Who would believe that Amie Bertrand ever suffered from Math Anxiety? Amie, who is about to complete a Statistics course at Coastline, explains that her own persistence in finding what works for her combined with help from her volunteer tutor at Amador College Connect has helped her overcome severe Math Anxiety to succeed.
When Amie relocated to Amador County from the Bay Area in 2015 to be closer to family she started to investigate college programs that would help her get to nursing school eventually. However, as a full-time working mother with no car she also knew she had to be strategic in choosing a program that fit with her lifestyle. She would need a program that allowed her to set her own pace and she would have to seek and use all resources available to her.
Through Amador College Connect, Amie worked with academic counselors at Coastline Community College to identify its online Sociology A.A. program that would prepare her to enter nursing school. As feared, this degree required mastery of specific math skills. Amie knew she would need help to overcome her Math Anxiety.
Fortunately, Amie found help through Amador College Connect’s free tutoring service. Now only weeks away from completing her fourth college math class and only four courses away from completing the A.A. degree, Amie explains that she meets with her tutor, Howard Webb, about once per week and that he “helps me understand and makes himself available by email and phone.” Amie says of Howard, “He is amazing!”
Amie observes that for the typical math student, the language in the textbook can be very difficult to understand and overwhelming. Having a tutor, like Howard, who can speak in plain English while also laying a deeper foundation for understanding has been crucial to her success.
In addition to seeking tutoring help, Amie advises students who may be postponing further education due to Math Anxiety to be flexible and find the tools that work for them. For instance, Amie explains that she finds the online “e-Texts” difficult to work with and prefers to use an actual physical textbook to work through. She also uses YouTube videos; other online resources helped her learn how to use her TI84 calculator.
Amie also believes that students must persist in finding the right way to make math work for them. For example, she has learned that if she reads and talks aloud through a math problem, she can work it more easily. Amie even uses the quiet room at Amador College Connect’s Jackson office to take her exams so that she can read the problems aloud and work them aloud without bothering anyone.
These days, Amie is considering Nursing programs in either Modesto or Davis but due to her strong interest in serving homeless communities she may continue to a degree in Human Services. Wherever Amie goes from here, she is bound to succeed based on her resourcefulness and the study habits she established to conquer Math Anxiety. Congratulations, Amie!
