Blog – 6 Sept 22 – Do you say: “I’m just no good a maths”?

In my experience, the one universal truth for adults who say they “are no good at maths” is that they gave up on maths when they were introduced to fractions at school. Learning to recognise and manipulate fractions creeps into the curriculum early in primary school and children are expected to have grasped the concepts and be ready apply them in high school. Those who have not ‘got it’ are then on a slippery path of continuing to “fail” to ‘get’ maths. For many this failure has not only led to giving up on maths, it has led to a conviction that they are dumb, and in the worst cases disengagement from formal education.

I have worked with such adults to resolve their lack of understanding of fractions, and sure, some took a lot of work, on both our parts, to ‘get it’. But, in a very significant number of cases learning is quick and accompanied by comments such as “it cannot be that simple”, or “are you sure that’s all there is to this?” They are not dumb. They simply have a gap in their learning. They can ‘get it’. Getting it boasts their self-belief and reopens the opportunity for engaging in learning to reach their full potential.

I am NOT saying that lack of self-belief and loss of engagement in formal education is solely a result of failure to ‘get’ fractions. What I am saying is that, in my experience, for adults who are self-diagnosed as bad at maths, this ‘failure’ is very likely to have had its beginnings in their not ‘getting’ fractions. This often leads to an intergenerational downward spiral as these adults often pass on messages to their children such as “we are not good at maths in this family”. We can, and must, stop this cycle.

Life coaching, coupled with basic maths instruction, can turn this around. It is never too late for adults! For children, timely intervention prevents the development of a negative self-belief which helps students stay engaged in learning. I am a life coach and an experienced educator. I combine the two!

Stop saying “I’m just no good a maths”. Restore belief in your ability. Set your children up for success.