I have a confession to make. As a
kid, I detested math, in all kinds, shapes and forms. And, though I hate to
admit this (and have never admitted it in the presence of my kids), I used to
run away from math every opportunity I got; which made me a big nuisance for my parents and teachers alike. Could never even
imagine that one fine day I would be chiding my kids for the same!
But then, would I qualify to be a
‘math anxious’ parent? A study carried out by the University of Chicago recently
came up with the conclusion that ‘children of math-anxious parents learned less
math over the school year and were more likely to be math-anxious themselves’ (which my kids definitely are).
Susan Levine, who headed the
study, had this to say: “Math-anxious parents may be less effective in
explaining math concepts to children, and may not respond well when children
make a mistake or solve a problem in a novel way.”
Now that I come to think of it, I
do tend to consider math-time at home as a chore and as a result am always
waiting for it to get over so that I can move on to the so-called ‘bigger’ and ‘better’
subjects which I love teaching my kids; science or language, for instance.
Maybe I should just try and get rid of whatever (subconscious) anxiety I have
towards math and turn over a new leaf in a way. Who knows, maybe my kids will
start loving math too? High hopes, but definitely worth a try.
