Math anxiety is a problem that plagues many students and former students. In The New York Times piece “Math Anxiety? A Reporter Knows the Subject All Too Well,” Jan Hoffman explains how she, as a parent, still gets math anxiety. She cites Mark H. Ashcraft, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who provides more insight on this kind of anxiety. He states that parents have a strong influence on their children’s perspective on math, so if the parents are anxious, those feelings of stress can pass onto their children.

Ashcraft suggests asking instructors for lesson previews to get an idea of what students are studying and accessing internet resources for assistance. This anxiety is hard to tackle, so one of the most important things for parents is to be aware of their attitude toward math and how that translates to their children.

Read more from the article here.

Hoffman, Jan. “Math Anxiety? A Reporter Knows the Subject All Too Well.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Aug. 2015.