Themythof "smartness"

Throughout my school career, the idea of smartness was a very clear dividing line between communities, that is, until I reached high school where the student body was too big to really care about that kind of petty stuff. I used to hold smartness as a trophy that only me and a select few others can have, until I realized how embarrassing that was and the a person's character was not defined by their grades. And at a school like Rancho, the only thing people really cared about were their own stuff. And with the amount of extracurricular activities that students could attend, it was an easy thing to mingle amongst those who typically wouldn't be in your class due to numerous reasons.

So, with my experience being a stuck-up, snotty little smart kid who didn't care for others who weren't on the same level academically as me, I can easily redirect the egos of those students and show them a better way of spending that energy by having them help others and develop some compassion. Of course, their attitudes towards others will be addressed, and I'll make it clear that it won't be tolerated, but I do believe it would be beneficial for all students to help each other in class.

On the flip side, those students who have a more, negative mathematics identity will get confidence boosts if I have them explain correctly difficult math problems and methods in front of the class, which I find helpful for friends who weren't so great at math.

Thinking about student math identities obviously helps with finding the best ways to teach them.