One of today’s tasks was to watch a short video of university students who describe difficulties they had with school mathematics. This concept map (below) summarises their perceptions of maths.
Similarly, a lot of adults talk about the trauma they experienced at school related to maths. As I meet people and tell them I’m a maths teacher, the usual response by adults of all backgrounds and careers is “I was so bad at maths.” A lot of highly successful adults hated maths at school and still think they are bad at it.
I have become very concerned with the way parents talk about their lack of maths ability in front of their children. For example, on parents’ evening I often hear a parent say, “I can’t help her with her maths homework at all. I am so bad at maths.” I think this is a very irresponsible thing for a parent to say. It doesn’t help the child see that maths is something at which they can improve. I am still looking for a tactful and helpful reply to these adults!
Was maths traumatic at school for you?
How would you reply to an adult who was traumatized by maths?