Is anyone else scared of Math?

Question

All my life I've been horrible at Math and during college I always avoided taking Math courses. To this day (I'm 24) I am terrible at Math and I've come to the conclusion that there is no hope for me, even with a tutor. I excel in all my other courses, but Math is like a nightmare for me.

Answer 1

I am good at math and have tutored math in college. Math is a good exersize in both logical thinking and concentration. For this reason, taking math classes is valuable even though you may never use that math in your daily life. Many people feel stupid when they come across a new or difficult concept, and so many teachers are egomaniacs with fears of their own that they don't open the subject up to their students in a non-threatening way, which further propagates the uncomfortable experience. You probably had some really bad experiences with math when you were very young and these feeling get triggered every time you try to tackle a math problem.
It is true that some people are naturally better at math and logical thinking than others. You might find your talents best used by studying other subjects. But if you are required to pass a certain level of math to follow your dream, you must believe that you can handle it! You have to take the time, put in an honest effort, and dump tutors until you find one who can meet you on your level and really help you to understand. A good tutor really can make all the difference in the world. Unfortunately the qualities that make a tutor good in math may preclude any real talent in communication, so you have to keep looking. If you really want to learn some math, start yourself over as a math baby and lose all your pride and ask all the dumb questions you can. Go backwards until you get to something you understand and build on that. Be open minded -- You can do it! Good luck!

Answer 2

The reason you are scared of math courses and have always been horrible at math is probably because you don't really understand the concept of a fraction. If you go to your local Wal-Mart, purchase a grade 5 booklet on fractions in the school supply section, and study it until you understand it, then your fear of math will be gone. Almost everything in undergraduate mathematics revolves around or uses the concept of a fraction.

Here's the catch... It will take you a while to get through that little booklet and you will get frustrated. However, if you stick with and conquer the beast known as fractions, then your mathematical life will be changed. I'm not joking.

Answer 3

I think it depends on the teacher and how it is explained and taught. I am homeschooled, and the program I first used for Algebra was terrible, I got REALLY bad grades on it and did not get it at all. I mean it was bad. So we got a new program and now I am getting straight A's!! In my new program the teacher really explained it well, and now it is so easy for me. If it's really hard and you just don't understand it, try a new program, a new teacher, etc. It really helped me.

At least you say you are doing great at everything else! And hey, there IS more to life than Math! As long as you know how to add and that very simple stuff you should do fine!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

Answer 4

Hi,
The thing about math is that it builds on previous knowledge. For example, first you learn how to add, then subtract, then multiply, then divide. You can't jump into learning how to multiply until you first learn how to add. And you can't learn how to divide until you know how to add, subtract, and multiply. So when people have trouble learning math is usually because they've tried to skip over something. This is a simple example, but the idea is the same at any level of math. The best thing to do is to go back to the beginning and learn it one step at a time. It's definitely worth your while, and you may find that you really enjoy it. I'm a math major, and I've had to do this. I hope this helps helps.

Answer 5

I'm a math teacher. I've taught students from second grade up to college calculus. And I can assure you, you are not alone. In fact, you are not even in a minority.

The truth is, most students are afraid of math. Most elementary school teachers are afraid of math, and they pass it on to most of their students. In fact, if you've never had a really good math teacher, or someone in your life who was really passionate about math, you may never have the opportunity to enjoy it.

With most of my students who are afraid of math, I recognize that they have much more potential then they know. They do not live up to their potential because they believe math is something they can never understand. This is the hardest thing about being a teacher. I'm sure in your case, it is no different--you are not nearly as hopeless as you think.

I recently met someone who told me she wanted to be a doctor, but when she realized she would have to take math to get into medical school, she decided to go into nursing instead. I hate to think that mathphobia is responsible for people giving up on their dreams.

The first thing you need to do is fire your tutor. If your tutor is not working for you, get someone else. There are plenty of free tutoring services available, and plenty of people who will work with you if you can pay them. You should find a tutor you feel comfortable with, but you also want to make sure it's a person who is passionate about the subject. I've seen so many tutors who think that just because they did well in high school math, they are going to be good tutors. It's not true. A good math tutor is someone who loves math, and can help the student overcome his/her fears by showing him/her the beauty of mathematics.

You can only reach your potential if you truly enjoy what you are doing. That is true in any endeavor, but it's especially true in math.

Let me know if that helps.
--smeltzer2003

Answer 6

Math is a logical art. If you have no logic, then you have no math skills. Sorry to be mean, but it is a subject based in strict rules and often creative responses, thus it being an art. Pick up "The man who only loved numbers" by Paul Hoffman to see just how cool it is. THe book is a quick, entertaining read, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Answer 7

Hi:

Yes, we all been scared of Math. But what we were really afraid of was failing. This I think was cause by our parent's expection of us. However like my school teacher said to me one time is " Don't let numbers and math intimidate you. Remember you are the Master of them, if you remember to setup your problem propertly and to take each operation one step at a time, and take your time, with practice and time you will be good" and she said this too:

" Set your problem up first by writing the following things:

1) What are the known values of the problem? Write them down

2) What is the problem asking you to solve?

3) Write the math formula for sloving the problem down , Rearrange it if necessary to get the answer.

4) Plug in the numbers and start sloving it , step by step. Label each of the steps with what operation in Math your doing { this will make it easier to back track your steps if you make a mistake}

5) When your reach the end of sloving it and you got a number. write the orginal formula down and Plug in the sloved number and all other known values of the problem in the orginal formula and take it step by step, labeling what math operation you using at that step, and see if it equal the value on the other side of the "=" sign.

6) If the value equals the value on other side of the equation then your done, if not backtrack and find your error

7) correct your error and redo # 4 until they do # 6


this my dear boy will never fail you. And you will alway pass Math by doing this" which I took to heart and now I enjoy math


So take your time and have some fun with. After all you are the Master of it. Failing will help you to learn but don't give up. remember that great people in history suffered a lot of failures but they were successful, by not giving up, working at it and learning from their failures until they got it right or were successful.



So don't be afraid.

Answer 8

Math is so fun for me to the point that I even majored in it when I was in university. I double majored in math and computer science. Math is fun. My most favorite classes were Abstract Algebra and Number Theory.

Answer 9

i was really scared of maths at first till my first year for engineering.... then things started to change as the professors were a whole lot better... they gave us an inspiration to learn the subject... it was competition which compelled me to be make myself ahead of others.... finally with combined study with friends and ofcourse competition to finish sums the fastest with the correct answer... my nightmare ended! i am a hell lot better now at maths thanx to the competition and teamwork!
my advice is that u have to like the subject in order to learn it!
;) by the way i'm 21 now and i completed my engineering!

Answer 10

Math was always my favorite subject in school and I have passed that down to both of my kids as math is their best subject!