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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Eagle

Column: Fear cuts deeper than calculus

“Don’t worry guys!” the biology professor at the front of the lecture hall tells us, “it’s not that bad of math, you can do it!” She’s writing on the whiteboard, p2 2pq q2 = 1, the Hardy-Weinberg equation, designed for figuring out allele frequency in a population. I’m sitting there thinking, “Of course it’s not that bad of math! It’s basic algebra, something I quite literally learned when I was 12 years old.”

But you wouldn’t know it from looking at the other students in the lecture hall. Brows are furrowed. Pencils are scraping. I can practically hear the whispers between friends, I’m just not really a math person.

In my experience, I’ve found that many AU students aren’t very good at math. And AU students don’t think they are very good at math.

In fact, AU students are almost scared of math. As economics professor Matt Davis puts it, “when I put equations up on the board, people freak out.” He says the number one question he gets on the first day of his intermediate micro class is “How math intensive is this?”

Just like many other AU professors, he compensates. He makes jokes. He tells the students not to worry, warns them when the math is coming. And if someone does ask an unfortunate question that requires a mathematical explanation, he makes sure to tell everyone that if they aren’t math people, they can not pay attention for the next few moments. It’s okay.

Frankly though, it’s not. We’re college students. We can handle basic algebra. We can handle graphs and equations. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we can even handle calculus.

Now, don’t get worried. I’m not going to suddenly ask you to find the derivative of a quadratic equation. Because unless you are thinking to yourself, I can do that, you probably can’t. At least, not right now. But it’s not because you aren’t a math person. You see, there’s no such thing as a math person. There’s just such a thing as people who have studied and practiced math. People who aren’t scared of it. People who have realized that by putting forth the effort, anyone can learn to find the derivative of any equation they want.

Stop being so scared of math. Take a page out of Arya Stark’s book and remember that fear cuts deeper than calculus. Take a deep breath and remember that even if you have not immediately grasped how to do the problem, you can learn. Embrace what educators call the productive struggle—“the idea that struggling with the material means you’re learning and growing, even if you don’t get to the right answer”, as the Atlantic’s Sophie Quinton explains it.

And professors, stop enabling us. Don’t let us tell you we aren’t math people, and don’t joke your way out of making us embrace the productive struggle. In fact, embrace it right along with us! Force your students to struggle their way to a more mathematical understanding of concepts. Start requiring that level of understanding. And yes, it will be difficult for you to do so. But that is sort of the point.

edpage@theeagleonline.com


 Hosts Sara Winick and Sydney Hsu introduce themselves and talk about their favorite TV shows. This episode includes fun facts, recommendations and personal connections. 


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