This new splurge in our society on technology has added to our mathophobia problem. How many times have you seen a teenager whip out a cell phone to calculate how much of a tip to leave? Or even a simple math problem because they are just too "tired" to do it in their head? Thanks to the handy dandy contraptions we call calculators, mathophobia has become a greater issue after the elementary education levels. In high school teenagers are taught how to do basically everything on their calculator. Take it away from them and they have that oh so famous deer in headlights look about them. Naturally the first instinct for them is to go blank, and therefore begin to score worse on tests. Walking into the next test is going to completely psych them out to perform at a lower level than they are capable of yet again.
Can you imagine how much better test scores would be if students practiced mathematics without a calculator throughout all of their higher education? We, as students, would be forced to exercise our brains everyday. In the long run, it would provide us with better health as we grow older. Yes, it would take longer for us on a test if we were to write out everything we are doing step by step. It would also lead to a more challenging class for all the students. These classes would also show us that we are capable to do more than what we expect of ourselves. We would most likely become more independent since we won't be depending on a calculator to just chug out the correct answer for us to repeat to our teachers. It would make teenagers and young adults be not afraid to do simple mathematics without a calculator and it would raise their confidence in themselves.
Lucky enough for me I've never had mathophobia. Yes, doing computations without using the calculator is more difficult for me. At the same time, I'm not great with technology at all! So those graphing calculators that are required for high school, or my high school at least, I didn't like them at all. However, I do have slight test anxiety and that makes any test taking extremely difficult for me to overcome. Many people don't understand the difficulties of having test anxiety because it's just another test to them. However, people who have it tend to understand the long hours of studying that come with it. In a way, mathophobia isn't that different than test anxiety.
It may take more studying and more conferences with your teachers, but their is hope of overcoming both these psychological disadvantages during tests. All you have to do is find a way that works for you. It may be starting from the end of the test and working your way forward(that's how I usually do it), or maybe having a lucky pen/pencil. You have to find what relaxes you and go for extra help. Trust in your teachers enough to tell them you need help with overcoming your mathophobia. Friends are always there to help you as well. In the end, we can all do well. It just matters how hard your willing to try to go far in life.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI like your helpful advice of trusting your teachers enough to go to them and tell them you need help. Often times, that is the biggest hurdle for someone; just admitting that you have a problem!
Sue
I like how you started out by asking how many times do you see a teenager, actually EVEN adults.. whip out there phones in a restaurant to figure out what the tip should be on their bill!! I work in a restuarant and i see this ALL the time.. and its so sad!! Working in the restaurant has actually made me become better with numbers in that sense. Also, I like how you talked about test anxiety relating it to mathophobia. I have test anxiety as well and i do think its very similar to someone with mathophobia. It actually could tie together, for me at least.. because i find it more difficult to study for a math test then to study for any other subject!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that we rely too heavily on technology. In my opinion, calculators should only be used to solve complex equations, not basic arithmetic problems. Using a calculator should be your last resort, even if it means counting on your fingers (which, embarrassingly enough, I still do sometimes). I, too, have severe test-taking anxiety, even in my best subjects. I do not work well under pressure; I like taking my time on my work, and I always find myself scrambling to finish exams because there is never enough time. Good luck this semester!
ReplyDeleteI would just like to say that as soon as you opened your post with the idea that we have become lazy with simple math such as calculating the tip we leave completely hit home for me! It is a pretty sad thing to own up to, but we all either do it ourselves or know people who do it and mathphobia is becoming an epidemic because people are relying more and more on their calculators. I really enjoyed your post! It was really great!
ReplyDeleteAs I am also the one who likes to use a calculator, I agree with you that there are so many people who rely on using a calculator. Since technology is developing day by day, we tend to rely more on technology for solving math problems in our everyday life. I believe that the more we use a calculator, the more we make mistakes in math problems with an absence of a calculator. However, easy access of calculators makes it hard for people to not depend on it. I found it interesting how you can relate test anxiety to mathophobia. I agree with that, and it made me realize that worrying about taking a math test (This is a math test that I’m bad at! What if I can’t solve the problem? I will not be able to get high score…) is what actually affects my math result. It was nice reading your post!
ReplyDeletei think is really cool and so true. Like even in this class i have been looking for my calculator for the simplest of things like 2 plus 2 just to double heck that it is 4, Even though i know that little fact since i was in the first grade. its seriously like a crutch just to make sure even though we don't really need it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that we rely too much on calculators. When we were told that we had to do a mad minute in class I freaked out because I completely forgot the times table that I had learned in third grade, this is because after that I used my calculator to even do these easy computations. I was always the person who used to count numbers on my fingers, so when we were told we were not allowed to use calculators in class, I think I reverted to counting on my fingers quite a bit (embarrassing, I know), but if we think about it, there are so many people who rely on their calculators way too much, I believe I am one of those people and I hope to change that.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post & agreed with a lot of it. It is very sad how we look up to calculators now a days, but they do help us out in the long run. It is very funny that you said every teenager takes out their phone to calculate the tip they need to leave because we can't do that simple math in our heads. Calculators have definitely changed the way we figure out math in a good & bad way. Everything you said in your post was really great !
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