When I was young I started hearing about the ‘new math’, that is a curriculum based upon teacher elementary school students some basic concepts (set theory, commutative and distributive laws, etc.) rather than the ‘old school’ , time tested methods of inculcating basic mastery of arithmetic number manipulation. The reason for this change was that in the Sputnik age, there was a need to get as many engineers and scientists as possible, and traditional methods of teaching math didn’t seem to be able to produce the vast numbers of technocrats we thought we needed…

The intent was right, but I think that the powers that be made a few mistakes in how they asked some of these questions… We live in a closed system where even the teachers (in elementary school, in almost all other subject areas in middle and high school, and even an alarming number of math teachers) don’t really like math, many are math phobic and see this subject as a slow form of teacher sadism towards students. How can a student make it through a gauntlet of these attitudes with a positive sensibility about math?

The 1960’s New Math initiative did have one saving grace; it moved some of the heavy lifting in learning some of the basics of algebra from 8^th and 9^th grade to elementary school. This is significant, in that it moved some of the disciplined activities needed in mastering some of these concepts form 8^th and 9^th graders (th4 most obstreperous of all students, and when presented with the idea of teaching a discipline, the last group of people on the earth to come to mind as a great audience…).

But this doesn’t encapsulate all of what Math Phobia may actually be…

I have some quotes detailing some entry level elementary school teacher’s attitudes, and the modern notion of looking at this sort of topic from a gender perspective…I’ll leave it to you to make some sense of this…as well as to whether you think that math is a worthwhile subject (I am quite biased here, and am a Mathphile!!!).

Mathphobia: its existence, severity, and possible remedy
http://www.blog.republicofmath.com/?p=2540

As is my custom in these courses, I asked students in a class to introduce themselves to each other, and to give us all some information about their backgrounds. One young woman responded, when it was her turn to tell us about herself, that she was unusual in that she was mathphobic. I used this opportunity to ask the class who else would regard themselves as mathphobic. More than half the class of about 30 students raised their hands. I then said: “Please only leave your hand raised if by mathphobic you mean shaking with fear or wanting to vomit when you have to do mathematics.” Not one person lowered their hand.

Think about that for a minute: over 15 young adults, preparing to go into schools and teach elementary age children, shaking with fear or wanting to vomit when they had to do mathematics. Doesn’t bode well for young children learning mathematics does it?

Math Phobic?
http://tftb.com/math.html

I’m taking Intermediate Algebra. Why? Good question. It’s so I can get into Pre-Calculus next semester. Why on earth would I want to do that? Well, so I don’t choke in Calculus. And why on earth would I want to take that? So’s I can get into the Computer Science graduate program of my choice. And I’ll be darned if I know how any of this will ever be useful, since I expect once I get a job in my chosen field, all I’ll ever have to do is answer to employees whose computers have locked up by saying, "Oh, that’s a Windows bug. Reboot your computer!"

Explaining Math Anxiety in Girls
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/25/tech/main6140298.shtml

Despite gains in recent years, women still trail men in some areas of math achievement, and the question of why has provoked controversy. Now, a study of first- and second-graders suggests what may be part of the answer: Female elementary school teachers who are concerned about their own math skills could be passing that along to the little girls they teach.

Young students tend to model themselves after adults of the same sex, and having a female teacher who is anxious about math may reinforce the stereotype that boys are better at math than girls, explained Sian L. Beilock, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Chicago.

Joseph D’Agnese on Math Phobia
http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-post-joseph-dagnese-on-math.html

I think back to the way I was taught math in the 1970s and wonder if my suffering might have been ameliorated had I been told some stories along the way.

Fibonacci’s tale is particularly rich and engaging. He sailed the Mediterranean, and helped convert the western world from I-II-III to 1-2-3. Some historians argue that without the robust methods of calculation and accounting born out of the Hindu-Arabic numerals he introduced to the west, the Renaissance would not have occurred.

What a profound contribution! Yet you will not find that theory in your kid’s math or history textbooks, even today.

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