Fear of
Math-Dyscalculia
Times are changing but we continue to churn
out students which suited the needs of the Raj era when Indians were given modern
education (or were made literate) to provide clerks for the British offices.
But is that what we need today?
Government apathy and teacher’s reluctance
to change has played a major role in reducing our education system to the
deplorable state which is totally mark based and a direct and most immediate
impact is seen on Math understanding and result. As all of us present here can vouch
that the earliest signs of a child not doing well academically is reflected
first and foremost in Math grades which results in disinterest and consequently
fear of the subject.
Fear of Math is something very common. We
are all aware that it exists but as it has been there since times immemorial
and it is so wide spread that even though we talk about it and express our
concerns in this regard, there seems to be very little serious effort put in to
address the issue. While researching for my topic I was looking for effective
and standard test for assessing Dyscalculia which comes under the heading of
“learning difficulties”. Many a times its symptoms overlap with that of
Dyslexia so diagnosis becomes a tricky matter. But while there is a virtual
deluge of material on dyslexia and enough standard tests and established
remedies to treat it, there were hardly any such material for Dyscalculia. A
few online tests are available which
screen Dyscalculia on an elementary basis but a detailed analysis is still not
available easily.
Why is it so? It is my personal opinion
that a large number of people who understand numbers consider the one who don’t
as being inferior to them. A very popular conception is that probably “math is
just not their thing” and the matter rests there. Nothing more can be done.
While it might be true in a small percentage of people but us as teachers, we cannot and should not generalize.
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