Education and numeracy blogger Damon Whitten has spent the last few months with his head inside a bunch of interview data from adult learners talking about their maths background.
It’s not particularly cheery in terms of findings. According to Damon:
Self-worth is tied up with academic performance – especially mathematics. … Societal beliefs about what mathematics is and what it means to be good or bad at mathematics has damaged some of us. And may still be doing so.
If you’re like a lot of people, the maths classes you experienced in school messed you up. Big time.
And the main culprit was probably your high school maths teacher. I know I hold one of mine personally responsible. Fifth form. No names mentioned here…
Check out the rest of Damon’s post to read John’s tragic tale. I guess he’s a composite character. But his story is one you might relate to. I know I can.

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