TITLE: Papert 1: Mathophobia, Affect, Physicality, and Love AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford DATE: August 14, 2017 1:42 PM DESC: ----- BODY: I have finally started reading Mindstorms. I hope to write short reflections as I complete every few pages or anytime I come across something I feel compelled to write about in the moment. This is the first entry in the imagined series. In the introduction, Papert says:
We shall see again and again that the consequences of mathophobia go far beyond obstructing the learning of mathematics and science. The interact with other endemic "cultural toxins", for example, with popular theories of aptitudes, to contaminate peoples' images of themselves as learners. Difficulty with school math is often the first step of an invasive intellectual process that leads us all to define ourselves as bundles of aptitudes and ineptitudes, as being "mathematical" or "not mathematical", "artistic" or "not artistic", "musical" or "not musical", "profound" or "superficial", "intelligent" or "dumb". Thus deficiency becomes identity, and learning is transformed from the early child's free exploration of the world to a chore beset by insecurities and self-imposed restrictions.This invasive intellectual process has often deeply affected potential computer science students long before they reach the university. I would love to see Papert's dream made real early enough that young people can imagine being a computer scientist earlier. It's hard to throw of the shackles after they take hold.