Increase Math Performance
Sujendra Prakash
- Why
- are
- we
- not
- doing
- well
- in
- math?
Are
- we
- afraid
- of
- Math
- or
- do
- we
- hate
- it?
What
- makes
- us
- lazy
- whenever
- we
- sit
- down
- to
- solve
- problems?Let
- us
- say,
- as
- students
- we
- are
- asked
- a
- simple
- question:
What
- is
- the
- square
- root
- of
- 256?
The
- question,
- of
- course,
- looks
- very
- simple.
- We
- confidently
- and
- happily
- write
- the
- answer
- as
- 16.
- To
- make
- it
- doubly
- sure,
- we
- use
- a
- calculator
- and
- find
- out
- that
- 16
- *
- 16
- =
- 256.
- We
- don't
- want
- to
- err
- at
- any
- cost,
- so
- we
- further
- try
- to
- find
- out
- the
- square
- root
- of
- 256
- and
- determine
- with
- conviction
- that
- our
- answer
- is
- right.
During
- an
- evaluation,
- the
- math
- teacher
- marks
- our
- answer
- wrong.
- All
- our
- confidence
- evaporates
- and
- we
- don't
- know
- why
- it
- is
- wrong.
- The
- teacher
- says
- that
- we
- have
- either
- forgotten
- or
- ignored
- one
- of
- the
- fundamental
- rules
- of
- arithmetic.
- Would
- we
- do
- that
- if
- we
- knew
- what
- the
- rules
- were?
If
- we
- are
- not
- able
- to
- score
- correctly
- even
- on
- a
- question
- that
- appears
- so
- simple,
- what
- guarantee
- is
- there
- we
- will
- do
- better
- on
- other
- problems?
This
- is
- what
- makes
- us
- afraid
- of
- math.
The
- major
- cause
- of
- fear
- is
- though
- you
- know
- 2
- +
- 2
- is
- not
- 5,
- you
- are
- not
- sure
- if
- it
- is
- 4
- because
- in
- the
- past
- you
- were
- considered
- wrong
- when
- you
- gave
- a
- correct
- answer.
Did
- you
- know
- that
- over
- 25
- skills
- in
- math
- are
- learned
- by
- a
- kindergarten
- child?
When
- you
- ask
- an
- adult
- or
- a
- college
- student
- what
- are
- those
- skills,
- they
- are
- shocked
- to
- find
- out
- that
- they
- can't
- name
- them!
If
- they
- can't
- name
- them,
- can
- they
- use
- them?
Yes.
- They
- are
- using
- these
- skills
- daily
- but
- they
- don't
- know
- what
- they
- are!
This
- is
- another
- reason
- why
- they
- are
- not
- doing
- well
- and
- are
- afraid
- of
- math!
During
- nursery
- days
- no
- one
- told
- them
- that
- they
- were
- learning
- skills
- and
- at
- that
- age,
- they
- won't
- know
- what
- a
- skill
- is?
Suddenly
- they
- are
- given
- a
- problem
- to
- solve
- and
- they
- are
- doubtful
- as
- to
- which
- skill
- to
- adopt?
- They
- would
- now
- have
- learned
- hundreds
- of
- skills
- and
- thousands
- of
- concepts
- but
- they
- are
- as
- ignorant
- about
- them
- as
- someone
- who
- has
- not
- attended
- school.
This
- book
- helps
- you
- to
- overcome
- all
- these
- and
- more
- fears
- you
- have
- about
- math
- by
- equipping
- you
- with
- relevant
- and
- suitable
- skills.
- It
- gives
- you
- a
- complete
- overview
- of
- how
- to
- make
- math
- easy
- and
- meaningful.
Please
- note
- that
- it
- is
- not
- a
- book
- of
- mathematics
- but
- a
- psychologist's
- view
- of
- why
- we
- are
- afraid
- of
- math
- and
- how
- to
- overcome
- such
- fears,
- anxieties,
- and
- hatred.
As
- long
- as
- these
- fears
- are
- there,
- we
- may
- not
- be
- able
- to
- enjoy
- doing
- math
- and
- score
- well.
This
- book
- provides
- an
- insight
- into
- how
- to
- make
- math
- easy
- for
- us,
- how
- to
- understand
- math,
- what
- kinds
- of
- thinking
- are
- involved
- in
- math,
- and
- how
- to
- practice math.
