Out of the various academic subjects, Math is considered as the least favourites of all! From an early age, students struggle in solving basic sums and calculations, and as they began to grow, solving difficult equations feels like a distant dream to them. In the majority of the cases, it has been found out that students are anticipated with great apprehension for this subject.
As per a survey conducted by the Annual Status of Education Report, 61% of class VIII students were not able to solve simple Math. From the fear of getting flunked to deteriorating one’s mental health, the Math subject is like an unlucky 13 number for students. In this blog, we will discuss what are the underlying reasons behind this and how students can overcome their fear of studying Math and scoring better in exams.
Here are the possible reasons:
1) Lack of imagination
The mind of every child is imaginative, but when it comes to solving Math problems, this imagination takes a questionable road. If you ask a student to solve 5+5 by simply doing calculations on fingers, he might give an accurate answer as it is direct and does not involve many complications. But, if you twist the same question and add a touch of critical imagination by asking them to solve the ‘if you have 5 chocolates’ word problem, then he might get confused in giving the right answer. The major reason is that he is not able to activate his critical thinking skill. If he will not be able to imagine the question in his mind, then he will not be able to write down the answers on paper. Hence, because of not bringing his imagination and developing the habit of critical thinking, students face difficulties in solving Math problems.
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2) Cramming over understanding the concepts
The base for solving any Math calculation or equation is knowing and understanding the concepts in-depth, and it requires both practice and patience. But the majority of the students believe in doing the sums fast. This is a prolonged habit they have developed from a very early age. Students believe in solving the problems faster, and as a result, they start to mug up the theorems and equations. As we are aware of the fact that cramming leads to no good; hence it creates problems for the students. It is practically impossible to memorize every theorem, equation, or trigonometric sum; hence, they face difficulties in solving the problems because of their habit of not understanding the concepts to the core.
3) Not relevant to daily life
Math is an abstract subject, and as a matter of fact, it is difficult for students to relate to the subject. If students know the drill, then it might become easier for them to answer, but on a practical note, everything is abstract; hence, they find it difficult to catch the momentum. From basic word problems to unique probability questions to understanding trigonometry problems, its relevance with normal life is far-sighted; hence it becomes problematic for them to grasp the concept. Even if they figure out the answer, they will be left with the fact that this is not applicable in real life. They will always be unsatisfied with it, and it will lead to a struggle in solving the sums in near future.
4) Fear of the subject
Some people don’t understand this but having fear and phobias of a specific subject is a serious problem faced by the students. Arithmophobia is the fear of numbers, and because of this students struggle to solve numerical problems. The underlying cause might be idiopathic or related to some history, and this leads to anxiety and fear for the subject. The students feel disconnected from the subject and get trapped in an unknown pattern. From the fear of getting low marks to being humiliated in front of classmates, students feel demotivated studying Math.
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5) Not proper guidance
Sometimes it is difficult for a student to cope up with the classroom learning environment; hence, they lag in their studies. Students don’t understand the concepts of Math in the class, and it increases one after another. This leads to a pool of unresolved queries. Hence, students find it difficult to manage their syllabus and solve their problems on their own. The lack of attention and not receiving proper guidance lead to poor marks in Math.
Though this subject is not on the wishlist for many students because of the following reasons, still, students can score better in the exam and manage this difficulty of solving the Math problem with HomeGuru. Here we provide maths home tuition as well as online classes to improve your score and perform better. Our Math home tutors are highly qualified, and they can help in overcoming your fear of solving problems with ease.