Overview
Math is an integral part of life, yet some students find it more than difficult to study it because of anxiety over doing math. There are practical solutions that will lead from math avoidance to math success, but that will not come overnight. The coiled fire-breathing dragon named Math does not magically turn into a tiny lizard without some hard work.
Figure 1: Shrinking a dragon takes strategy.
You Are Not Alone
Perhaps your math anxiety stems from a second-grade teacher who believed that “girls can’t do math” or a seventh-grade teacher who taught that some students were naturally better at math, and you weren’t one of them. Whatever the cause, the idea of mathematics and thinking with numbers sets up a cycle of paranoia and panic.
Math Is Part of Life
You, the student, may have to take algebra as a graduation requirement, or prepare for the math portion of the SAT, or the math portion of any of the standardized tests in your state to fulfill graduation requirements. When you are out of school, you will still need math: figuring out a budget, keeping a checkbook balanced, or paying for groceries. Maybe you work part-time at a fast-food restaurant and work with numbers all the time with the help of a cash register. Your future may include working in an office, calculating financial eligibility for clients, or calculating the cost of parts and labor as an auto mechanic. Numbers are all around us, whether we like it… or not.
Figure 2: Numbers are all around us. Do you see the parabola or feel like cliff-diving?
Everyone Has Questions…and They’re Not Stupid
You are sitting in math class, and the teacher says something that you don’t understand. What do you do? You have three choices: Raise your hand and ask the question now, write it down (I don’t get X), and ask later, or hope that subject isn’t on the test. Fast-forward to Future You sitting in a class that involves math. (Scary, huh?) The teacher says something in math language, and they might as well be teaching the class in Old High Vulcan. “WAIT A MINUTE,” Future You says inside. “I DON’T GET THIS.” At the same time, your classmate Dave says out loud, “Go back and explain that one again, Teach.” He didn’t get it either. The teacher explains that concept, and then adds another concept. This time your classmate Cindy Lou says, “I don’t understand. Can you try that one a different way?” You get the picture. Everyone doesn’t understand sometimes. Ask your teacher questions, or your math tutor, or the textbook when you are working homework. (The family dog may be confused, but Fido will get over it.)
Figure 3: Choose your strategy when you don’t understand something in class.
How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
If you play an instrument, you’ve heard this one. You get to Carnegie Hall by practicing every day. Your music teacher expects you to play scales or vocalize over and over again. If you are on a sports team, your coach has you do drills before the big game, running the same track day after day. If you drive a car, you practice driving before you get your driver’s license. Math is no different. Think of your math homework as math practice, and your tutor as your coach. Some of the strategies can include ways to estimate the answer before working on the problem, breaking the problem into parts to solve simpler problems, sketching the problem you are solving before writing the equation, and using what you know.
Figure 5: Think of your math tutor as your coach.
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