Maths Fear to Maths Fearless!

Happy National Literacy and Numeracy Week! 

National Literacy and Numeracy Week aims to raise awareness of the importance of reading, writing, and mathematics skills and celebrate learning. 

To show our support for this special week with a message very close to our hearts, we have a special post today that was kindly written by Lynsey Handscomb that currently works for Steam Powered Stories' sister company, JanRo.  

Titled 'Maths Fear to Maths Fearless', Lynsey's piece aims to educate, entertain, and ultimately inspire everyone to believe they can be Maths Fearless just like she is now! 

Below is Lynsey's piece. Hope you enjoy! 

Maths Fear to Maths Fearless 

As a child, maths made me cry on a weekly basis. Sunday night would roll around, during which my exasperated parents would try to help me learn my times tables between my snotty sobs and sniffles. I struggled throughout my education with the more difficult maths challenges we are faced with in school such as equations, trigonometry, geometry etc. Most of these weird and wonderful things, to me, meant nothing. A Pie Chart was a creative way to record my favourite type of pie fillings - top of the chart being a pork pie, with corned beef being a definite last! I sighed through lesson after lesson where the numbers swam on the page in front of me, dodged my weekly homework, and shirked my revision. When GCSE season crept around, my parents decided to get me a tutor (for which I am still very grateful). I huffed, they puffed, but my maths reluctance blew down. I am proud to inform you that I did manage to get a C in my exam! Now a C may not mean much to some, but to me it’s the best grade on my certificate (helped by the fact it meant I did not have to re-sit!)

Now I’m an adult, maths no longer makes me cry. I actually enjoy working something out for myself and daily maths is actually, dare I say it, fun! I enjoy doing a quick long multiplication sum and I actually understand how to do long division now – my 10 year old self would be so proud! I really understand how confused maths can make you feel, but it is so worth sticking with it and learning how the logic works. When that method clicks and you understand how to get the answer, it’s a massive relief.

I did learn my times tables, and even though for some odd reason I still don’t like 7s or 8s, they are etched in my brain ready for everyday use. Percentages are another proud accomplishment. Knowing that dress is actually £5 cheaper thanks to a 20% discount is wonderful (although slightly detrimental to my bank account). Daily questions such as “I only have 235 calories left of today’s quota, can I have 3 sneaky biscuits with my cuppa?” are answered so much more easily when you have the confidence to do a bit of mental maths.* Once, and only once, I even understood a maths joke!

So if like me, maths was a scary prospect that you loathed with a passion, try to put those feelings aside and pat yourself on the back for all the maths you do without even thinking -  telling the time, counting your change, portioning a cake so everybody gets some, working out medication dosages. These are all ways of telling maths we are boss. Maths is not something to be afraid of; it is something to be picked apart and understood. And if you take the time to do this, the rewards will be endless!

*Answer: Yes I could, and they were delicious!

Thanks for reading and don't forget-