Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Do you think this indicates math talent?

My son struggled very much in math until he heard a mathematician on public radio talking about number theory and creativity expressed in math. His teacher at the time said "let him do whatever he will do", so he did number theory unit in the grade level and then continued flying through math.

I think we underestimate the significance of social pressure. My sister was average in math, had a terrible math teacher in high school and struggled. I was 6 years younger and somehow came to the conclusion that *I* was bad at math. I had D's and F's in math in high school - at first from a poor parochial middle school with poorly-trained teachers and curriculum outdated by a generation - then from giving up. As adults, my sister is pursuing an accounting degree (surprise!) and I took a college math class - skipping on class in the normal progression and coming out with an A- anyway (surprise!). My sister and I succumbed to beliefs that we were incapable of learning math. The only thing we actually lacked was self-efficacy.

My sister, my son, and myself all struggled with our thoughts about our abilities rather than our actual abilities. Perhaps a little nurturing and encouraging will help your daughter to discover whatever she is capable of.