Some people are good at sciences, others are not. I myself don’t like math. So I study liberal arts classes as my major. From junior high school, I tart to find that I am not good at math. Not only because of math is very difficult but also whenever I see math problems, I feel dizzy and uncomfortable. Later in high school, I always try to avoid math, and now I’m a junior student, the highest math class I’ve taken is pre-calculus. Parents and teachers tell me that don’t think of yourself not good at math, you should study hard and nothing is impossible. However, I always tell them that it is impossible because I hate math and I am not good at it.
Hence, I browse online and surprisingly find that being good at math is not about natural ability. Although perhaps some people have talent in math, research published in Child Development found that hard work and good study habits were the most important factor in improving math ability over time. Sometime, what really matters is our attitude which let us cause anxiety. Over half of the 18 to 34-year-old bracket find themselves regularly saying they can’t do math. Interestingly, nearly one-third of Americans indicates that they would rather clean a bathroom than solve a math problem. Just like me, my attitude really makes me afraid of this subject.
Not only me, I bet a lot of students have this problem. There are math-specific learning disabilities like dyscalculia — sort of the math equivalent of dyslexia, but this isn’t always the reason for students like me. We should overcome the difficulties, although it’s hard. We should focus math as a skill, hard work, not natural ability, is the most important factor.
I also always thought that I am not a “math person”. I always hated any subject that would involve math and tried to avoid it as much as possible. But I had to have at least 3 credits for math so there was no other choice but to face “math” for 3 years. I realized that I was not as bad at math as I thought about it. There were difficulties but I was able to deal with them. In the end it was just my attitide rather than proclivity to math. It would be better for people to try harder rather than give up right away.
I believe that being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ at math has nothing to do with ability. Since math is dreaded by some people, they develop an anxiety for math. Therefore, whenever they see a problem that looks confusing, they almost immediately move on because they don’t believe they can do it. However, the time people spend on attempting to solve these problems is, on average, simply not long enough. Anyone can be a good at most aspects of math if they not like math affect their emotional state. Here is an article that talks about math anxiety and how it can be reduced.