Unpleasant encounters with math in formative years can be
ruinous to subsequent learning. Students who were made to feel bad about math
become wary and prejudiced against it. They mistrust their own abilities. New
experiences in math, seen in light of the old, are tarnished by their troubled
past, which only accentuates and reinforces long-entrenched negativity.
Bad feelings persist. This impairs
prospects for learning new material and generates anxiety and self-doubt. They
say negative things to themselves, such as “I’m stupid”, “I’ll never be able to
do math”, “I’ll fail” and “Why do I need to know math anyway?” Soon a
continuous flood of negative talk about math ensues; before long, anxiety,
overwhelming fears of failing or looking stupid and panic set in.
Physically, these people may experience
nausea, perspire profusely, develop a headache or tight muscles, or exhibit a
number of other physical symptoms. Mentally, they become confused or
disorganized, make lots of careless errors, and forget formulas they knew,
can’t think clearly, or blank out entirely.
The end result: poor math performance,
avoidance of math, “choking under pressure”, and failure. All these negative
results lead back to more negative thinking, and the cycle continues.
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