I am so ashamed of my Maths- has anyone improved their Maths skills as an adult?

[Bidmass]

Just that really.
I recently listened to a Womans Hour episode of Math Anxiety and it really struck a chord.
I got a C in my Math GCSE but that was over 18 years ago. If someone is standing over me I freeze and I cannot think. Later on I realise that I knew how to do the problem but my confidence is so low.
I really want to work as a TA but feel I need to improve my Math so I can adequately help the students. I have a first class degree in English and I like Science its just the maths

Thanks in advance

What exactly is it you want to be able to do? Maybe get some primary maths books.

Yes, I did my gcse maths at the age of 50. It was free at my local adult education college. Do it - you'll never regret it.

@Fitforforty- I just want to be more proficient at Maths. I will start with my times tables and work rigorously on them.
@BokehBabe- that sounds amazing. I would love to have the opportunity- only problem is we live in a very rural part of England....I will research it now.

Thank you both. Xx

My maths was appalling as a student. I think I got an E at GCSE. I still don't know my times tables at 30 but I got a job that involved a lot of maths and I'm so much better at it now. Mostly thanks to a very patient colleague who spent hours explaining and re explaining and even getting down on the floor and making paper models to help me understand.

Teachers have to pass a QTS numeracy test. There are loads of books available that might help you study the same content something like this? www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191611282X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_1YDB20K6D27XJKZ0TDE8?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Although I remember there being stuff in that test I never covered teaching Y6 maths!!

I teach GCSE maths to adults. It's a free course if you don't have a grade C

MIAP checks only go back 10 years though so if yours was longer ago just don't mention it.

I love it - unbelievably rewarding and lots keep in touch to let me know how they're doing in the careers their maths qualification helps them with. Teachers, nurses, midwives, TAs, scientists...

My mum had awful maths anxiety from school. She did a degree in her 40s and had to get a maths GCSE for that. She then went on to run a department which involved budgeting and spreadsheets.
Super proud of her.

Yes. I was hopeless at maths. I had a useless teacher for a couple of years before GCSEs and I think that was the biggest reason - I had held my own til then but after that I was put in the crap group for GCSE and we were just written off.

Later on when I was studying a science degree online I knew I had to get over my mathsphobia and I did an introductory level maths course with the Open University. It was so helpful and I passed and it got me over the mental barrier. I then later ended up in a job which needed maths and spreadsheets every day. It made a big difference to me.

I would suggest you look at online courses because it can really help.

I was/am also rubbish at Maths. I struggled so much with it at school and came out with an F in my gcse.

I'm now 42 and last year I did an apprenticeship which included having to do my level 1 Maths. Due to covid we didn't really have any proper lessons and did assessments online to practice. To my surprise I passed.

I am now, by choice doing my level 2 Maths functional skills online. I'm doing it totally at my own pace and going back over things as much as I feel I need to. I still hate Maths and some times don't even know how to start to answer a question but I'm confident that I will get there eventually.

You can do it

I wanted to brush up on my maths skills during lockdown - the Open University do a great free course called Succeed with Maths 1 and then 2. Lots of info and littl3 quizzes - I found it invaluable x

The extent to which society / education fails girls on maths has come to really irk me. I was never actually incompetent at it - I just wasn’t a natural star and got dumped into a poorly taught class because my school thought it was fine to let girls become accustomed to feeling intimidated by maths. I never needed to spend years freaking out every time I saw some maths; I could have done it just fine if I hadn’t been told I was bad at it for years. It makes me cross.

Yes I'm currently doing a free evening class at my local college.
Its entry level 1 which is equivalent to grade c gcse maths or something like that.

I'd have to pay to do the gcse though but what I'm doing is a start.

I'm 43

Thanks for the tip @MellieNelba, i've signed up.

I agree @SimonedeBeauvoirscat. I wasn't a natural at maths and when it came to GCSE's, my teacher put me at the back of the class and said I could choose to follow the class or pursue self study. Maybe she recognised that I knew what I needed to do but also, she may have just seen that I wasn't keeping up and gave up on me. Anyway, i gave up on learning long division and it paid off as it was only 1 question in the exams and I did better than I expected but my times tables and mental arithmetic remains shocking.

I did my GCSE as an adult and also passed QTS maths. I don't think anyone's bad at maths. For me I never remember the steps and rules, so I need regular revision if I need to use it, but a quick look in a GCSE maths book that explains the processes and I can do it again. If you got a C grade in school, there's no reason why you can't get an A or B grade now. It's in there, you just need to refresh and revise and use!

Entry level 1 is not equivalent to GCSE -C.
A level 1 is equivalent to a D/E GCSE - you need a Level 2 to be an equivalent to a GCSE C .

I work in a prison and we encourage our learners to work towards Level 2 as a GCSE equivalent.

I was a bit rusty at Maths as I tend to focus on English skills with them that’s why I found the free OU course helpful.

Good luck everyone

I wonder if you mean functional skills L1. Entry level is very low.

Entry level 1
Entry level 2
Entry level 3
Level 1 FS (Equivalent ish to a D grade)
Level 2 FS (Equivalent ish to GCSE)
GCSE (A grade 4 is the new pass but is actually about a C-)

www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/challenge/

I'd recommend Khan Academy videos. Clear, informative, good examples.

[quote Bidmass]@Fitforforty- I just want to be more proficient at Maths. I will start with my times tables and work rigorously on them.
@BokehBabe- that sounds amazing. I would love to have the opportunity- only problem is we live in a very rural part of England....I will research it now.

Thank you both. Xx[/quote]
You can do Functional Skills Maths Level 2 online remotely. Equivalent to GCSE. Just Google it, and you’ll find providers.

I have awful maths anxiety but I actually use maths a lot in my job without even realising it. You probably do too. However, the anxiety is a huge blocker.

So in my job, I’m working out payments, budgets, grants. Calculating % over different time frames. Forecasting. And then I’m audited on all this, so it has to be right. Today I have a proposal with a budget and I was breaking that down into a different format and re forecasting to a different timeline and consolidating the budget to put a bid together. I do it with no problems at all.

The other year I was doing something with a school as part of my role, the teacher said he was going to show us a maths GCSE question to see what their students were faced with. The minute he told me that, I couldn’t even work out the question. The question is something I actually do in my job, without thinking but it might as well have been in a foreign language. Put in the context of a proper maths problem and my brain put up a brick wall and went “nope”. I was sat on a table with a bloke who worked it out straight away. When he mentioned the process, after looking at me like I was stupid, I realised I knew exactly what he was doing and that I’d have been able to work it out. If it weren’t for that block.

I don’t really know how you get past the brick wall, even when you know you can do it. I recognise the brick wall now and I know I have some maths skills but I can’t work out how to get past the wall.

What do you want to achieve by being better at maths, how will it impact your day to day life?

@idontlikealdi

What do you want to achieve by being better at maths, how will it impact your day to day life?

I'm curious as to why you feel the need to ask this question? I don't want to assume anything but do you feel that competency at maths isn't relevant to day to day life?

My mum tutors people who struggle with maths (she specialises in dyslexia type stuff). It is really, really common for people to panic and feel they don't know what to do. But you can do it! A lot of people my age (and perhaps yours?) were taught to think maths was all about quick recall when questions were fired at you. And we were taught we had to memorise all sorts of rules, without much sense of why.

It has changed now, and especially if you want someone teaching you as an adult. They will show you the patterns behind it, and it will be so much easier.

Of course it is @NutellaEllaElla but likewise many many people manage to function without the qualification so unless you need it it's a bit defunct in day to day life.

I don't need maths for my career so you could include me in that group but I feel embarrassed at not being able to figure out which product is the cheapest per gram at the supermarket, or when I need a calculator to figure out offers in shops, car finance deals, phone deals, mortgage offers, scaling recipes down or up, it comes up in sewing, I could go on and on. I suppose the qualification is irrelevant but the skills that are learned are what we're really taking about.