Gayathri Srinath analyses why Math anxiety is common across classrooms and what causes the building up of this fear or dislike among children.
Multiplication is vexation,
Division is just as bad;
The rule of three perplexes me,
And practice drives me mad. – Old Rhyme
Across classrooms, one thing is common - fear/dislike of Maths or Math anxiety. Most of the students go for Math tuitions even when they are able to manage other subjects on their own and most students fail or score poorly in Maths. While on the one hand, we have a huge body of students having apathy/fear towards maths, on the other hand, the maximum opportunities for a secure future depend on your ability to do well in Maths. In any competitive exam, the toughest section is again Math.
Math anxiety vs other subjects
* Memory capacity and total pass: Math is a subject which through its nature, builds on the previous knowledge and unless that knowledge is in place, no amount of practice would be meaningful. As Math is a subject that cannot be memorised but only applied, in our rote learning classrooms with large emphasis on memory than understanding, we get a majority of students who are pushed to the next class in lower classes thanks to their memory capacity and to the policy of no retention due to failure.
* Understanding concepts: Hence, students never realise the importance of understanding concepts in Maths until high school. The result is the excess number of kids who need bridge courses to bridge this gap. But, who will do that? Not the class room teacher who already has his plate full with the prescribed syllabus; not the parents who have no time/interest; and not even tuition centers who are into making money and not explaining concepts. To make matters worse, each child needs a bridge course in a different concept and most times, the kids do not even know which concepts they are weak in. But, everyone demands results from the poor kid who is already under pressure.
n Changing attitudes: A kid who is doing poorly in maths needs empathy and support but is often ridiculed and labelled as dumb/below average. Maths as a subject is understood only by the so called intelligent in our society, which lays a lot of emphasis on the same. Of all changes, changing attitude is the hardest. Sadly, teachers do not realise how powerful they can be in molding attitudes of kids towards maths at an impressionable age.
Causes of Math dislike
* Abstract concepts: Math being an abstract science, kids cannot relate it to daily life unlike other subjects where linking the subject to daily life is easy. A child cannot understand the use of solving Pythagoras theorem or algebraic equations in daily life, unless the teacher takes the pain to tell some applications of the same in real life, which is mostly not done.
* Alien symbols: The symbols used in Maths like sigma, square root etc are also alien and scary to many.
* Constant attention: It requires constant practice to do well unlike other subjects that can be studied just before exams.
* Rote learning: Maths cannot be memorised but has to be understood which requires more effort that most kids dislike. Maths is not for the lazy student but requires daily diligence and effort.
* Math ability: Too much emphasis on Math ability as a marker for intelligence causes average and below average kids to develop a gradual dislike for the subject.
* Authority failure: A majority of kids who fare poorly in Maths do not have any numerical disability called dyscalculia but are labelled as unsuitable to pursue Maths or below average without diagnosing the real problem by proper authorities authorised to do so. For those kids who are diagnosed to have a Math disability, special education with individual attention is the only remedy.
* Real learning: Many kids do not know how to study Maths. When a kid gets stuck while doing a problem, he just opens the text book/note book at the particular place where he got stuck, sees the solution and continues onward with the problem. This is essentially copying from the text book/notebook and not real learning.
Unfortunately, during exams, he cannot copy from anywhere except from his brain, where learning has not happened. That s/he had done the same problem at home but not do it in the exam makes matters worse. Learning is complete only when students do the sum without referring.
* Marks and grades: Too much emphasis on marks and grades by adults and not on efforts made and learning taken place, worsens the situation.
* Aptitude: “I do not have aptitude for Maths as my mother also was bad at Math,” said a student enquired about her difficulty with Maths. But often, this is just an excuse to escape hard work.
* Fight/flight: Fear of Maths results in fight/flight response. Flight, which is the reason for blank out during exams as the mind is coping with avoiding (flight), is the stress factor. The other option, Fight, is better for doing well in Maths, but that cannot happen without adequate preparation.
Due to some or all the above, over a period of time, Math anxiety develops. Kids in pre-primary hardly have this phobia and they merrily do sums as they study the other subjects happily. But when these causes of Math anxiety are not addressed in early years, they keep building on and by the time kids reach high school, we have a complex problem on hand which no one wants to solve but everyone wants to blame on others. But, unlike a problem in Maths which has one solution or sometimes two solutions, the solution for this problem is different for each kid. It is difficult and requires individual effort by parents, students and teachers, which by itself is difficult again but possible.