Algebra is associated with abstraction to an extent that it is thought off as a breeding ground of fear. It is in truth a delightful and harmless subject. G.H. Hardy, a British Mathematician said that Mathematics is a harmless profession. Going by the way it is perceived, we get a different picture loaded by fear and prejudice. Our own fear exaggerates the difficulty of Mathematics. In fact, a Mathematics teacher should play two roles- teacher and a psychologist. The psychology of fear of Algebra is in itself a subject of voluminous data and content. Given a progressive climate in which Algebra can be learn the irrational fears get challenged and in many cases do not return at all.
In traditional schools, students make choices at a very early age and rule out any pursuit of Mathematics. It is alarming to note that this was after their short exposure to Algebra. It is an encouraging fact that when the mind is fresh with adequate rest, students are able to do exceedingly well in this subject. In a formal classroom environment, paying attention and sustaining it is difficult for young children and understandably so. In subjects like Algebra sustaining attention is all the more important because when you miss out on the initial fundamentals then it becomes virtually impossible to apply rules, henceforth. Therefore, Algebra cannot be thought of as an obscure subject that has little to do with the real world. At some level any abstraction involves application of ground truths in albeit subtle manner. Online tutoring is a recent phenomenon following more progressive dynamics in terms of setting a learning platform.
The difference is that as a result of students getting individual attention there is nothing taken for granted by the tutor. The methodology differs from schooling in its ability to cater to individual and varied learners. There are studied ways of making Algebra interesting to young learners. We cannot make the assumption that some learners are eager and some are not. Once students discover the power of Algebra they would start enjoying finding elegant solutions to exciting problems. There is a process by which tutors can map fears associated with Mathematics and once the associations are determined tutors can systematically eliminate these fears in students. This is the uniqueness of ‘learning by design’. In the recent past there was a revolution in approach to learning which proved that learning by inspiration is the essence of a design approach. As Ezra Pound, a modernist poet said, “Poetry is inspired Algebra”, Algebra too can be thought of as symmetric poetry. The pursuit of online tutoring confirms such insights.
