Maths Anxiety

We are honoured to introduce Peter Cherry as our first Dyscalculia Network Ambassador.

Peter has a PhD in Comparative Literature and has had a successful career as a researcher and teacher at universities in the UK and Turkey. However, the precarious job market caused him to rethink his options. He returned to the UK to pursue a career in adult education and applied to a number of PGCEs. 

Unfortunately, he soon found that his dyscalculia held him back. Peter was diagnosed with dyscalculia when he was a child and didn’t manage to pass his GCSE Maths exam. He suffers from maths anxiety and his feelings about maths are intimately tied up with his mental health. The experience of applying for PGCEs brought back a number of difficult issues that Peter faced in his teenage years. 

In Part 1, Peter talks us through his earliest memories of maths. He tells us about how teachers and family first noticed signs of his dyscalculia. Peter goes on to talk about the onset of maths anxiety and how his feelings about maths are intimately tied up with a range of other issues. While at secondary school, Peter talks about how maths was viewed as a ‘masculine’ subject and how toxic such gender stereotyping of subjects can be. 

He explains the emotional baggage that he brings to maths study and how this continues to impact his life as he studies for a GCSE Maths.

A huge thank you to Peter for sharing his thoughts. We are so grateful as we know many adults will relate to Peter’s story. 

You can listen to Peter chat with Cat Eadle here – 

https://youtu.be/EhAInp6nE34