Jesmeen Deo
Contributor

lasses are back in full swing, meaning that UNBC students
are all (officially, anyway) getting down to the books for
some pretty demanding classes like math.

Did you get a terrified feeling in your stomach at the mention
of that subject? If so, you’re not alone. About a quarter

of the population has some level of math anxiety - and

we're not even talking about calculus-level material. From
sales discounts to estimating grocery bills to calculating

tips at restaurants, many people experience some level of
apprehension over even basic arithmetic. Why is that?

As CBC’s Quirks and Quarks reported, we may finally have
some answers. Dr. Erin Maloney, a researcher with the
Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago,
recently published an interesting study with first and
second graders which showed that math-anxious parents
are much more likely to have math-anxious children.

Her study asked parents and children to rate how they felt
about math in a variety of creative ways, and then followed
up on the children’s learning at the end of the school year.

The math-anxious parents had kids who learned
significantly less math in the school year and, at the end
of it, expressed higher math anxiety than normal; but the
kicker was, this was only the case if the parents helped
the children with their homework. Dr. Maloney proposes
that children are adopting their parents’ feelings towards
math from an early age as they work closely together.

These feelings only compound further as they grow

older. Why? Felix Recio, senior lecturer at the University

of Toronto, may have put it best: “Math is almost 100 per
cent cumulative. Whatever you meet in Grade 1, you'll

find in Grade 2. And whatever you miss in high school will
be trouble at university.” It’s important to build a strong
foundation most especially when it comes to math- and now
there is convincing evidence that that includes attitude.

So what’s the takeaway from all of this? Blame your parents
for your poor math scores? Resolve never to help anyone with
math ever again lest you pass on the anxiety? Resign yourself
to inevitable heart palpitations every time you see a row of

numbers? Not exactly, according to Dr. Maloney. As with every

subject in school, outlook is everything. She suggests people

UNBC Life 5

teach someone else, using phrases such as “If you work really
hard, you'll get it” rather than reinforcing other negative but
popular stereotypes such as “Not everyone can be good at it”.

Of course, it’s a little more difficult to teach an old dog new
tricks. Maybe math anxiety feels unavoidable for some of
us- but something can be done about it. If you find yourself
struggling, just remember there are plenty of resources at
the University to help with math problems- ask your TAs,
grab some helpful topic sheets from the Academic Success
Centre, or take advantage of the completely free homework
help over at Mathematical Academic Centre for Excellence
(MACE) in the Teaching And Learning Building (Building 10).

It’s the same for any subject, really. A positive attitude,
combined with seeking help when you need it, is the
true recipe for success here. Don’t believe it? Well, then
do the math - and this time with a smile on your face.

The data were compared and the results were startling.

take a more positive position about math when trying to

The First Year’s Guide to WINIZIVIEIRISITITIL)

Grant Bachand
Team Member

he welcome back that the university gives is always tremendous, but this year being that it

is the last year of my undergrad, I felt the warmth that much more and a ton of relief that
it is almost over. It occurs to me that this may be many people’s first year, and they might bea
bit nervous about being in university. I thought the best thing to do is pass along some of my
learnings to the newbies.

Relax and be yourself. I know it is a cliché, but it is true for a good reason. When you are
stressed and nervous you don’t think clear and you may miss a lot of things. So, if you want to
learn anything make sure you relax first and enjoy the ride. You may be coming out of high
school, or possibly coming back to university after years off. If you are coming out of high
school then you are probably think you know whom you are and what you are comfortable
with it. Trust me you don’t, or you are probably being, and acting like someone who you
really aren’t, in order to maintain some sort of social facade you have created for yourself
you can stop that now. My advice is to forget all the things you thought you knew about
yourself and what you should do and be open to rediscovering yourself. I know at this point
you are thinking that this is going to be a corny list with some useless points from Shia
LaBeouf videos, and it kind of is. Trust me, if you don’t allow yourself to reinvent yourself, or
discover who you are, university is going to be is an extension of high school, and you are not
in high school anymore. You are in the real world, or at least pretty close to the real world.

Join a club, or student organization to find your kind of people. Now do not just join one
club, join multiple. Debate Club, Commerce Student Society, Drama Club, Chemistry Club
and much more all are good options to explore and discover. If you do not like the club

simply drop out and join a different club. Whatever you do, do not let titles dictate what

club you join. If you let your major pigeonhole what you do then you will never know
if you are doing the right thing for yourself. As you explore and discover more about
what you like and dislike you will find it easier to make your decisions in the future.
A university experience without at least joining one club is a waste of your time.

Learn how to deal with stress, judgment, disappointment and regret. In your time

at university you will feel all these emotions at different times and at different
intensity. I usually find around finals I get hit with all of them at once. The best thing
to do is to find a coping strategy, and use it. If you don’t learn to cope with stress
early on you will find these four or five years really long and extremely draining.

Find a mentor and learn from them. One of the best things I did as a person was find
someone who was older, wiser and learn some valuable life skills from them. When I was
at CNC I met a man who was a lot older than myself, at the time I was around 19 - 20.1
hung out with him and we became good friends, this friendship I found to be one of the
most valuable friendships I have had in my life. 1 am a much different person after my
friendship with him, and now I am able to pass along the stuff I learned from him to other
people. The things I learned from him are skills that I have used everyday since. Like I
did, you need to find your Obi-Wan Kenobi, and learn to use the Force from them.

Final tip: find a buddy. University may not be anything like war but when the shit
hits the fan, having someone with you that is going through the same stuff as you, is
something that can be immensely comforting. You will change majors, break up with
partners, have fights with colleagues, fail classes and possibly forget altogether why
the hell you are going through all this crap in the first place. My advice is to find a
partner and hunker down, because a storm is coming, and it is going to last a while.