Tests Anxiety

Mathematics anxiety is a psychological condition that affects young people of school age. This is characterized by fear of mathematics in many contexts. The apprehension could be concerning the manipulation of numbers itself or it could be the tension felt when having to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematics anxiety could be related to a person’s academic performance. As it was believed that not all people are mathematically gifted, a perfectionist student would develop the apprehension for the discipline simply because of his fear of failing. There are also some people who believe that this is related to gender. They believe that since women in their teens are more interested in developing social relations, they tend to suffer from mathematics anxiety during their school years.
Students who suffer from mathematics anxiety exhibit two forms of symptoms, the somatic and cognitive. The somatic symptom is when one loses control of some of his body functions. For instance, he gets upset stomach, sweaty palms or his body temperature drastically changes. The cognitive symptom, on the other hand, is characterized by feelings of a self-doubt, mental block or negative self-talk.
Students usually develop mathematics anxiety in school. This may be caused by learning from teachers who are equally anxious about their own mathematical abilities. To be allowed to teach, not all math teachers are required to have a deep aptitude. So what they usually do is discourage students from learning about the subject by invoking fear. This is to prevent the students from asking questions that may expose their inability to provide answers that are not readily available in the text books they are using. This practice unwittingly passes on the teacher’s own anxiety to the students.
Fortunately, there are no solutions available to people who are suffering from mathematics anxiety. People of all ages can seek assistance from professionals who have credentials in counselling and math education. These math therapists combine coaching and counselling wherein the apprehension is addressed while enhancing the mathematical skills of patients. The patients are given new coping skills that could help them deal with their fear or other negative feelings that block their ability to learn math.
It was proven that students can learn best if they actively participate with the learning process. Math therapists understand that everyone has the ability to learn, it’s just that not everyone has the same learning style. This is why they developed several learning concepts that can be applied to different types of students suffering from mathematics anxiety.
The best way a parent can prevent mathematics anxiety on a child is to encourage math learning at a young age. A parent should also understand the importance of having the child memorize the multiplication table. Having it memorize at a young age can make various mathematical tasks easier. And most important of all, a parent should allow his child to take his own pace in learning math.
Mathematics anxiety is experienced by most students. But it could present harm if not addressed properly. As a parent, you should be able to recognize if your child is suffering from mathematics anxiety. Work on correcting it right away, so the child not to develop an anxiety towards learning in general.