What Do We Do When Kids Don’t Like Math?
A MiddleWeb Blog
Recently, I was walking around the room helping students complete an assignment. One student was off task, looking at something on her phone. I asked the student to start working on the assignment. When she hesitated I said, “Please put that away, it’s not important right now.” She replied, “Neither is this.”
It made an impression on me because of the way the student said it. She wasn’t being rude or sarcastic, just matter-of-fact. The student is a very pleasant person; she just doesn’t like math. And she’s not an outlier. Over the years I’ve had many other students tell me they don’t like math.
When I first started teaching, I was always surprised when students (both boys and girls – it’s really pretty much a 50/50 split) told me they didn’t like math. After eleven years I’m not surprised anymore, but it still bothers me.
Even when a student follows up with, “I like you, I just don’t like math,” it upsets me. It hurts because I realize I’ve failed that student. My job is to help them see how useful, beautiful and interesting math is.
Strugglers and skeptics
In my experience, students who don’t like math usually fall into the following categories:
1.) Students who have struggled in the past and think they are not “math people.”
2.) Students who don’t see the relevance or importance of math.
3.) Students who are very focused on other areas and just are not interested in math.
That’s not to say those are the only scenarios, but that’s what I tend to see most often. With this in mind, I have listed a few a challenges and goals related to helping students learn to like math. In this article I’ve tried to focus on how we might reach the student who may have struggled in the past or the one who thinks they are just not a “math person.”
- The sheer number of standards we are assigned to teach. For instance, I currently teach Algebra 2 with Trigonometry. The Alabama Course of Study contains 50 content standards for this course. Teaching the assigned content standards leaves little time for activities not directly related to content.
- Test prep. My students will take the ACT in the spring which means test prep beforehand. I don’t think test prep has ever fostered a love of mathematics in students!
- Gaps in understanding. People tend to dislike things when they continuously struggle to figure out what’s going on.
- Students have heard their parents or other adults say they don’t like math, so it seems natural and okay that they don’t like math either.
- Every student is different. For example, some students love to work with other students, and some students find group work very uncomfortable.
- Post a puzzle for students. Puzzles provide a chance for all students to start on equal footing and let some students excel who typically struggle. I have had good success posting puzzles and games at the front of the room and letting students participate voluntarily. All I have to do is put up a fresh puzzle or number challenge and certain students will be drawn to it. ( Math Equals Love is great resource for puzzles and activities.) One student suggested that it is more helpful if the puzzle is related to the lesson.
- Keep students from becoming discouraged because of gaps in understanding by providing an entry point for all students in all lessons. The objective here is to carefully think of all the skills required for the lesson and a way to help students who may be lacking this skill. This is much easier said than done, because it means rethinking every lesson and looking at it through the eyes of struggling students.
- Realize that everyone’s definition of fun is different. Some students love Kahoot, but that doesn’t mean that everyone will think it’s fun. Just because I searched the internet for hours to find a Numberphile video that I think is awesome does not mean that all the students will like it. Just be satisfied if a few or even one student is inspired by it.
- Be more patient. Many students already feel insecure about their math skills and they will need extra time and encouragement.
- Be sensitive and make allowances for the variety of personalities in the classroom.
- Share what I personally love about math. I love Escher prints and I have them placed throughout my room. I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations with students about his art. Discover Escher and his work here and here.
Another area I need to address: many students say they don’t like math because they don’t see the relevance. Students will tell me point blank that they will never use what they are learning in Algebra 2 with Trig. Or they will ask, “where will I use this?” I think that is a valid question, but it is a topic worthy of deeper exploration, which I plan to explore in a future post.
Even though I get discouraged when a student tells me they don’t like math, I’m going to keep trying! I know on some level that I can’t make all students love math (or even like it). But it is my job to try. I think it’s important for students to leave my class with the best possible impression of math that I can give them.
How do you deal with students who say they don’t like math? Please add comments below.