“Maths Phobia”- the root causes
-ASUTOSH DEB
Mathematics is called the “Queen of all science”. Despite of the vast potential, students start getting “Maths Phobia” at an early stage of education. What is the reason?
Is it the biased opinion perpetuated by the parents?
Is there something wrong with the curriculum?
Are our mathematics teachers to blame?
Unfortunately our education planners though aware of this, are showing little to remedy the situation. In any case, mathematics teachers have a great role to play. An innovative method is always appreciated by the students and leaves long lasting impression on the young mind.
Teachers have to use the technological tools to inculcate interest on maths to the students. Creating interest at the early stage of studies is very important. Everyone in his/her life faces the Mathematics as his/her nightmare.
Now, I would like elaborate the subject 'Mathematics'. In my opinion, Mathematics is used everywhere and in every school-subject whether it is Science, Social Science, English, Hindi, or Accounts. And I wish to give it average 10 out of 10 weights. Nothing seems deny mathematics. Every human being on earth obeys laws of Mathematics, follows Mathematics, applies Mathematics, earns through Mathematics, expends on Mathematics. Nothing but Mathematics.
We all in life face mathematics:
1st Standard to 3rd Standard: Which comprises; 1 to 100, 2 to 20 tables, Simple Profit & Loss Calculations etc.
4th Standard & 5th Standard: Algebra, Profit & Loss, Variables & Constants etc.
6th to 8th Standard: Complex Algebra, Trigonometry, Simple Geometry etc.
9th & 10th Standard: Complex Algebra, Trigonometry, Simple Income Tax Calculation, Geometry, Matrices etc
11th & 12th Standard: Complex Algebra, Trigonometry, Simple Income Tax Calculation, Geometry, Derivatives, Integrals, Vectors, Calculus etc.
Why all above-mentioned is necessary for a student to learn, because it will build him/her to become a successful person in life, or make him able to calculate anything while he selects his/her line or profession, make him/her professional of his/her line or profession. Without learning above skills he/she can't do anything if his/her profession of type of work demands. For instance, if he/she prefers to become Accountant then he/she must know simple mathematical calculations and must be expert. And if he/she desires to become Engineer (Mechanical) then he should know all Geometry, Trigonometry at his/her fingertips. Or in simple words, if anybody wants success in life he must go through Mathematics, every profession or work is Science and Science needs Mathematics with first priority that means Mathematics is everything, that's why Mathematics is called the “Queen of all science”.
Let others go, take my own example friends, when I was in 4th to 6th standard, I was scaring Mathematics, because I didn't find myself easy learning formulas and applying the same in my answers. I was completely ridden off by Mathematics. I took Mathematics as my worst nightmare. Other subjects were easy for me since I was capable understanding them but Mathematics was a bit more difficult for me to understand. And the same is, the problem of I think if I am not wrong, 50% students find Mathematics as their nightmare or 'Maths Phobia'.
Mathematics is difficult to learn because students don't have interest in their first Mathematics sight, and without interest no one can learn. Also, its bit confusing what to do and when to do with formulas, so how to understand and how to write down the answers, therefore despite of the vast potential, students start getting “Maths Phobia” at an early stage of education
So, the main reasons for maths phobia in my opinion are:
1.) students find themselves in problem for 'how to, when to, which one formula to apply for correct answer'.
2.) no story-typo I mean nothing there to make any interest in student,
3.) one or two time low marks resulting low morale of students.
4.) scared student has either low or no interest in Mathematics,
And when a student gets above 60 marks in all subjects and only passing marks in Mathematics then parents becomes biased, they ask their child why and how do you find Mathematics a hard subject. If you are scoring good in others, what's the reason behind low marks in Mathematics.
Parents always have high expectations from their child therefore they questions their child, and often instead of encouraging them they discourages their child by saying the other student of your class got 95% in maths, what's about you, you dull. So, some parents don't help their child understand maths.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with the curriculum, the syllabus prescribed by the school boards are best at their level at this time. All thing to do is encouraging students, giving them good teachers, and making interest for Mathematics among students at any study level. None of maths teacher should be blamed for 'Maths Phobia' among students. This kind of phobia is created by students in their own very mind due to above-mentioned reasons. Rather we should try to help maths teachers help students love mathematics.
We should add comprehensive and effective solutions to resolve the problem of maths phobia among students at earlier stages of mathematics. Our education planners thoroughly checking this time to time and trying to make it easy and in this case, mathematics teachers have to play a great role. Teachers have to use the technological tools to inculcate interest on maths to the students. And creating interest at the early stage of studies is very important.
Now, we all come to one conclusion, that we all should understand that understanding Mathematics is not difficult. We all could resolve said 'Maths Phobia' only by increasing interest among students. And parents should encourage their children by giving them good praise and also the maths teachers should elaborate every questions to his/her students.
Hence a 'Triangle' of Student, Parent, and Teacher should have only one goal 'INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS' to get rid off the problem of 'MATHS PHOBIA' since 'MATHEMATICS IS QUEEN OF ALL SCIENCE'.
Mathematics is a tough tool, for those who does not have the ability to recognize the area and dimension in his study cells, I will say one word that, a student can gain his memory in reading when he thinks going to be alright, but some times the student get confuse that, why we born why should we read, these is the common term which can defect the child minds.
Students needs teacher when he confuse, but teacher cannot afford any thing to teach maths to the children and also, I will give the example:-
1) Dr. A P J Kalam, he discovered Agni because he knew what was right.
2) Michel Faraday he was selling fruits, now you see he discovered and made research in mathematics and electricity.
So, teachers should make best effort to children to make them good student and teach them with responsibility. It is really a good topic to discuss. Maths is anightmare for many or I should say 90% of students feel maths as a devil which is ruining their results and their happiness. I feel the reason is not that maths is difficult. Actually it is very easy if we teach it in a friendly manner I have some examples for you which if shared will students can change their mind and thinking about maths.
Beauty of Math!
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 123456789 87654321
Now, take a look at this...
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint,
What Equals to 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%...
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to
GIVE OVER 100%.
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals to 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answering these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
It is
H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K
8+1+18+4+2 3+15+18+11 = 98%
And
K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E
11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%
But
A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%
AND
L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close and Attitude will get you there...
It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!!!
So maths should not be taken a phobia it is avery friendly subject if you have the right attitude towards it. Brain Power Academy has proved that maths phobia can be easily taken out of the minds of young children by teaching them mental Arithmetic program using abacus.
Though the word arithmetic is used, it is not mathematics. We need a tool to operate the instrument ABACUS, like typewriter where we use alphabets, we use numbers for operating Abacus. Similarly we type word, sentence, paragraph, etc. and with abacus we do addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. The holding of abacus, moving the beads, etc. have an effect on the brain and it gets stimulated.
Proper teaching of mental Arithmetic Program using abacus and continuous practice , will definitely help the children overcome MATHS PHOBIA and excel in all the subjects including Mathematics. It will be very interesting to see four year old students doing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division after undergoing this training for 10 months
Tricky math!!!
One day there was a hunter walking in a jungle hunting for some birds. He got his rifle ready when he saw four birds on a few branches of a big tree. He shot his rifle and hit one of the birds.
The question I asked my cousin was:
“If the hunter shot down one of the birds, how many birds are there left on the tree?”
It was a very easy question for the kids, wasn't it?
He answered “three”, as four minus one equals three.
What's your own answer?
Is your answer “three”?
You should be surprised if I tell you that most people that I asked the same question answered “three”.
The right answer is … "zero!"
Did you get your answer right? If you didn't, it's OK because you have joined my cousin and many others.
The answer is “zero” because once one of the birds got shot; the other birds would definitely not want to stay long there on the tree. They surely flew away once they heard a loud noise from the hunter's rifle. So, there wasn't any bird left on the tree!
This simple question not only serves as a joke but also tells us that not all mathematical problems should be solved mathematically, but instead, should also be looked into logically. Here are some tricky questions of mathematics which can make any one the fun of mathematics. enjoy solving. dead easy ones.
1) There are 8 Apples on the table, you take 3. How many do you have?
2) 10 Birds in a field. 2 were shot, how many were left?
3) Take away the first letter, take away the last letter, then take away all the other letters. What do you have left?
4) If you have 4 melons in one hand, and 7 apples in the other - What do you have?
5) A box has nine ears of corn in it. A Squirrel carries out three ears a day, and yet it takes him nine days to carry out all the corn. Explain?
6) Why do white sheep eat more than black sheep?
7) A man wanted to plant 4 trees, but all 4 had to be equal distances from each other. How did he do it?
8) I have 2 coins in my hand that add up to 60c. One of the coins isn't a 50c piece. What are the coins?
9) A fisherman was asked how long was the fish he had caught. He said "it is 30cms plus half its length" How long was the fish?
10) A Hammer and a Nail cost Rs.31. If the Hammer cost Rs.30 more than the Nail, what is the cost of each?
11) It takes 7 men 2 hours to build a wall. How long does it take 3 men to build the same wall?
12) "I will bet you Rs.1" said Paban, "that if you give me Rs.2, I will give you Rs.3 in return."
"Done," replied Tapan. Was he?
13) What comes next in the following sequence ?
1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11,...
14) In a scientific context, what could the following phrase mean?
How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy chapters involving quantum mechanics
Answers:
1) If you take 3 then you have 3.
2) 2 - the others flew away.
3) The Mailman.
4) Big hands.
5) He has 2 of his own ears, so he carries out only 1 ear of corn per day.
6) There are more white sheep than black sheep.
7) He planted 3 trees at the corners of an equilateral triangle. He built a mound in the middle and planted the 4th on the top of the mound so that it was the same distance from the other 3 trees. (on the points of a tetrahedron.)
8) 50c and a 10c (The coin that isn't a 50c piece is a 10c. The other coin is the 50c).
9) 60 cms.
10) Hammer Rs.30.50, Nail Rs.0.50
11) No need to bother, the 7 men have already built it.
12) Tapan accepts the bet, gives Paban Rs.2. Paban does not give Tapan Rs.3 so loses the bet and has to pay Tapan Rs.1. Result Paban gains Rs.1.
13) 100 (The next number that doesn't contain a "T" in the spelling).
14) The number of letters in each word refers to pi to 14 decimal places, i.e. 3.14159265358979
Conclusion:- The main reason behind maths phobia is maths needs practice regularly and students don’t do that mathematics is a phobia for most of the students as they do not have confidence in themselves, they are not able to understand anything easily and quickly as mathematics needs quick wits and better understanding of the concepts, formulas and theorems to be implemented at a given problem, if u are not aware of the right application for the problem u tend to commit mistake and thus will not be able to solve the same, to over come the phobia in this subject it is better to understand the concepts and learn the various formulas before solving the problems of the related units, practice each and every unit to the maximum to attain confidence in the application of various formulas and theorems. Mathematics is a game. The school syllabus should teach how to play it. The numbers should be visualized as objects. For example 4 + 2 for a Std.I student is visualized as 4 apples + 2 apples and so on.
Because human mind is more attracted with pictures and objects. Slowly the students get attracted in that subject and removes the phobia. Once the subject becomes interested, the student automatically learns it easily.
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