Why is mathematics a dreaded subject?

Traditionally, the major emphasis of elementary mathematics has been to teach children arithmetic – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages. But mathematics involves more than computation. It is the study of patterns and relationships; a science and a way of thinking; an art, which is characterised by order and internal consistency. It is also a language, using carefully defined terms and symbols and a tool.

Easy as this definition seems, a lot of students and even adults loathe the subject and would avoid it if they can. The most common and strongest reason why it is a dreaded subject is because it is generally perceived to be a difficult and confusing area of study. The findings for this reason are tied to others, why children hate mathematics.

One Primary 5 pupil, Somto Dim, said, “I don’t like mathematics because of the many calculations. It is even more difficult now that I am preparing for Common Entrance exam. I like English more because we speak it and I find it easier because I practise it with my parents and siblings. Also, when I was in Primary 3 and 4, my teacher used to teach us with drawings on the blackboard and cardboard.

“We also used to cut out shapes and patterns to use for addition and subtraction and times and division. I used to like her classes and used to ask my mummy to show me new patterns I could cut in school. But she stopped coming to school when I got to Primary 5. I don’t like the way my new teacher teaches us and she is always shouting and calling us olodo if we fail a number.”

These are innocent but sincere words which express the worries of a nine-year-old in today’s mathematics class and one could say they express the views of students in higher classes. These may sound as basic elements which cause students to dislike the subject and could be regarded as intangible. But the truth is that Somto’s responses have raised questions about the way the subject is taught, the ability of teachers to teach and provoke their students’ interest as well parents’ involvement in teaching their kids and how efficiently this could help the child.

He also spells out that there are several areas of influence that determine whether people like math or not. People generally like math if they have at least one, some or all of the following: A natural aptitude for the subject, a class that uses methods/materials that match the way they learn, an inspiring and encouraging teacher, parent or other role model, and/or the ability to master the basic concepts before moving on to more difficult concepts.

Like Somto’s present teacher, it is obvious that many teachers are not well-grounded in teaching as a profession as well as in teaching mathematics. Unfortunately, most schoolteachers do not go into teaching because they love math and when this happens you are likely to end up with an attitude like the teacher in question.

According to Professor Aliyu Abdullahi of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, who has taught at different educational levels, “It helps profoundly to have a teacher who loves the subject and uses other teaching tools such as hands-on activities, experiments, real books, music, rhythm and games, in addition to a textbook. A teacher that uses many different teaching tools has a much greater chance of inspiring all the students because there’s a greater chance that at least one of the teaching methods will connect to each individual’s learning style.

“And the more teaching methods used, the better understanding each individual will gain, because your brain doesn’t learn by only one method.”

It is not surprising that in a class where there are visual components to the lesson, students find it more interesting and can readily relate with what they see even in their minds.

A general view of child experts is that it’s true that your kids often don’t get the help they need from school. Schools do have a lot of kids to teach and a limited number of teachers. The kids who do best in schools always have the most helpful and supportive parents. And it sounds like you are trying to do that. But if parents don’t like math, it follows that their kids probably won’t either. If you’ve been complaining that you don’t like math or science, you may need to learn to like math and science yourself or at least change your attitude to enthusiasm about those subjects.

If the reason your kids struggle is because of uninspiring teachers or textbooks, you can’t really change the teachers or what they are using. But you can make it fun at home. You could ask around your ward or neighbourhood to find someone who loves math. They could help inspire and tutor your kids, sometimes as a volunteer. You could offer to barter something in exchange like home-cooked meals, work done or whatever you have a talent in.

“I worked out an agreement with a friend where she teaches my daughter violin lessons and a couple of her kids come over once a week to play math games and go over their homework,” said Mrs Ekene Uche, a parent and secondary school teacher.

Another problem people have with math and science is that often the basics aren’t mastered first. The schools just keep moving on with the subject matter and don’t really know if the students understand how math work. Math can get very difficult to understand if you don’t know how the multiplication table works and if you haven’t memorised all the facts first. If you don’t understand it, it certainly won’t be enjoyable. And to make it more confusing, students can even do well on tests and still not understand them. There are plenty of people who can memorise all the facts for the test and then completely forget them after the test because they weren’t relevant—they didn’t really understand the facts.

“If the kids are struggling with math and science because they don’t understand them, you’ll need to go back to the basics, especially in math. Do this even if they are in upper-level math. They should be able to catch on pretty quickly, but it can make a world of difference just to have that basic understanding. Create learning experiences in which they can accomplish mini-goals and make it interesting and fun” said child expert and teacher Ronnie Moman. Do these things with them and you can even reward their successes.

To help students enjoy mathematics, teachers and other educators working together to improve mathematics education must explore a broader scope of mathematics. Mathematics should include experiences that help students to shift their thinking about mathematics and define mathematics as a study of patterns and relationships.