I’ve always been fond of mathematics, but I often heard from other people that they hate it or they are scared of it. It’s understandable, since it can undoubtedly be considered as a hard subject. However, it wasn’t until I had relocated to the United States when I noticed how terrified people become once they hear the word math. They tend to check out from the conversation, and if pushed they suddenly lose all their self-confidence regarding the topic. And the truth is, it is not even their fault.
Nevertheless, it is indisputable that this notorious fear of mathematics peeks through the measured performance of our country when compared to its’ international peers. A survey done by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018, measuring 15 year-olds mathematical performance from 42 countries ranked the United States in 33rd place based on the students’ mean score. (OECD, 2023). Additionally, “A recent national survey from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 82% of adults couldn’t determine the cost of carpeting when given its dimensions and price per square yard” (Colagrossi, 2018). These alarming statistics just further support my experience and pave the way for an important question. Why? Why is it so common that we fear this subject so much regardless of our age?
Well, given the complexity of the language of mathematics, there are many contributing factors, but I think it mostly boils down to these two: how the subject of mathematics is presented to us at a young age, and how it is taught to us. The gaps in fundamental understanding of this language and the so-called “math anxiety” are just by-products of the aforementioned problems. Therefore, I think it is important to discuss the root of the issue. By this time, I am certain you have noticed that I called mathematics a language multiple times. The reason why is because it is a language and that is how it’s supposed to be introduced to students at a young age. It’s a language that teaches and encourages logical thinking and reasoning. These abilities are crucial not just when we have to solve an equation in a classroom, but in our day-to-day lives as well. Logic- and reason-based thinking helps us find the cause of something that happens to us and it can help us prevent or encourage events in our lives. Instead of introducing mathematics as a set of numbers, sines and cosines, and logarithms, us educators should describe it as a language tool for heightening thinking abilities to young students. This would lessen the likelihood of terror in their eyes before math periods and as an overall result, the prevalence of math anxiety.
With this “humanitarian” conceptualization of math, it is key to find the best approach to teaching the subject to students to maximize the potential of it. Unfortunately, for many people, math is about memorizing rules and formulas, because that is what yields the result of finishing a timed exam in time, and keeping up with the curriculum. However, that is not real comprehension, and it takes away the possibility from students to truly understand a concept. In addition, students in the U.S. are often required to work on repetitive problems, preventing them from utilizing their problem-solving skills and deepening their knowledge on a variety of problems (Wolpert, 2018). In higher ranking countries in the PISA survey, this is not the case. For example, “Japanese eighth graders, in contrast, engage in serious study of mathematical concepts and are asked to develop their own solutions for math problems that they have not seen before.” (Wolpert, 2018). By following our peer’s example (Japan: 1st ranking in the PISA survey), we could remedy the howling gaps in our students’ mathematical knowledge, or better yet, prevent those gaps from opening in the first place.
These issues are in serious need of attention, even though it is a hard task to tackle. Thus, the educational system needs to introduce mathematics as a much more approachable subject, and it should encourage its students to explore more within the realms of mathematics. That would mean less focus on timed problem solving and test taking, and modifying an existing flawed curriculum with repetitive problem solving. In the event of success, we could help people develop confidence in their mathematical abilities at a young age, and maybe they would grow to like the subject as well. This way, we could demolish the stigmas about math, and utilize it as a tool to deepen logical thinking.
References
OECD (2023), Mathematics performance (PISA) (indicator). doi: 10.1787/04711c74-en
(Accessed on 02 November 2023)
Mathnasium. (2018, September 18). Why America is bad at math.
https://www.mathnasium.com/claytonladue/news/why-america-is-bad-at-math
Wolpert, S. (2018, October 19). Why so many U.S. students aren’t learning math. UCLA.
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/why-so-many-u-s-students-arent-learning-math
VOICES OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 
I agree with your sentiment in regard to the approach of the way mathematics is handled in many schools. I was one of those students that were intimidated by the mention of the topic. I did a lot of my own improvement in math through home tutoring with my older siblings.
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You do an excellent job here of describing a problem and sharing your thinking about possible causes and solutions. While I was reading your very valid and useful ideas about how to improve mathematics instruction for students, I was thinking about the need to also offer more support and professional development for teachers about how to teach math. Research shows that, without guidance, most teachers just teach how they were taught which, for many, was probably the flawed way you describe here.
Japan is one country known for its high achievement in mathematics and one reason is that teachers are given time and compensation to engage in something called “lesson study,” which involves continuous collaboration on the planning, implementation, and revision of mathematics lessons. Here’s a link to one interesting study from 2011 about this approach: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ960950.pdf While some American schools have implemented lesson study, too, I think that if the approach were adopted more widely here, we might see much more engaging and effective math instruction in America.
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This post is very insightful and delves deep into why our students might be afraid of this subject and how to remedy it. I love that you bring up teaching mathematics as a language and the benefits of doing so. Many students fear this subject so it’s reassuring that if we change the way we teach this subject to our students and introduce it as a language that heightens thinking abilities we can reduce the chances of them not being engaged during math periods. Introducing math this way will positively impact our students.
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I enjoyed reading your post Bence!
When I first moved to the USA and went to high school I was surprised by what they were learning in the classroom – the material they were studying in class (10 grade) I learned back in 5/6th grade in Russia. I believe that math can be challenging but at the same time it works your brain – that is exactly what young children need! I agree that learning too many fractions can blow a student’s mind but a little challenge can be beneficial! As young educators, we have to find the right approach to make students interested in the subject, relate it more to their lives – then learning math can be fun and beneficial for everyone! Great post!
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Hi Bence, as someone who feels anxiety when it comes to math, I really appreciated how compassionate your introduction was. Your post in general was engaging and insightful. Your description of how math is often taught resonated with my past experiences, particularly in high school, where testing became increasingly important. And as I was reading, I kept trying to pinpoint what it was that I found so challenging about math. You hit the nail in the head when you explained that we often learn by memorizing formulas instead of gaining a genuine understanding of concepts. I remember hearing as a student that when it comes to math, you are not supposed to ask questions–you should just accept everything and move on. But if you can’t ask questions, how are you supposed to understand what is happening? As a future educator, I will have to look into ways in which I can foster genuine understanding of mathematical concepts while also creating and environment where students feel comfortable asking “why?”
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