It’s no secret that from an early age, children should be aware of the importance of learning math, not just for their school years but for a lifetime.
However, there are people who suffer from a condition called “arithmophobia”, an irrational fear and a loss of control over numbers and mathematics, making it difficult for them to learn.
The pandemic has left various needs with demands on organizations, so much so that employers are looking for high-tech resumes with the skills to occupy positions in occupations STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Therefore, it is necessary to learn mathematics in school, when children are more capable of absorbing this knowledge, so that when they enter professional life, they can be part of the world of this type of occupation, which is highly sought after in all countries of the world, but is difficult to obtain, since arithmophobia prevents young people from choosing any of these careers.
“Parents and teachers play an important role in teaching mathematics so that students between 4 and 14 years old learn to love one of the subjects that has been the “bogeyman” of students for a long time; fear is inherited, therefore, phrases such as “I am very bad at math” should be avoided, which are very typical, since, without being aware, the brain is being programmed not to understand them”. points out Xavier Arroyo, co-founder of the Smartick online learning method and education expert.
The 4 strategies to learn mathematics
In this sense, to avoid the fear that mathematics creates in some people, such as sweating and stress caused by arithmophobia, the online learning method, smartickproposes 4 strategies for children to learn without great difficulties:
1. one online platform with artificial intelligence is one of the strategies most appreciated by parents, since the personalization of the lessons allows children and adolescents to progress at their own pace, complete what they have learned in class and with just one daily 15-minute home study session.
2. use textbook resources for math practice is another strategy that parents and teachers can use to promote learning in young children. Each student learns at a different pace, so “gamification” has become a technique transferred to the educational field, in order to achieve better results.
3. practice and relax is another recommended strategy. All people are born with the same ability to learn, only some people develop it more easily than others, for this reason, for students who find it difficult, the best way is practice, practice and practice, because with time all this will begin to flow better. Nerves are not the best adviser and before a test or exam it is best to concentrate and apply what you have learned.
4. The last and most important strategy to reduce math fear and anxiety is exercise in activities of daily living, such as when parents go grocery shopping with their children, with which you can encourage your child to calculate weights and costs or receive change for doing so. In this way, it is guaranteed to be an entertaining and fun way to make children more confident in math problems that the teacher may put in the class test.
