Why Schoolchildren Hate Maths and What to Do If It Affects Your Child

Children often perceive school mathematics as a complex and incomprehensible subject that is unlikely to be useful to them in life. — at most, count the change in the store. “Why do I need math?” they moan to their parents. This is especially true for those who identify themselves as humanities students. How to help a child love the subject, says the director of academic affairs at a bilingual secondary school Le Sallay Dialogue Ekaterina Rakhanskaya.

Let me say right away that it doesn't happen that a child just wakes up one day and says that he hates math. Usually, this is preceded by a long path of disappointments, fears and banal pedagogical mistakes. As a result, many children associate math with failures, cramming formulas, strict teachers, difficult homework and scandals at home because of bad grades. Which only strengthens the hatred of this subject.

There is also a strong myth among the people about the existence of “humanitarians” and “techies”. According to this, the subject “comes” easily to some, while it becomes inaccessible to others. Fortunately, this misconception has nothing to do with reality.

Of course, there are talents and inclinations, but: absolutely any neurotypical child is capable of mastering the high school curriculum, not just at a basic level, but even at an advanced level, both in terms of exact sciences and in terms of the humanities.

The main thing is to find an approach. There are no people who are “not given” to know mathematics well, speak foreign languages ​​fluently and write correctly in their own. There are those who cannot be approached. Yes, of course, in the conditions of an ordinary secondary school with 30 children in a class and overloaded teachers, there are, let's say, nuances. But in general, everything is possible.

In this column, I will tell you about the difficulties we face in our school – a school that is lucky and has the opportunity to find an approach to each child, and how we solve these difficulties. And also about what parents can do to develop an interest in mathematics in their child.

WHY CHILDREN DON'T LIKE MATHEMATICS

It's not as important to understand how to remember

Often, schooling is reduced to rote memorization and repetition of information. Such methods are aimed at making children pass tests and exams. But this does not allow them to develop mathematical thinking and does not contribute to the development of love for the subject.

At the same time, mathematics, and physics and chemistry, which require mathematical calculations, are subjects with a high degree of skill continuity. If you did not learn the multiplication table in elementary school, did not understand fractions or how to compose equations, this will slow you down at each of the subsequent stages.

That is why it is so important not to “skip” difficult topics, but to calmly analyze them. Otherwise, a lump of gaps will accumulate and multiply the dislike for mathematics and related subjects. The longer the failure goes on, the harder it is to love the subject. Cramming to “get behind” won’t help here – only understanding.

…Or they explained it poorly.

Let's be honest: not all teachers love their subject and can explain it well. The reasons for this are both economic and political (many unnecessary non-pedagogical duties, high teaching load, low salaries, suppressed initiative, outdated programs, etc.) and human factors (not all teachers are equally good both as professionals and as individuals, not all children can be approached quickly).

At the same time, the child himself in a regular school is not a client for whom the educational process is built, in accordance with strengths and weaknesses, trying to make the process not only effective, but also enjoyable. In most schools, the child is an object that they are trying to squeeze into the framework of the program along with the other thirty people in the class. Of course, in such conditions, gaps in knowledge multiply, and motivation falls.

…The smartest one, perhaps?

School is not only about knowledge and the school program. It is an important stage in life for the formation of social skills. How they will develop and what path a person will have to go through depends very much on the environment. This is especially true for teenagers. They seek authority outside the family and are very dependent on the values ​​​​that their environment and reference group adhere to.

In many schools, knowledge does not allow one to break through to the top level of the hierarchical chain. On the contrary, it can make an outcast out of a child. And often the bullying of the “smartest” will be condoned by teachers, for whose authority inconvenient and overly intellectually developed children can pose a danger.

That's why it's so important for a teenager to have a supportive environment. Le Salay Dialogue We put a lot of emphasis on creating an environment where academic achievement is valued and where being smart is cool.

There are no age-based classes at school, we divide children into groups according to their level of knowledge in different subjects, and we also closely monitor group dynamics – so that children pull each other up, and do not “drown” each other. Moreover, different subjects have different approaches. Thus, according to research, for development in mathematics, it is good when “strong” children study with equally enthusiastic children, and those with gaps calmly master the subject at their own pace. In the humanities and natural sciences, another approach may work better, when children inspire each other.

Of course, this is impossible to achieve in a regular school, where the teacher has thirty people in the class. In this case, parents can help the child find a supportive environment outside of school: clubs, sections, interest clubs.

…Or not mature enough

Mathematics deals with materials whose understanding requires developed abstract thinking—the ability to think about objects and ideas outside of their physical manifestation. This is a critical skill for adult life that must be developed systematically.

Ideally, this is facilitated by a well-structured academic program, including humanities.

For example, at the school where I work, we adhere to an interdisciplinary approach. Teachers do not compete for the importance of subjects. They work as a team, structuring the teaching in such a way that the knowledge gained in one lesson helps to better understand the program of another. Logic, the basics of philosophy and critical thinking skills developed in literature or history lessons simplify the understanding of mathematics. Because they teach thinking and perceiving not only practical, but also abstract information.

However, in a class where the teacher needs to “keep up with the program” and make the topic more or less understandable to 30 people, there is simply no resource for developing this soft skill.

Therefore, if the child is not compensated for this lack of training in the family, there is simply nowhere to develop the skill. As a result, when the program goes beyond elementary arithmetic, problems begin at the level of “why do I need graphs and cosines in life?”

Schoolchildren (and often parents) do not understand that:

Well-mastered mathematics has nothing in common with memorized theorems and formulas.

Formulas and theorems should not be learned by heart, but understood. Realize that the goal can be reached in different ways. Therefore, the teacher's activity should be aimed at developing logic and mastering abstract thinking skills.

Even if your child does not want to go to the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics and chooses the profession of a blogger, the knowledge gained in mathematics will be very useful. Even in creativity. It is not for nothing that the expression “The best poets are mathematicians” is used. People with a lively mind and developed abstract thinking have much fresher, more original and creative creative results.

And it's also scary to make mistakes

When solving math problems, children regularly make mistakes – this is part of the process of understanding and learning the material. But if a child is afraid of making mistakes, he or she loses self-confidence and begins to avoid difficult tasks in every possible way. Here, parents should understand one important thing:

The louder you shout, the worse your academic performance.

So it's important to calm down and start working on yourself to help you cope with anger and fear for the future. Pressure and guilt in children are bad for learning, but supportive, inquisitive parents are a great asset.

WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH ALL THIS?

Ideally, we should start by seeing the child not as an object, but as the main actor in the educational process. This cannot be done without answering the question “Why teach mathematics?”

Clear, transparent goal setting is the first step to interesting learning.

That's why in our school Each teacher explains why children study a particular subject, how this knowledge will help in real life and make them more successful in the area that interests the child.

If a family does not have the opportunity to educate their child in a good private school, you can compensate for this stage yourself. The main thing is to be honest, consistent and not afraid to invest a little time to watch a few lectures on the topic. There is really a lot of good content now.

It is also important to make mathematics a “live” subject. This is especially important for children of primary and secondary school age, who have not yet formed. Here are some examples from our school’s practice that parents can take on board:

1. If we talk about junior mathematics with fractions, here they can give applied examples – about pizza and cakes, this is the most obvious. Offer to cut, divide and distribute it among family members, say, at dinner. And you can also give the child the opportunity to independently cook something specifically for your family, taking as a basis a recipe for a dish for 6 people.

2. There are students in our school who are interested in the stock exchange. Accordingly, using the example of the stock exchange, we can show how interest rates, rates, etc. are calculated. If pocket money is a common practice in the family, you can offer a system of bonuses that will be expressed as percentages. Create an “account” for the child, let him receive bonuses to his pocket money (if he keeps the calculations correctly).

3. Many children went kayaking or paddling with their parents, launching “boats” along rainwater drains or streams. If you haven't done so yet, you can. In addition to enjoying the time together, you will be able to use these memorable examples to explain how speed is calculated, taking into account various factors: current, wind speed, weight of people, etc.

4. In problems with the largest integer divisor, one can imagine that three detectives are tracking a dangerous criminal.and the first one watches every two days, the second one – every three days, and the next one, for example, five. We were looking for an answer: will there be a day somewhere in the month where all three of them will be on duty?

5. You can simply take a glass, pour water into it, shake it a little and show that a funnel is formed from the rotation. The equation of this motion can be given mathematically.

Also, to better understand mathematical concepts, you can turn to history: tell how certain concepts appeared, how formulas were derived, how science developed, and how discoveries were related to historical and political context.

The interdisciplinary approach we take at Le Sallay Dialogue changes the way we learn – the child doesn’t cram, but sees connections and, when confronted with information in different subjects, better remembers what they’ve learned.

And, of course, it is important to take into account the child's interests and rely on them during the studies. For example, in our school there is a format of interest clubs. It is necessary so that both teachers and students can see each other from the human side. This helps not only to establish informal contact, but also to understand what exactly lights up your child. Having learned this, the teacher will try to appeal to the topic that lights up the child's eyes. In small classes of 4-8 people, like ours, this is real. Which cannot be said about a regular school, in which there is no way to give examples to each of the 30 people.

The difficult becomes exciting through the interesting. That is why it is so important to listen and hear the child. Absolutely any material can be “wrapped” in such a way that even the most humanitarian humanist’s eyes will light up from the formulas, examples and problems.