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Submitted via IRC for chromas
Think you're bad at math? You may suffer from 'math trauma'
I teach people how to teach math, and I've been working in this field for 30 years. Across those decades, I've met many people who suffer from varying degrees of math trauma – a form of debilitating mental shutdown when it comes to doing mathematics.
When people share their stories with me, there are common themes. These include someone telling them they were "not good at math," panicking over timed math tests, or getting stuck on some math topic and struggling to move past it. The topics can be as broad as fractions or an entire class, such as Algebra or Geometry.
[...] One of the biggest challenges U.S. math educators face is helping the large number of elementary teachers who are dealing with math trauma. Imagine being tasked with teaching children mathematics when it is one of your greatest personal fears.
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Monday November 05 2018, @03:55PM (2 children)
I think math "trauma" might be a bit excessive as a term, but I have long suffered a sort of math "recoil".
When I was a kid I was always good at basic math. I even did well at beginning algebra. Then I hit freshman algebra. The teacher of that class had, straight up, the worst halitosis I have ever encountered. He was a poor teacher and I learned early on never to ask him for personal help because his bad breath would make me physically ill. Of course, if you get a little behind in algebra, the game is up. I barely passed.
In subsequent years I found that I did great in geometry and even did all right in college algebra, but still had an aversion to higher math. Every time I see an advanced math problem, I can almost smell Mr. Black's rancid breath in my face.
Fortunately, coding is more a matter of logic than pure mathematics and I've made a good career at it, despite being poor at math.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 05 2018, @04:38PM (1 child)
Trauma probably isn't hyperbole. I've dealt with students that are every bit as traumatized by their experiences with math as people who have been sexually assaulted or been in combat.
It's not something that makes rational sense, but if emotions were rational, we'd live in a very different place. And over the years of having the same negative reaction to the idea that it's scary, it can become a rather large bogeyman to fight with just on the off chance that you can do it. Usually, those kinds of students can do it, they just need enough psychological help to see some success. Once they connect the idea that they can do the work with success they tend to do just fine.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 06 2018, @05:12PM
It does make rational sense when you remember that the conditioning in schools is fear based. Fear of punishment, fear of ridicule and the fear of future economic destitution (never mind the fact that may or may not come regardless of your education--that's not what they're taught). The regime of fear is designed to try to tame even the most unruly pupils, so some are bound to wind up with some kind of PTSD in later life. But hey, work ethic, amirite? Gotta keep feeding fresh drones to that corporate hive.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.