Math A 4 Letter Word: The Math Anxiety Handbook - Softcover

Sembera, Angela; Hovis, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0962703605 ISBN 13: 9780962703607

Publisher: Public Films, 1990

Synopsis

MATH! A Four Letter Word is a self-help book for people who hate, fear, or avoid math. Math anxiety is contagious and is passed from generation to generation - from parent to child, friend to friend, media to TV and movie audiences, and even from teacher to student. A significant number of people struggle with math because they let these learned negative feelings interfere with their ability to understand math. Math! A Four Letter Word addresses the sources of negative feelings and psychologically prepares students to learn and succeed. It encourages risk-taking and taking responsibility for learning. It's straightforward style and user-friendly, non-academic look will entice even the most math resistant people to take a peek. The result: they will reexamine the reasons for their feelings and perhaps for the first time in their lives give understanding math a fair try. The feedback from this approach has been overwhelmingly positive, and we bet it works for ! you. The book includes chapters for teachers and parents.

About this title

About the Author

Angela Sembera has a mission: to make people believe that they can enjoy mathematics. Her experiences show that once myths about mathematics are debunked, that once people relax and can give quality time to really understanding mathematics, enthusiasm and success will follow.

Ms. Sembera graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics from University of Houston in 1973. She then received National Institute of Mental Health and National Science Foundation scholarships to attend Cornell University where she earned a Master of Arts degree in Sociology in 1976.

For twelve years, Ms. Sembera taught mathematics and directed a mathematics tutorial program at University of Houston Downtown. At this open admissions university, she encountered many students who were ill-prepared for succeeding in mathematics and discovered that their main problems were psychological and sociological in nature. Her additional work with tutoring high school students and with helping non-students overcome their math inhibitions reinforced her belief that feelings must be addressed before learning and confidence could ensue. These experiences led to her video and book MATH! A Four Letter Word. This program for people who avoid math is a part of the curriculum in thousands of high schools and over half the colleges in the United States and Canada.

Currently, Ms. Sembera serves as education director for an award-winning educational non-profit corporation, and she frequently presents workshops and lectures to high schools, colleges, businesses, and the general public on the subject of math avoidance.

Her clients include American Association of University Women, National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges, National Association for Developmental Education, and the National Economic Opportunity Council.

Michael Hovis is the Executive Director of Public Films Inc., an award-winning filmmaking company. Mr. Hovis is the writer/director of educational films used by thousands of high schools and colleges throughout the United States and Canada. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Hovis has produced films that address a wide variety of social issues.....teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, AIDS, prenatal care, art, cancer prevention, mental health, and the psychological aspects of education.

Mr. Hovis and Ms. Sembera collaborated on the production of the film, MATH! A Four Letter Word. Viewed by millions of students and math anxious adults, their response to this film was the inspiration for this book.

From the Inside Flap

I HATE MATH!

An Introduction

Of course you hate math. In fact, most people do. But there's a real world out there. And much of that world thinks math is pretty important. And really, deep down, so do you. I mean, you are reading this, aren't you? This handbook was written for all of you who dread math, even if you are not in school. What we have to say is pretty simple. And it's all right here in this handbook that you can read in less than an hour. But you do have to read it. And then you have to think about it and decide for yourself if you want to do what it takes to do well in math. For you adults out there, it may even mean going back to school for a little while.

If you do make a commitment to approach math in a new way, be prepared for some hard work. You've probably got some pretty bad habits about how you deal with math and those are going to have to change. But we've made a career of teaching people who really hate math to overcome those feelings. And I promise that, if you follow some simple steps and invest some of your time, you can do well in math.

Who knows? You might even learn to like it. Really.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Matt THE MATH HATER Matt doesn't just dislike math. He hates it. And he's sure that math is not for him. After all, "That's why we have accountants and calculators." Matt's hacked off that he has to take math to graduate and waits until the bitter end to take the math he needs to get his diploma.

Matt also hates going to class and feels that studying is just a waste of time. When math tests are failed, excuses are made, and offers for help are usually rejected. Matt thinks that if he really wanted to learn math he could, but "Why bother?", since he has no intention of ever using it anyway.

Edition details

• Publisher: Public Films
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0962703605
• ISBN 13: 9780962703607
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 83