FamiLee Life

Got Math?

Of the 1,116 doctorates awarded by U.S. mathematics departments in 2004-5, 434 of them — or 39 percent — went to Americans, according to the math society's survey. Of those recipients, one was American Indian, 21 were Asian, 14 were black, 12 were Hispanic, and three were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders. Women made up 28 percent of the Americans. From Chronicles of Higher Education article on Black Mathematicians

This is a very interesting set of statistics. The vast majority of PhDs awarded in mathematics go to international students (61%). As expected these days, other racial groups in the United States lag behind their population estimates. Asian Americans are just keeping up with our population numbers at 4.8%. Shock, gasp! Although we are portrayed as model minorities who excel in subjects such as math, the numbers suggest otherwise. Perhaps more of us are going into math-related fields, such as engineering and computer science. It also is probably the case that many of the international students are of Asian descent. Still, in terms of the stereotype, this 4.8% stat gives further proof that we don't all excel in math (or at least excel to the level of PhD).

Take my career in math. In middle school, I recall being one of those kids to sneak a crib sheet into the classroom during a math test. I felt so guilty afterwards that it never occurred again. Still, I guess I felt a strong pressure to perform well in math because I never engaged in such blatant cheating in other courses. In my junior year of high school, I had decided to completely slack off and not read any textbooks or assigned readings for the year (more or less). Slacking off somehow translated into A and B grades, except in math -- I got a D. In college, I took all the basic math courses to get my requirements over and done. For my psychology major, however, I had to take statistics. It was abstract and hard to grasp. I got my only C. Two years later, I went on to graduate school in psychology, terrified of my statistics courses given my past experiences. To my surprise, I did well in the courses. Somewhere along the way, things crystallized and it started to make sense. Maybe I was a late bloomer in math/statistics (true). But I had gained practical experience with survey data in between college and graduate school and I strongly believe that this research experience made statistics more meaningful.

So, perhaps this is the key...perhaps we just need to make math come alive more to younger generations of children. Role models, mentors, practical and interesting case studies and real life examples...these things can make a big difference. Inspiring children to see the value in the abstract.