Breaking the Math Myth: Anyone Can Learn, Including You

It was her math paper, but with only 30 mins to go for the end of the exam, Riya stared at her paper blankly. Her heart was palpitating, sweat was rolling down her forehead, but try as she might, she couldn’t recall how to solve the problem. Is your situation like Riya's? Are you one of those people who turns the other way at the thought of math? Does your mind go blank after looking at even simple problems? Do you get panic attacks before your math exams? You are not alone. Trust me when I say math anxiety is real. It is the feeling of fear when you look at math problems. But this does not mean that you have to be crippled by math or that you will never be able to learn math. As much as math anxiety is real, it is also very easy to overcome it. We at AskMathGuru are there to help you with it. With simple animated stepwise explanations of problems, expert tips for solving problems, and inculcating math habits, your math journey can become awful to awesome in an instant. All you need is a little bit of patience and practice. So, let's deep dive into a few probable causes of math anxiety and how you can overcome it.

Math anxiety is the feeling of tension or fear that affects one’s math performance. Indeed, the estimates by the American Psychological Association suggest that around 20% to 25% of children experience math anxiety. Likewise, according to OECD, a substantial portion of students report experiencing anxiety related to math, with 59% saying they often worry about math class difficulty and 33% reporting feeling tense when doing math homework. One of the key factors for causing math anxiety is cultural beliefs or stereotypes. Few people believe that math ability is innate or inborn, and they are just not born with that ability.

Also, there is a prevalent stereotype that learning math is not for girls; only boys can learn math. Riya grew up hearing that girls are weak at math, and hence she never took an active effort to learn it. Likewise, there are a few others who have had negative experiences related to math, like harsh criticism from teachers or embarrassment in front of peers, and so on. Public humiliation by teachers can make your esteem take a deep dive and make you lose interest in math for life. Furthermore, some are the innocent victims of poor teaching methods, such as rote memorization instead of explaining the concepts or one-size-fits-all teaching methods. What’s more, a few of us can feel the pressure of getting correct answers quickly or fear being judged. All of these and many more reasons can lead to math anxiety.

That being said, although the feelings behind the fear of math are real, the fears usually are not. For instance, math is a learnable skill; with proper focus, anyone can learn math. Remember, practice makes man perfect. Similarly, math is not gender specific; there are numerous female mathematicians to prove the point. Also, those who fear making mistakes, remember, mistakes are a part of natural learning. They are the building blocks for laying a solid conceptual foundation of mathematics. Rome was not built in a day; likewise, you cannot be an expert in math at once. But by taking baby steps and learning math methodically, you will be on your way to becoming a pro at math.

Now that we have debunked the fears surrounding math, let's focus on how you can overcome them.

Growth mindset: First things first, mind over matter. Embracing a positive mindset instead of a negative one can work wonders in your mathematical journey. Instead of thinking “I am bad at math” or “math is not for me,” you should think “I am still learning” or “I can do it.”

Build a solid foundation: Keep on revisiting basic concepts in math. You can use visual aids, real-world applications, or any method that suits you the best to clarify your concepts about math. With a solid base in math, solving complex problems will be a piece of cake. AskMathGuru has step-by-step video tutorials to guide you through the details of each mathematical concept.

Use alternative techniques: there are various resources available, such as visual techniques, animated videos, and real-life applications for learning math that can not only make it easy but also fun. Reframe mistakes in a positive light: Treat mistakes as a stepping stone to laying brickwork for your mathematical foundation. Analyze where you went wrong instead of judging yourself. Understanding mistakes will help you avoid such mistakes in the future. You can also make use of the question bank at AskMathGuru to practice many problems of similar type.

Relaxation: Learn to relax your mind. You can try a few mindfulness techniques or breathing exercises to reduce anxiety or fear of math. Break the problems into small, manageable tasks so as not to overwhelm yourself.

To summarize the topic, math anxiety is real but not unconquerable. With a positive approach towards math, you can overcome and allay any fears you have about math. You are not bad at math; you just haven’t found your way.