Math phobia

Inside March 11, 2003's Issue

-Features-

Teela Davis Helps Others

Attacked by Geese!

Math phobia strikes terror in the hearts of many students

By Michelle Huskins
Staff writer

The dreaded "quadratic formula," "parabolas," "logarithms," "polynomials," "Pythagorean theorems" and "trigonometric functions"-few words in the English language evoke such fear in the heart of one afflicted with math phobia.

A stranger met in a dark alley is not nearly as scary as an approaching math instructor armed with a test.

For some of us math has never been easy. As a child, I was lost as soon as my teacher started asking me how many apples I had left. This concept clearly confused me, considering I was never given any apples to begin with. My schoolmates continued to do well with their imaginary fruit, progressing from subtracting to multiplying and on to dividing. All the while I was still wondering if the apples were red or green.

$Math Phobia$ Surprisingly, not all numbers elude me. I do possess some extraordinary abilities in math. For instance, I can convert the calories in one crème-filled donut to the pounds I will be adding and calculate how many miles I will have to walk to subtract them.

I can also figure the exact amount I will pay for a pair of boots I snag from the 40 percent off rack with an additional 20 percent discount coupon and five dollar mail-in rebate, all this before I even get to the register. And to think I still have trouble moving my asymptote!

I am not alone; there are more mathematically challenged students than you might think. Most of us sit quietly and try not to be obvious as we recall the multiplication facts during a test. Others insist on being vocal and asking questions like "Why do I have to know this stuff if I'm not going to use it again anyway?" or "Isn't this why they invented a calculator?"

There is hope for those struggling to keep their math grade above C-level.

Some math instructors are happy to help (there are a couple of instructors that offer their home phone number in case a student runs into trouble while completing homework). The tutorial center is also available four days a week to answer the really tough problems like: "How long will it take Julio and Markus to mow the lawn if they work together?" or "How do I use that complicated graphing calculator that supposedly makes this stuff easier?"

Your friends could possibly be a source of help too. Ask around; if one of themhas made an "A" in calculus, then consider him or her your new study buddy. I for one cannot wait to impress my friends and family by using the law of the cosines to determine how far Andruw Jones runs to catch a line drive.

That will be the day when all this conjugating, graphing and factoring finally pays off. Until then I will continue to use more eraser than lead, make my instructors question their decision to teach mathematics in the first place and remain a regular at the tutorial center. For those of you blessed individuals who excel in math, I have only one question … how long does it take Julio and Markus to finish that lawn?