Summary
Overview
Math learning expert Shalini Sharma challenges the myth that some people are naturally 'math people' while others aren't. Drawing from 12 years observing millions of students and visiting classrooms globally, she presents four steps to build a math mind: believe in yourself, understand concepts rather than memorize, make practice fun through games, and give math a second chance. She argues that with the right approach, anyone can develop mathematical thinking and even learn to love math.
The Myth of Being a 'Math Person'
Sharma opens with a powerful anecdote from her sons' pre-K pickup, where another mother declared her daughter 'just not a math kid' at age four. This moment crystallizes a pervasive problem in education where we label children as mathematically inclined or not from an early age. Unlike reading, where we would never accept leaving a child illiterate, we routinely accept mathematical illiteracy by deciding some kids simply aren't 'math people.'
- A mother at pre-K pickup labeled her four-year-old daughter as 'not a math kid' while declaring Sharma's boys were 'math kids'
- We would never accept labeling a child as 'not a reading kid' and leaving them illiterate, but we do exactly this in math
- Sharma has observed millions of students complete billions of math problems over 12 years while building the nonprofit Zearn
- The wrong question in math learning is 'who can learn math' when we should be asking 'how do you teach math'
" We're just not math people. "
" Can you imagine if we thought the same thing in reading? If a kid struggled and we said, she's just not a reading kid. And then we took away all the challenging books and writing assignments for the rest of her school years. "
" Instead of asking who can learn math, we should be asking, how do you teach math? Because when we ask who, we imply that math learning is some rare genetic ability. But it's not. "
Step One: Believe
Sharma shares her transformative sixth grade experience when a teacher told her she could be 'just as good as the boys' at math. Though problematic in its gender implications, this moment of belief from a respected teacher changed her life trajectory. She explains that all kids struggle in math at some point, but the difference between those who succeed and those who don't is whether someone believes in them—and whether they believe in themselves.
- In sixth grade, Sharma fell apart in math class after transferring schools and had no friends in the subject
- Her teacher told her 'if you try your very best, you could be just as good as the boys,' which changed the course of her life
- The teacher's belief started a chain reaction: she built courage to ask for help, did extra work, and became a 'math kid'
- All kids struggle in math, but the difference is whether someone believes in them so they do the work and catch up
- In math, falling behind signals we don't have what it takes and we give up, unlike other subjects where it signals to work harder
" If you try your very best, you could be just as good as the boys. "
" All kids, even the math kids, fall behind, struggle, or feel math anxiety. But the difference for those kids is someone believes. And so they do the work and they catch up. "
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