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This would be a great debate!

I have to lean on the “yes, most people hate math”. Personally, I am bad at math, really bad at math, if you asked me to do algebra I wouldn’t be able to do it. I don’t even think I could correctly do a complicated fraction question. I barely scraped through math in high school and was quite ecstatic when I was all done. I claimed, “I will NEVER do math… AGAIN!”...

That being said, aside from the naturally gifted math students, it can be hard, and it was for me, to grasp higher educational math. I can multiply, and divide, and I was good at geometry. When it came to math I couldn’t understand, I found it difficult to learn and I don’t think my teachers were entirely there for me. They had 40 other students in a 1 hour class to help, the time wasn’t there for either teacher or student.

All of this can make students feel stupid… it can be very discouraging, which leads to them hating math.

I love math. It was always one of my favorite subjects because a) math is beautiful and elegant b) there is no need for memorization – you either get it or you don’t (compare this to say biology) c) it can be challenging but you feel very accomplished when you figure something out d) there is a right answer, so your teachers cannot be subjective

I think a lot of fear of math comes from your parents. My parents always encouraged me to love math, and that it was something wonderful and powerful. My mother taught me addition and subtraction when I was 4. My father taught me basic algebra when I was 6. Maybe that made it easier when I was older, since my brain already had a taste for abstract reasoning.

See, Malgosia proves my point. If your one of those “naturally” gifted math students, you love it. The only thing I was learning at age 6 was how dirty I could really get, haha.

I was raised in a mix atmosphere. My father was a big math student, while my mom hated it. I learned a lot of Geometry when I was young, which is why it was much easier in high school, because my dad used it daily with his job.

Like most subjects, if you start young, it comes more naturally.

I believe, only a happy few know anything about math – those who hate math only know school-math, and that is not math, that – normally – is pure boredom and fear.

I think, with math it is like with many important issues in the modern world: Actually math makes the world go round, but in normal life you often choose to ignore that – an you get away with that, normally. No computer-graphic is working without algebra, projective geometry and stuff, no highway-exit can be build without using tons of calculus, no complex business will get away without lots of algebra of matrices, cost calculation etc. So, you normally don’t have to be able to understand the technology beneath the surface of your car – but in case of a breakdown in the northern territories you better do!

On a deeper level we can start to differ between math (the stuff you missed to learn at school) and mathematics, which is quite another story: While math being a bunch of tools to deal with the outer world, mathematics, abstract mathematics is THE structured way of thinking – the ultimate way of brain-jogging. You want to learn to think? Train your brain with mathematics! You want to find the flaws in your opposites thoughts? Train your brain with logic and analytic thinking as the old mathematicians did!

As mentioned above – you can live a rich live without ever hearing about math – but why, when doing math can be THE ULTIMATE FUN and a wonderful straightforward approach to understand the world and its innermost connections?

But maybe this only a German approach:

“So that no more with bitter sweat I need to talk of what I don’t know yet, So that I may perceive whatever holds The world together in its inmost folds, See all its seeds, its working power, And cease word-threshing from this hour.” (Goethe, Faust)

I am still looking for someone who can teach me mathematics. It’s been a long and fruitless hunt. The last math teacher who cared to help me understand math was my 9th grade algebra teacher. I still have the dollar bill he gave me to keep in a vitamin jar for a rainy day. It’s one of my most prized possessions. He was a truly kind man who loved math and wasn’t offended by people who didn’t. He kept his sense of cheer and humor and that was inspiring.

I have been prepared to give this talisman to to the next person who cares enough to teach me math… But, I’ve been looking for so long and found no one, that I honestly expect to leave it to a friend when I die. My experience has been that most people who love math like people who love math and express pity towards those of us who don’t. (I’m sure other people have other experiences, but this has been mine.) Since I don’t love math and don’t enjoy pity, I haven’t managed to find my next math teacher.

I’ve felt truly handicapped about math my whole life. Always wanted to learn physics, but couldn’t do the math. I’m still looking…

???

I have a theory on why kids (and adults when they grow up) don’t like math. Here’s the theory.

Assumption: When you get the right answer in a math problem, you feel great. Conversely, when you get the wrong answer, you feel horrible.

So the kids who get the right answer, feel math is wonderful, and this feeling builds on itself. Over time learners are able to appreciate the beauty of math, and they begin to love math.

But there are so many problems, that everyone does get the wrong answer sometimes, and that is where negative emotions for math begin building up.

Like lechuck says, eventually students will feel stupid. My group theory prof (a japanese prof called Harada) used to say…math is very strange: if you know something, its easy, if you don’t, it very hard.

Teachers too don’t realise this. Notice how math teachers have a tendency to put down students getting the wrong answer. Notice how they reward students when they get the problem quickly.

Actually, how quickly you get a math problem is not so important…how much time you spend trying is more important. If you have to think about a puzzle for a long time and then getting the solution gives a great feeling. Its the same as making a big effort on a painting, or practicing for long hours to give a good concert, or finding the bug in your code after worrying over it all night. Those are the feelings that a teacher has to generate and communicate.

And teachers have to teach students how to overcome the pain of not being able to do the problem, or getting the right answer.

Anyhow, by and large, if we teachers give opportunities to students to succeed in getting the right answer, and teach them to deal with getting it wrong sometimes, I expect students will begin liking math.

What say?

PS. Sorry for the delayed responses…somehow I just saw a mail today that there has been an update on this discussion. Maybe the discussions can also be reported in the inbox?