Episode 1: Why People Struggle with Math

I am so glad you are here!

Welcome to my first ever podcast episode! I am so excited to be sharing this with you. 

Today’s episode is about the four main reasons why I find that students and people in general struggle with math. It’s partially the reason why I started this podcast in the first place.

Why People Struggle with Math

Reason #1: The Math is Too Hard

• Lack of prerequisite knowledge
• Lack of number sense

Reason #2: Common Vernacular

• Common Vernacular: the average language that a group of people speak in a certain region
• Sometimes the teacher can know their subject SO WELL, that they don’t know how to teach it to beginners. The teacher has an overall view of start to finish, where as the students don’t share that same experience.
• When students of other languages (ESOL) are present, they are learning not only to speak English, but also the academic vocab pertaining to that subject.

Reason #3: Math is Boring

• The math isn’t engaging for the students.
• The students are at a higher level than what is being taught and therefore don’t care.

Reason #4: The Struggle isn’t about the math

• A “hatred” of math could be caused by the situation the student is in. Whether they had a rough experience with the teacher, classmates, or the school in general.

To read more about this topic, check out this detailed blog post!