A child in your class says, "I hate math! I'm not good at math, and I never will be!" What experiences do you think this child has had in his/her life that contributes to this child's feelings about his or herself, math, and his or her relationship to math?
I myself was and still at times am just like this child. I used to hate math, because I felt like I was not good at it. If I wasn't making A's, I felt like I was failing and feelings of failure made me despise the subject. I believe that this child has had to experienced some failure along the way, which is why he hates math. Those feelings could come from the material being too advanced and it not being in their ZPD level causing frustration. It could come from the child making bad scores because he or she was not explained or taught the subject well, but I think it had to of come from the student not feeling like they are able to succeed in the matter being taught. For my brother, he hated math because he made B's and C's whereas I would make A's and B's and he felt like he didn't understand it as easily as I did so he wouldn't want to try. I think all students start to dislike subjects when they don't see any hope in succeeding.
