SFP 111 What Is It With Kids and Math? How Learning Math Teaches Kids About the Value of "Getting Stuck" with Ben Orlin

If you have been around kids and schools, you'll notice that for some kids concepts around math come easy while for others it can seem like a constant uphill battle. Is it true that some of us were just not wired to learn math? Is it how math is taught? Or is there more to it? Today we talk not just about this issue but we also zoom out to the more general life lesson of "getting stuck" and we are joined by an expert in the field - teacher, speaker and author Ben Orlin. At a math teacher Ben saw how kids sometimes get stuck on trying only to get the right answer without "sitting" in the problem and perhaps seeing things from different angles. He brings to life some great examples in history where breakthroughs have emerged from smart people getting stuck and he makes a great point for why this should be something we value and teach to our kids as well. Ben, author of the upcoming Math For English Majors is a genius at making the "hard" things (like math concepts) easy to understand and you will love our conversation.