What if #3

This post is an invitation to you to think about the word in the middle of life: IF (L-IF-E). Each week the Rivera Runs Through It blog will present a different "What If...?" question for you to explore. Some will be serious, some will be silly, some might be political, religious or historical.

You can either write a response of your own, or just tune in to see what everyone else has to say about it. At the bottom of this post will be a place for you to link up your own post about the question, so feel free to share. If you have arrived at this post and the inlinkz tool is closed, or you don't have a blog, then please leave your response (or link) in the comment section below using DISQUS.

***If you have a What IF? question you would like to submit as a possible future prompt, please do so in the Rivera Runs Through It Community What If discussion.***

Happy pondering to everyone...


Getting ready for back to school, here is our

What IF #3:

What if saying "I'm not good at Math" had the same stigma as "I can't read"?

Let me set the scene: You go out to eat with a large group, when it comes time to split the bill, suddenly everyone starts averting their eyes - some fumble for smartphones with calculators, some start up conversations with the nearest friend, but then someone, inevitably, grabs the bill, with a tired, "I'll do it." Everyone else exhales - thankfully, one of the attendees is a "math person."

Situations like these are all too commonplace, and the fluidity with which people will admit, "I can't do math," is even more so. Yet the opposite is never even a consideration. What if we behaved similarly when the menus showed up? Would people be as comfortable saying, "Someone else grab the menu and order for me; I can't read." Reading is fundamental, society seems to agree upon this fact, we work hard to ensure that our citizens can read well enough to function in our world of words, but, for some reason, we fall short in empowering each other in our world of numbers.

Why is it socially acceptable to not be a math person? What if it wasn't? What if numeracy was as valued as literacy?

This week What If prompt challenges us to think about a different world - one where numeracy and literacy are equally valued in social circles. As you respond, think about how this would change your perspective of the two subjects, how would it alter children's perspectives? Would this be powerful  enough to have an affect on the education system, or do you think it is not that important after all?

I'd love to hear (read) your viewpoints no matter what they are! For readers without a blog of your own, I'd love to see your response here in the comments section. If you have a blog, use the in linkz tool below to write your post and link it up!

For a list of all of the What if questions asked so far, 

see The What If Prompts