1120 words
Understanding middle school math angst
by Michele Ranard

As a math tutor, I once received a phone call from a mother feeling so desperate for help, she held the phone out so I could hear the shouting match ensuing as her husband attempted to help their tween son, Chase with math homework. It sounded more like the chaotic bedlam of a Jerry Springer soundstage than a suburban kitchen!

Tearful homework dramas like this one are common. Chase said he hated math, his frazzled parents were “losing it” trying to help, and emotions escalated. Throw adolescent hormones and rebellion into the mix, and it can feel like math mayhem.

Understanding the dynamics of middle school math angst may ease your pain if you have an under-achieving tween (and just may keep the kitchen less Springer-like).

Middle School Math Angst

The majority of my tutoring students are like Chase. In middle school, they have lost joy for math, have fallen behind, and feel hopeless about catching up. Many students find it difficult to engage in the abstract thinking expected of them in middle school. Then there is the cool factor—it may no longer be embarrassing or “uncool” to be bad at math. Few tweens would brag they cannot read, yet there is little stigma attached to “I can’t do math.”

Parents may feel discouraged too. Your own struggle with math have left you feeling helpless or biased that some folks get it, and some just don’t. In my experience, when students learn to do math and experience success, they begin to like it. While a magic bullet for math angst has yet to materialize, there is always hope for your child – even if they are failing. Everyone can get better at math!

High Anxiety and Low Confidence

Taylor Swenson is a 7th grader who could barely speak during our first tutoring session. Her eyes filled with tears as she described feeling overwhelmed on test days. Staring down at her exam, she “felt clueless where to begin.” Test anxiety is common for students like Taylor who lack confidence.

Confronted with repeated failure, math anxiety may be masked with callousness (“I’ll never use this stuff anyway”), anger (“It’s too difficult!”), or false indifference (“Whatever”). With so many mixed feelings, it is no surprise that even the most easygoing of parents finds it unnerving to help with math. Sometimes finding a tutor is the answer.

Why Tweens Shut Down

Young adolescents who struggle with math often “shut down” in math class to avoid painful feelings and defeat. They have trouble seeing the meaningfulness of solving abstract problems so removed from their real life. They have not lived long enough to develop an appreciation for the beauty of the logic in math. So it becomes a vicious cycle of poor performance, shutting down, failure of new material to become anchored, etc.

Tweens caught in the cycle need to feel safe in order to open up. A warm, friendly environment is essential to breaking the cycle. Instead of diving right into solving problems or rehearsing math facts, a good tutor will take time to build trust with your student. The tutor will explain why investing effort into math is worthwhile. If this sounds touchy-feely (“I want my child to PERFORM better in math, not necessarily FEEL better about it”), I would assure you that addressing anxiety and safety is a critical step toward improved performance and grades.

8 Strategies to Build Math Confidence

While tutoring sessions are tailored to meet the needs of each individual student, the following strategies are always weaved into my work. They may be used as a framework for discussions with a math tutor or teacher.

*Engage students in a working relationship. Most students need an answer to WHY BOTHER with math? The objective in tutoring is not to pour into the student all the formulas, theorems, and math expertise of the tutor. Better performance in math is more often a result of seeds planted in tutoring, hard work, and a strong relationship with the tutor.

* Explore strengths and obstacles to learning. Frequently, math teachers have suggestions for how a student may improve. Chase’s teacher reported his tendency to drift off during lectures and his inability to get started on assigned work. Tutoring sessions will reveal a student’s learning style (visual? auditory?), impairments (never mastered math facts? bad note taking? disorganized?), and strengths (abstract thinker? good at mental math?).

*Set them up for success. When possible, students should be given choices. Rather than articulating immediately how a math problem should be approached, students may be asked, “What math operation could be applied here?” It becomes deeply satisfying for them when they can truly own their success. This is different than being the submissive recipient of a tutor’s help.

*Improve math vocabulary. Math teachers are sometimes pressured to squeeze a math lesson into a half hour, leaving little time for vocabulary instruction. However, students need to be able to understand and discuss terms such as factors, multiples, integers, proportions, and equivalent fractions.

*Provide tools to seek help. Vocabulary for math is a valuable tool for soliciting help and answers quickly and effectively from teachers and textbooks. When vocabulary is weak, a student may say to the teacher “I don’t know what to do with these fraction thing-ies,” whereas a developed vocabulary helps them express, “I keep forgetting how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers.”

*Explore self-image. With repeated failure in math, students may become vulnerable to negative “self-talk.” They may tell themselves “I’m just dumb” or “My teacher thinks I’m slow.” Chase’s negative catch phrase was “I’ve NEVER been good at math.” Parents may unwittingly reinforce such negativity when they say “I was never good at math either.” Students need encouragement that: nobody is perfect, a math grade does not reflect intelligence, and math can be learned in different ways.

*Restructure counter-productive self-talk. Taylor’s reading comprehension skills were unfortunately weak for word problems in math. However, the negative “I’m horrible at word problems!” became “Reading comp is tricky for me so I have to draw pictures to get what the problem is asking.” If a student’s memory is poor for the rules to add integers, “I’ll never remember all this!” can become “Until I master adding integers, I’ll refer to my notes.” Even subtle shifts in thought patterns re-shape math attitudes.

*Acknowledge there is no substitute for hard work. If there is one mantra my students hear more than any other in tutoring, it is this one. There is just no substitute! Conquering math angst is an honorable quest and never a waste of time. (By the way, Chase won a math achievement award at school last month, and Taylor has a solid A- in math!)

Sidebar/100 words:

Got Math Angst?
Check the appropriate box of any statement which sounds like your child.

__ “I’m so bored in math, I would rather have a root canal.”

__ “When I have a math test, I am a nervous wreck and can’t remember a thing.”

__ “In math class I am always confused.”

__ “Sometimes I think I understand the math question, but then I’ll get it wrong.”

__ “Even if I understand my homework, I bomb my tests.”

(If you checked one or more of these, your student may benefit from a boost in confidence, utilizing the above strategies.)

Michele Ranard is a tutor, professional counselor, and freelance writer. Her math students mean the world to her and make her very proud. Visit her at hellolovelychild.blogspot.com.