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[email protected]Our brains are amazing. We have the ability change the way we think, act, and feel with a little effort. Understanding how our brains work helps.
Our brains include sophisticated nerve cells that pass complex messages to each other. These messages include thoughts, feelings, memories, commands, and more. When your child walks into math class or gets out their math homework the brain releases neurotransmitters that affect their thoughts and moods. Their thoughts will also affect the neurotransmitters in their brain, so focusing on positive thoughts will help improve their mood.
Neuroscience Explains Inexplicable Emotions
Dr. Hebb wrote in his groundbreaking book The Organization of Behavior “When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A's efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased.”
Hebbian Theory or Hebbian Law explains that neural messages which happen simultaneously may result in triggering each other. In other words, neurons that fire together wire together. It is a broadly accepted concept among psychologists and neuroscientists.
The neurons wire together when strong emotions are involved or they fire together repeatedly. It is the reason a certain smell often triggers an emotion. You associate that smell with a time and an emotion and a thought. For example if you smell buttered popcorn, you may think about going to the movies and feel good because you enjoy going to the movies with friends.
How this Phenomenon Relates to Math Class
Unfortunately, many students have experienced negative emotions during math class. These emotions often include embarrassment, anxiety, self-doubt, discouragement, frustration, apathy, shame or even despair. Even if the reason for the negative feelings no longer exists, just doing math or going to math class may trigger the emotions.
How to Change the Association of Negative Emotions with Math
First, find out if the reason for the negative emotion persists. Do what you can to fix the problem. Talk with the math teacher, or speak with us at Mathnasium for more insights about the problem and possible solutions. Discuss how the problem was or will be solved. Then you can get to work on the emotional part.
Your Child Can Rewire Their Own Brain!
To help your child overcome the triggered emotions listen to your child about what caused the feelings in the first place. Your child might not remember the initial problem that started the negative emotions. Just keep talking about math and math class and watch your child’s body language for clues. Do their shoulders slump or eyebrows furrow when they talk about getting called on in class? If so, explore that topic more.
Explain the basics of “neurons that fire together wire together” to your child. Acknowledging the negative thought or emotional patterns and then saying, “I don’t need to feel that way now” is a powerful first step.
Finally, your child can rewire their brain to fire happy messages when they think of math. You can help by introducing fun and pleasant math experiences. We have tons of ideas about math you can do with your child for fun.
We make sure that our center is a safe and positive environment for kids of all abilities to practice and learn math. If you would like to know more, call us 720-307-2967 or schedule a Free 60-minute Trial Session.
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