I've hated math since I was a kid. A lot of people I know hate it. Has anyone done studies which show why?

Question

I have heard that public schools in the U.S. tend to teach the subject from a 'left brained' perspective, which is where mathematics belongs, I guess, in the grand scheme of things.
Is there a technique for those who are 'right brained?'

Answer 1

usually people hate what they do not know
when someone is ignorant in Math, he hates the subjects

Answer 2

Everyone doesn't have to like math, just like everyone doesn't have to like the color purple. No one is calling for a study on why people like or dislike the color purple. If people don't like math, they should pursue other interests because that's what makes society great. We all like different things and are good at different things. Someone needs to fix my car when it's messed up even if they can't do advanced algebra. Somehow math has been glorified (not that I disagree with math kicking a** though). It has wrongly been taught for a million reasons (for example, I think we should integrate math into other subjects such as physics in high school, etc. rather than teach it by itself because you get the why do I need to know this crap question). Anyways, being smart does not mean being able to do math. We all have multiple intelligences. And that's what I believe!

Answer 3

I'd say a lot of times the big hump to get over is algebra. Many people just can't wrap their head around the idea that letters can represent numbers in an interchangeable way.

I remember in Grade 5, when we were studying trig equalities and we had been shown that sin(x-y) = sinxsiny - cosxcosy... well one of the students went to the teacher because she was stuck... she didn't know what to do with sin(y-x)!!!

Another big hump that most people don't encounter (but some do, in higher math courses) is the idea of identity. At some level, the "=" sign doesn't mean that the RHS and LHS equal the same "amount". It means they are the same thing. 1+1 does not "equal" 2, it IS 2. But that's another story.

Answer 4

A lot of mathematicians I know consider themselves right-brained. There is a lot of left-brained-ness required, but for most of them, it just happens at a subterranean level.

Maybe the first thing you should do is become comfortable with the idea that mathematics is a human pursuit, with a sense of aesthetics. Pick up some books on famous mathematicians like Gauss, Poincare, or Ramanujan. Get some books with graphics in them.

If you're associated with a university, try getting a copy of Mathematica. It's a software package, and it knows more math than your average college kid. Think of it as a high-powered calculator. You can use it to plot colorful 2D and 3D graphs, solve equations, and just generally tinker around. If playing around sounds OK to you, I think you're already halfway there.

I used it to make some colorful 3D geometric shapes out of construction paper, and hung those up as a mobile for my son. Geeky, yes, but I enjoyed it.

Answer 5

Maybe you feel overwhelmed with all the new concepts. If you are still in the pre-algebra level, maybe you just need an extra push- try to stay after school and see if your teacher will help you. Now as for the algebra level and beyond, maybe its the entire concepts. Try to see things from a different perspective. I know that when I get stuck on a problem and the teacher shows it to me, I see that I could have done it, I just needed to see it differently. It may seem tough to see things differently but try and maybe this helps.

I don't know of any studies that have shown why but I hope this helps you with math.

Answer 6

Everything from Carpentry to Engineering to what time is the moon going to rise on New Years day is based on mathematic calculations. Math is little more that a scientific extension of pure logic. And just as old age is no place for sissies, math is no place for dummys or people to lazy to try to reason things out..........

Answer 7

In my early days as a secondary teacher of mathematics in Australia, it quickly struck me that around 70% of students tended to not enjoy mathematics the way that I did despite the fact that I taught it as I had been taught.

AND this is the main downfall of all teachers who avoid addressing learning styles ... they think that if their teachers were successful with them then they have the formula for success. It does not register that they were able in that subject and their learning style matched the teacher's teaching style, in this case mathematics.

After many years of thinking about it and in the end learning about how people learn I realised that the liking of mathematics was pretty well proportional to a person's success at it and this became the key to having students succeed.

So if a student was to enjoy the study of mathematics the person had to become successful at it and success at it related to the person's ability to learn it as well.

One of my primary goals in class was therefore to make my lessons enjoyable to whatever students I was teaching and I had to modify my teaching therefore to my students, not expect them to modify their learning to me.

In the teaching therefore the lessons had to revolve around how the student best learnt it. If the student's abilities were not at a high level the lessons had to be practical and hands on in nature and the developmental steps had to be small and deliberate. As success breeds success, the enjoyment rises and the students open their minds to more learning.

It is truly wonderful to have students just enjoy being in your class and learning despite their abilities. That is when you know you are a teacher ... when you know you can teach ANY student.

It disappoints me to think that some decide that just because a person has difficulties or is unsuccessful, they are lazy or are dummies.

After all there are even bright students who can be failures because their learning is boring. Albert Einstein was one such student in high school. He failed Physics!! Can you imagine?? And yet he certainly was no dummy!!

The challenge is for the teacher to ignite the fire in the student's belly not for the student to light his/her own fire!

Answer 8

math is an objective subject while most of the arts subjects are subjective.in the sense in math either you know or you dont.it is kind of black or white.no gray shades in between where as in almost all other subjects there are many shades of gray in between.may be that is the reason why people hate mathematics even though they do not HATE certain other subjects in which they are equally poor.

Answer 9

I had a lot of trouble with 'math anxiety' when I was in high school. Don't know why. Probably mean teachers, teachers with lilttle patience or no ability or desire to teach, or maybe they were just not cut out to teach math, which isn't their fault necessarily, but it still amounts to problems for a student.

I tend to think it comes from just not being 'ready', and/or being forced to do something that seemingly doesn't make any sense at all, and then having to swallow al kinds of resentment over it.

I became curious on my own. Did a lot of reading and practice problems, by the time I went to college (late) I was 'ready' for it all to make sense. Now I look at it as more of a puzzle, kind of like a crossword puzzle, even tho I dislike crossword puzzles personally.

If you look at it from a LESS realistic point of view, it's easier to take, but then you have to reverse yourself a bit because most if ot does indeed make ttoal sense. It's some of the abstract stuff that does not make sense, but that's teh beauty of it! being able to put meaning to these kinds of things, or to be able to work with them for the exotic tools they are, and that's all math is.....a tool. A tool to solve a problem. Within it is has mystery, beauty and great expanses for creativity. Unfortunately most student never see that part of it because they are stuck with a retired linoleum saleman using whips and chains trying to get students to crank out synthetic division.

When I tough some undergrad labs to non-science majors in school I use to slip in calculus concepts which they did not realize were calculus at the time which they thought was interesting to learn soemthing 'new'....or 'different'. Kept them interested and they warmed up to other 'normal' math ideas because of that going off the path kind of notion.

Anyway, I think a lot of it has to do with the teachers/profs. Altho the books have a great effect upon one's learning, as does the classroom situation.

If you don't look at it as a chore and look at it more of a game.....which it kind of is....maybe it won't be as scary or intrusive and maybe you can find enjoyment out of mental gymnastics.

Answer 10

i don't know about any studies, but im the same way. i will try my best to learn it, maybe even understand it for a few minutes but then when i go home to do my homework, it'll be gone from my brain. i guess some people are more geared toward subjects like English and history such as me.

Answer 11

this is accessible that your instructor has it out for you, yet enormously unlikely. that's kinda no longer difficulty-free to grade math subjectively. this is to assert that, in math, if the respond is suited, then that's maximum surprising. right here is what you do. Come early to classification or stay somewhat after to talk to instructor. Ask once you could seek advice from them one on one. once you communicate, be VERY respectful. anticipate that they are grading extremely and you in basic terms % somewhat help. clarify which you are trying very no longer difficulty-free, staying up overdue, focusing in school, however the grades are not what you have been hoping for. Ask them for suggestion as to the thank you to enhance. soliciting for help is very mature, and he or she will do her superb to furnish help to learn. undergo in ideas, she grew to enhance right into a instructor because of the fact she needs to help scholars learn. If there became any own concern, it is going to likely be healed once you humble your self.