European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 12, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Tackling math anxiety by Mark Walsh Tilburg Bureau for nearly eight years. Charles Myers put Oil going to College. The delay did Slem from Lack of Money or even finding suitable school irom which to pursue his degree Myers reason of avoiding College was a combination of a Watal dislike and car of male. I did very badly in male Lor As Long As i can remember and when i got into High school it Gat even said Myers an army sergeant assigned to Allied forces Central Europe Headquarters in Brun sum Netherlands. I knew to go to College to get an associate s degree you had to have some Type of male he said so Why waste my today Myers is going to College and doing quite Wall thanks to a class which helped him overcome that fear Rand take on a new Outlook toward the subject. The class mathematics study skills and Confidence building is geared toward those who have apprehensions regarding math. The one credit general elective course offered by the University of Maryland teaches students study skills and test preparation techniques. It shows them How to take control of math learning experiences to belter use them to their advantage. When Myers enrolled in the class at Schinnen. He realized to was t the Only one whose Palms Lurn a Ealy at the mention of the word math an instructor said students problems with male Don t Stem lion Inch of intelligence but mainly irom experiences they had during earlier school years. There has been a Hill research Dona an Capla being afraid of mathematics and failure in mathematics not because of inability but because of fear and other emotional hangups Susan Gaiter said. She said Many people give math a mental Block. In classes attempts Are aimed at making people aware of altitudes and How negative altitudes influence those feats. It s not Only in math Gormier said. It s in everything. If you say i can l swim i can t swim you re not going to be Able to in male anxiety class As the students and teachers can ii the students Are not taught male problems or ways of deciphering Complex formulas. Although they Are Given some practical problems to help them out Gormier said the thrust of the program 19 geared towards verbal interaction among the students and teacher some of it is therapy but they re talking and realizing they re not alone she said. They re not the Only ones and hey think i m a Dummy because i can l do math " the math anxiety class not Onty helps students help themselves but May also help them give needed advice to their children who could be Elrud gling with math Homework. Arietta Cooper needs math for her associate degree in business administration. She also Feriod the Day when her child would come to her Lor help Ullh math. I have a 7-year-old and what if he comes to me Ullh problems i Don t know and he does t know she said. I be got a lot of Confidence in myself now More Confidence than i Ever had in a psychologist at the Schinnen army Community service Leos that when parents have problems in math Hoy shy away from helping their children Wilh in and thus in a Way pass the problem on. It s easier for you As parents to Deal with it it the child would have problems in English or any other kind of Ingeboro. Sigel Jonnson said. If the problem would be in English or Malory you a a Parent might sit Dawn and help them she said this is especially True if the Parent experienced the same trauma As a child. In Many cases the teachers that students had has a Tot to do Wilh Many of the problems they experience in College Ruth Sigel Johnson said. I have a particular perception about thai. They explain 11 math to you. Ii you gel it you get it it you Don to Tough Sho said. She Leel that a lot of Laa Chera Are at fault in that they tend to ignore Hie students who Ore having problems and lean morn towards those who Are doing Well. That contributes to his sense of Success 89 a Good teacher she said. The course gives the students the tools and guidance to help them be More capable of tackling alter male courses Down the Road. We re not turning everyone into math wonder Gormier said. That s not but for people like Charles Myers and Arietta Cooper the class has taught them to least from experience and not say Why do i need math anyhow would Myers be in College today if he had t heard of the class probably not he said. Self help Pitfalls by Michael Decourcy Hinds new York times or every new year s Resolution there now seems to be a companion Book. Feeling Blue lolling go promises on its jacket to help readers erase painful memories within three months shy stand up speak Ouw talk Back has. The jacket slates liberated thousands irom anger guilt and forge Hup optimum brain Power says it provides a total program Lor increasing your sexual problems promises to help leaders achieve the ultimate intimacy with your mate these so called personal growth books which Are Willen primarily by so called mental health poles Winals and Are often published by reputable houses May indeed help people Cope with certain resolutions. Some psychological studies suggest thai most people no rely Only on willpower Are unable to carry out Resolution like losing weight or giving up smoking. Sci help books support groups or professional help All increase the chances of successfully breaking pm habits or Starling new said g. Alan 16 the stars and stripes Marl Alt the director or the addictive behaviour research Center end a professor of psychology at Iarj University of Washington in Seattle but there Are Pitfalls to this Type of Reading and professional groups like the american psychological association Are concerned about mislead Lertg claims. Publishers and authors protected by the constitutional right of Iree speech can say anything on Book covers and in advertisements for books. In the 1940s, Lor example o manufacturer of steel pots ran an advertising Campaign and published a both both contending that aluminium pans Causa cancer. The Federal Trade commission was Able to Stop the unsubstantiated advertising but not the Book s publication. With the increased specificity of these books there should be increased responsibility for the claims they make said Gerald m. Rosen a Seattle psychologist who is 1ha chairman of the psychological Mosci alkyl s task Force on self help therapies Book about i eating insomnia written by a doctor specializing in insomnia could be com pared to a Pill for insomnia. Pills need to be tested and advertised accurately but 99 percent of the self help books have not been tested and Many have misleading titles and exaggerated sett help books May contain therapy programs that Friday february 12,1988 have been tested in clinical studies or a professional s own practice but the books themselves Are rarely tested to determine if Reader can cure themselves without additional help Rosen said. We Ruhten cloned instructions can turn out to be structured in Auch a Way thai nobody follows them to said. If you Combine that pos wily Wilh the exaggerated claims publishers Are Selling products that nobody Miguil be Able to use and that might leave them feeling More upset with themselves for his interest in the subject dates to 1976 when Prentice Hall published his own Book. Don be at null the Book s jackal copy written by the publisher with Rosen s approval promised readers that in a Kite As Alx to eight weeks without the expense of proven me counselling and in the privacy of your own Home you can learn to Muster those Titan ton that now make you nervous or i was Overty enthused about my Book and Overly a assertive with my Rosan recalled. The truth wac that Only 60 percent of the people helped them Etves within an eight week period and the Book waa an minted revision of the program fix All i know i made a program several authors and put hers of Ball help books agreed in interviews that Book and the therapies they outline Shoutd be tested and promoted Wilh Mere accuracy but they said that financial constraints and marketplace realities prevent it
