea because I could make money doing something that I love while also learning how to manage that money. Does that sound like a real world scenario to anyone besides me?

Thankfully, my parents enrolled me in private drum lessons during my 3rd grade year so I learned to read music rhythms at an early age. Of course there is math all over that but none of what I learned in private drum lessons earned me a grade in school. Then my eyes were further opened during my college years because I started off my college studies as a music major. Learning music theory of course made use of even more math but it was then that I got to see how the world of drummers went even further than most instrumentalists. During my private studies with my college percussion teacher I began to study polyrhythms and that was a whole other world of rhythm and math that I never knew of and it excited me! Then we started to play these complicated rhythmic patterns and that took me to a different level of math application because I had to learn to count and feel figures that were not common in Western music. It was even more fun when I got to share all that I was learning with my fellow music students who were not drummers because they were as clueless as I was in my high school algebra class. Right away I wondered what their college GPA's would look like if we had to actually study that stuff in music theory classes? In fact, I even wondered if my music theory teachers knew how to read and play polyrhythms and, what if these people had to demonstrate their ability to play these types of rhythms in order to graduate from music school the same way drummers have to show some sort of competency on the piano? Very interesting to say the least because after all, we want a well balanced education, right?

Of course with educational systems gutting art programs on a regular basis we know that we will never see such forms of math taught to children. Can children learn something as complicated as polyrhythms? Absolutely because not only are children capable of learning anything but we as adults won't tell them how hard they are to understand and play because we don't want to give them polyrhyhm anxiety, right? Yet, do mathematicians see the value this could have for a child that is interested in music? Or, do they see the benefits of allowing students with other interests or skills to focus on the math that best suits them?

The problem here isn't our hatred for math. The problem is our generalized educational system that doesn't address the individual needs of the real human beings that are sitting in our class rooms. Calling for a change in our attitude of math will never be enough for those who are not good at high level math. If that were the case then anyone who struggles in the game of basketball just needs an enthusiastic coach with a positive attitude and they will one day play like Michael Jordan, right? Wrong! Michael Jordan did have enthusiasm and a great work ethic but even his coaches stated that he was also blessed with the right kind of body and set of skills to do all that he did. They simply did what good coaches do with all of their players: recognize their gifts and help them develop them while placing them in situations where they could help benefit the team the most. Wouldn't it be nice if we did that for our children?

The same thing applies to every other person out there with their own special set of skills. It's time for us to recognize that once and for all and to do what is best for our children while we prepare them for their futures instead of trying to decide for them what they should know how to do in order to satisfy the egos of those who think they know what is best for all.


Carlos Arthur Solorzano
@csolorzano18 

Public Bathrooms: Let's Stop the Pissing Contest

I can't believe that we as Americans are arguing over where we use the restroom in public when there are still starving people without homes next to stadiums where athletes make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. However, the issue of gender inclusive bathrooms actually gives us a great opportunity to exercise the art of compromise if we actually take the time to think of what is best for everyone rather than just focusing on what we demand from others.

I don't buy the accusation that all who oppose gender inclusive bathrooms are bigots because there are parents with daughters who live in the real world who fear for situations such as this: https://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/10/20/transgender-woman-convicted-of-sexually-assaulting-10-year-old-girl-in-bathroom Aside from that, I remember when I attended Cal State Long Beach in the 1990's when there were multiple occasions where female students were warned that sexual predators were attacking women in the women's restroom during evening class hours. The school posted warning fliers all over campus and made sure they were posted specifically on the doors of each women's restroom with a strong recommendation that female students not enter any restroom alone after dark.  

And this was at a time when no transgender man was allowed in the women's restroom! 

Sorry folks, but that stayed with me even after I left college because I was scared for my female classmates, which also included my college sweetheart who later became my wife. And one would have to be foolish to think that my college campus was the only place where such a thing occurred. Now, having a daughter myself I don't just look back at a horrible memory but also at the fear of what could happen in the future. For these reasons alone I don't think it's worth the risk to allow biological men in the women's restroom because even one sexual assault is one too many.

Meanwhile, I remembered seeing transgender people on campus and of course at that time never wondered which restroom they would use because no one ever gave it a second thought. Thankfully, today's world has broadened my vision.

After having children I really appreciated the family restrooms you see at most malls because I preferred to change my kids in private and appreciated the toddler sized toilets that my kids could use as they went through toilet training. These restrooms also allowed me to be there with them with enough room to spare in order to make them feel comfortable since they were already in an unfamiliar room but now without strangers whose presence could make them feel uncomfortable.

Years later I started to hear people discuss the idea of a gender inclusive restroom. At first I thought such an idea was ridiculous but it didn't long for me to change my mind once I remembered my experience using the family restrooms. That is because those who installed these restrooms addressed the needs of those with small children, which of course does not include everyone that shops at the mall. Still, it told parents who wanted a little more privacy for their children that their concerns were valid and that these malls would do what they could to address that need.

Please remember that thought.

Then I really started to think about the issue from the perspective of the transgender community and realized that the traditional public bathroom could in fact be most awkward for them. If a biological man wears a dress I could see why he wouldn't be comfortable entering the men's room. However, even though this person identifies as a woman they still might feel uncomfortable using the women's room because they may not want to frighten a woman who might get the wrong idea about his reason for being there (imagine the 10 year old victim from the shared story as well as her female relatives). Like it or not, the transgender person is a member of our society and most likely a tax payer (had to put that in here since people in our society focus so much on money) so I don't see why their needs or most importantly, why their concerns should to be ignored.

Some might call the addition of gender inclusive bathrooms as a waste of tax money because of the belief that the percentage of such people is rather small but that is not a good enough reason not to provide such facilities. Family bathrooms are not always used by those with children and could possibly not be used for hours at a time but at least the option is available to parents who prefer to address the needs of their children in private. Why couldn't that option exist for those who aren't comfortable using the men's or women's room? 

Further, why do we assume that gender inclusive restrooms will only be used by transgender people? There have in fact been various men and women who have stated openly that they could care less what type of person is in a public restroom with them so they too would probably use the gender inclusive restroom. And let's not forget women who are tired of those long lines in the women's restroom. If they want to use the gender inclusive restroom then more power to them. For those reasons alone I say a facility is getting their money's worth to invest in such restrooms.

The main problem here are those from both sides of the aisle who want to make this a black and white issue. I think it's safe to say that such people are in fact partners in crime because they want our society to take the my way of the highway approach. First, we have those who do not want to consider the possibility of creating an gender inclusive bathroom. Then we have those who want to blur the gender gap all together.  Like other political extremists they are only thinking of their point of view and are pompous enough to expect the rest of us to conform to everything that they want.

This is the United States of America and like many other people I have my own moral persuasion and believe my point of view to be correct, at least most of the time. But I also realize that we will never agree on everything so we have find a way to live in harmony. We have churches and public places known as the gay community. We have libraries and adult entertainment shops. We have amusement parks and casinos. Some people disagree with and/or disapprove of those who frequent some of these places but yet these people are still allowed to go where they wish. No one is forced to go to any of these places against their will so why can't we be just as diverse with the types of public restrooms we provide for our citizens?

I do not agree with the idea of allowing a man to use the women's restroom or vice versa. However, I totally support the idea of providing gender inclusive bathrooms for those who choose to use them so long as we maintain the option of the men's, women's and family restroom. As far as I'm concerned that should make everyone happy because no one's needs are being ignored in the discussion.

If this is still not good enough then I guess the only option we have is to remodel all of our public bathrooms and create individual stalls for all while hopefully still providing family bathrooms for those with children. That way we can all have something in common, which is total privacy while we go about our business. If it were up to me I would go that route because we are all used to having such privacy at home, which is why some of us have a hard time relaxing in public.

We have already seen the results of forcing our agenda on others. States like North Carolina have lost big business from entities who disapprove of their strict public restroom law. Then there is Target who took a big financial hit thanks to their CEO telling mothers that their concerns were not important enough to him to cater to the needs of his customers since he wanted gender inclusive bathrooms. (Now Walgreens has given into such lobbyists so we'll wait to see how that will impact their bottom line). Meanwhile, there have been other cases of women being attacked other than the 10 year old girl in the story shared in this blog. To ignore such realities in order to push one's agenda is both selfish and irresponsible.

So we can finish this debate by adding an extra restroom or should we continue fighting over this nonsense because of those who are unwilling to compromise? Meanwhile, our roads need fixing, our schools need improvement, our Veterans need to be cared for and too many people are still sleeping outside with nothing in their bellies. 

There are more important things in life than this.

Carlos Arthur Solorzano
@csolorzano18