Yes, Virginia – What your teacher thinks about math does matter

ABC News is reporting on a new study that says girls are good at math, but teachers may make them anxious about it.

Math anxious female teachers are passing along their phobias to the girls in the classroom. Boys, somehow, are not so impacted.

This is an important issue because about 90 percent of elementary school teachers are females.

Also, at least in Kentucky, a teacher can be certified as an elementary school teacher after taking only one math course in college – a course called “elementary math” that is taught below the level of college algebra. That makes elementary education a haven for math phoebes who cannot pass the math requirements for other college degrees (none of the other degrees accept “elementary math” as an acceptable credit).