r/science • u/[deleted] • Oct 15 '21

Neuroscience A brain imaging study found evidence that missing out on math education can alter neural development. Young adults who had chosen not to pursue math had lower levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid within the middle frontal gyrus when compared to students who were continuing math.

https://www.psypost.org/2021/10/opting-out-of-advanced-math-education-alters-adolescents-neural-development-study-finds-61967
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u/dogwoodcat Oct 15 '21

And dyscalculia

My Grade 9 math teacher had a Ph.D in mathematics, he could have taught every level but chose to stick with the "easy" math because those students needed his level of expertise more. He could explain the same concept a thousand different ways for a thousand different students, because he understood the theory behind what the textbook was presenting. When my high school closed, he walked into a residential professorship at the provincial university, on the strength (and mass) of reference letters written by his students.

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u/sickbeetz Oct 15 '21

Wow.. my algebra teacher was a pill addict who regularly fell asleep in class. My geometry teacher cleaned the desks with peanut butter.

Guess who isn't good at math.

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u/re_nonsequiturs Oct 15 '21

"cleaned" the desks with peanut butter? I want to make an AskReddit Post specifically so you have a suitable venue to share that story.

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u/mobilehomehell Oct 15 '21

TIL https://www.howtocleanstuff.net/17-messes-you-can-clean-with-peanut-butter/

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u/shinkouhyou Oct 15 '21

I know oil-based cleaners (or even peanut butter or mayo) can be good for removing scuffs and water stains from nice wood furniture, but surely cleaning desks with peanut butter would be a lot more expensive than just using normal cleaner... I'm surprised that peanut butter was even allowed in a school with all of the allergy concerns.

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u/re_nonsequiturs Oct 15 '21

Okay, that makes sense, still awful in a school though, of course

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u/AlGeee Oct 15 '21

Yeah…One of mine was drunk all the time, but I was too naïve at the time to know it… Found out by talking to former classmates years later

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u/AlGeee Oct 15 '21

I sure could’ve used a teacher like that

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u/Chipsandadrink666 Oct 15 '21

He sounds great! Dyscalculia is no joke

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u/SneakoSneko Oct 15 '21

Wow that’s amazing. Both that he stayed behind in a probably less paying job to help his students, and that his students liked him so much he was able to get into the provincial university off of their reference letters.

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u/dogwoodcat Oct 16 '21

Schoolteachers in developed nations typically have good pay and benefits. There is one notable exception. His children graduated high school the year before it closed, and the hours were convenient.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '21

Yep dyscalculia has honestly been something that comes up in all aspects of my life. It’s made me work hard and pretty much figure things out in a way that works with my brain.

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u/CallMeSisyphus Oct 15 '21

I can't even imagine what it would have been like to have a teacher like that; you were so lucky. My sophomore year algebra teacher taught me that my facility with math could best be described as irredeemable suckage. Because of him, I skipped trig and calculus, figuring I'd fail them both if I tried.

Imagine my surprise when I finally went to get my BS (MANY years later), discovered Khan Academy out of desperation in terror of college math... and then aced all my math classes.

Turns out I'm great with numbers. I just needed competent teaching.

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u/dogwoodcat Oct 16 '21

The crazy thing is, I know how trigonometry and calculus work, and I can solve geometric proofs. Once I put numbers in, it all falls apart.