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Challenging adults to stop being openly negative about maths is hard because it's a pretty sore spot for some & we don't want to make anything worse (or start an argument). But leaving it to fester isn't good either.

So when *you* call out public negativity towards maths... How?

Sometimes I like to dig around a bit and find out what they actually *mean*. "I [hate\am bad at\etc] maths" doesn't really contain much info when you think about it: what do you mean by "maths"? How would you recognise it if it entered the room? What are your criteria for not being able to "do" it? What does "doing" and "not doing" maths look like to you? What do you think the difference is between people who "can do maths" and those who "can't do maths"?

@TeaKayB there was a lot of interesting discussion already about communicating with parents. There is a pressing need to communicate how to support ss at home and some structured opportunities to talk about this (which others dug into) But when I read this post I first saw the part above about convincing math haters and I'd like to speak to that general point. First, like all opinions you have to accept you will not win over everyone. And also like in general there is a time and place for such discussions. Most casual conversations are probably not the right one and it's best handled with a small gesture that you have a different opinion, normalizing this attitude is not universal.

Ultimately, I think we need more positive modeling of interest in math and integration of math into daily life and culture rather than attempts at directly explaining "don't say I hate math". There's more bang for the buck, in a cool demo or talk that you excitedly tell others about, wearing a math themed shirt, a TV special about a mathemetician, putting up a picture of math art, etc than in direct lectures trying to change minds.

@benleis
I don't think I'm trying to 'win everyone over' to maths. I just want people to stop being so kneejerk negative about it all the time. Yes, part of this is about gaining the confidence to show off your own love of maths, part of this is about better educational opportunities (for adults, whether formal or informal, but especially the latter), but part of it must be pointing out that the level of vitriol with which so many people react to the merest mention of mathematics is just bizarre.

People (a group which notably includes children) are immersed in a society composed of people who reacts to mentions of mathematics in a way that, were they to react in the same way to a different benign interest, would lead to them being sat down in a quiet room, provided with a glass of water and asked if they needed to talk about something because that really wasn't rational way to respond to someone who mentioned that they liked stamp collecting.

I'm trying to find relatively nice and non-confrontational ways of saying "please realise that what you're doing is not only really weird but also actively damaging so please think about not doing it any more, or at least toning it down a bit in front of the kids," because letting it continue isn't really a viable option.

@TeaKayB @benleis This: "level of vitriol with which so many people react to the merest mention of mathematics is just bizarre".

@DavidKButler @benleis
Yes, indeed. When the opportunity arises those of us with the confidence and patience to do so must try. On other occasions a friendly "that's a bit of an odd reaction, are you alright mate?" might at least plant a seed of thought.