@ the italian primary school :: 22 :: a look at matematica

A friend once gave me this to ponder: Why is it okay for an educated person to feel good in saying, "I'm not good at math. I can't do math"? Yet, you'll rarely, if ever, hear an educated person say: "I'm not good at reading. I'm an awful writer."  

Matematica is Young One's favorite subject as a fourth grader; it is also her teacher's favorite subject, resulting in a match made in heaven. And it does lead me wonder about the true nature of the cause and effect of this love of mathematics. Teachers do inspire; they do make a difference. I'm thankful that she got a math-centered one...for five years, and am very happy to report that she is thriving, even though she is a girl. Ahem.

Word Problem:  At Alessandro's school there are 391 students, in which 11/23 are male. How many girls are there?

Word Problem: Caterina is reading a 180 page book. At this time she has read 7/12 of it. How many more pages does she have to read?

She may not always love math but I'm grateful that she is off to a good start....and, maybe, just maybe she won't one day join the masses who claim "I'm not good in math," especially since she is a girl.