Andrea's  description of her personal numeracy development is so real and rich. Once a math professor of mine started the class with the question: "How can a boring, heartless subject like math evoke so much emotion?" I often think about that remark and maybe the answer is more complex than we had bad math instruction. However, since I am a math teacher, people do tend to share with me some horror stories about  school math experiences that caused them to "check out" big time. When I read Andrea's story, I was interested in why one has to  divide by 4 and then multiply by 3. Does the division by 4 get the quarterly expenses? What does the multiplication by 3 do?  I think the answer to alleviating  math anxiety/avoidance is to keep asking why -to  keep sticking with the meaning behind the rules- if I know WHY you divide by 4, and then multiply by 3, and can picture it in my mind, I tend not to forget. It's memorizing rules I don't "get"  that makes me feel anxious. Anyway, this morning I am finally getting it together to go to a financial advisor for post divorce advice. The meeting is in 2 hours and writing back to you is one way to avoid stuff- hmm have to go - there's so much lint on my rugs and I would rather pick that than face the REAL math music. I have noticed that many people who say they are bad at math are great handling their money and a lot of math types are not so great (case in point). I think the two types could learn a lot from one another. Yours in the struggle, Mary Jane Schmitt <table width=100%> <tr valign=top> <td width=40%>Andrea Wilder <andreawilder@comcast.net> Sent by: womenliteracy-bounces@nifl.gov 06/22/06 05:42 PM <table border> <tr valign=top> <td bgcolor=white> <div align=center>Please respond to The Women and Literacy Discussion List <womenliteracy@nifl.gov></div></table> <td width=59%> <table width=100%> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=right>To</div> <td>The Women and Literacy Discussion List <womenliteracy@nifl.gov> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=right>cc</div> <td> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=right>Subject</div> <td>[WomenLiteracy 352] Re: math anxiety</table> <table> <tr valign=top> <td> <td></table> </table> <tt>Friends-- What I can contribute is personal experience, but  why not, it probably shows what numbers can do. Soon after I separated from my husband income tax time came around.  I knew i couldn't do  the math, but even assembling the documents was overwhelming.  i ended up on the rug of my rented apartment crying and   picking fuzz off the  rug. A couple of years later I had mastered the assemblage of documents, but i neglected to send in the completed forms until I got a letter from the IRS. Now, because i am a small business, I have to divide my expenses into 4ths and multiply by 3. I was so put together this year that I have even put the little coupons in their envelopes--stamped--and written down the reminders of tax time on my calendar. Turns out I am POWERFULLY  MOTIVATED  to save  money, so I put in the extra time to NOT SPEND on checks to the IRS. The above reasons are why I feel it is REALLY IMPORTANT for women to know the ins and outs of managing money.  I had to go out and get the   knowledge, and I sure wish I had had a helping hand, so I am really STRONGY in favor of emphasizing the practical uses of math. Planning what to do with money can give a person control and   motivation. Unless a person is planning to go into theoretical physics or math, money has daily practical consequences. Andrea On Jun 22, 2006, at 11:12 AM, Daphne Greenberg wrote: > Thank you Judy for sharing your anxiety about writing. I think that > this is a great ice breaker for a lot of us who have anxiety doing > math, thinking about explaining something in math, or even writing on > this listserv about math. I have two wonders: > 1. Do others on this listserv share my anxiety about anything related > to math? > 2. Judy, or others, what do you recommend for teachers who have math > anxiety who are teaching students who have math anxiety? > Thanks, > Daphne > >>>> j.e.ward@cox.net 6/21/2006 12:27 PM >>> > Greetings to everyone, > > Since this is a women and literacy list serve I assume that all have a > deep > concern and interest in advancing women through a literacy perspective. > Also, I assume that you all love reading and writing and would like to > help > others feel the same way. > > To get the numeracy and math anxiety discussion going I would like to > begin > from a different direction. I would like to tell you a little about my > "anxiety" with English class during my k-12 years. Although I never > made bad > grades, English class was a challenge for me. Remembering all the > sentence > structure rules was overwhelming and didn't make sense. Diagramming a > sentence, as well as the other 10 or so that were assigned, was a > painful > task. The process didn't make sense to me and I wasn't able to carry > the > exercise over to writing. > > Writing was and still is another challenge and most of the time almost > a > painful experience for me. You could say that my anxiety about putting > words > on paper is a stumbling block and I have to work extremely hard just > to get > started. There are times when I must write something important, like > now, > that my stomach gets knots in it, my mind goes blank and I have to > write and > rewrite over and over. Just before I send this email my anxiety level > will > increase drastically because someone will read this and find mistakes > or > think the writing is terrible. Where does this anxiety come from? > Probably > past experiences with teachers that loved and knew their subject but > didn't > teach the way I learn. We know a lot more now about how learning takes > place > than in my k-12 years. > > Now, for today's discussion question: Is there a relationship between > literacy and the content in a typical English class in the US? > > I look forward to the discussion. > > Judy Ward > > > > Judy Ward, Ed.D. > 6886 Young Farm Avenue > Springdale, AR 72762 > Phone: 479.361.2223 > Fax: 479.361.2223 > Email: j.e.ward@cox.net > > Arkansas Adult Numeracy Campaign > Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Adult Learners > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Women and Literacy mailing list > WomenLiteracy@nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/womenliteracy > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Women and Literacy mailing list > WomenLiteracy@nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/womenliteracy > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Women and Literacy mailing list WomenLiteracy@nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/womenliteracy </tt>