There is a clear tendency among college students to get strong fears when facing a algebra class. There must be some kind of deep fear when it is about learning algebra, and especially, when they fear intensely to the possibility of failing the class. This ever present aversion is originated in the fear of failing, which sets the alarms and creates an state of constant agitation. And it is that fear and initial standing what makes everything harder.

Learning algebra and other math subjects, most especially at the college level is a process that requires preparation and continuity. It is a like a playing at building figures with blocks, where we need to support one block upon some other. Many of the introductory college math course require a path of solidly learned concepts which are built over time, and that is something that simply cannot be improvised over time . The problem is not an easy one, because it is fair to say that very modest learning objectives are not typically fulfilled by your average college student.

One of the initial things things we need to do is discovering where is this gap being created. In general, college programs are very well designed, with a very logical pathway toward the end goal, with great emphasis on practical applications, which makes everything more down to earth and comprehensible. But yet, in spite of a clearly well thought curricula you'll find that college teachers find that rarely the objectives are met in a satisfactorily way. They seem to not understand why students perform the way they do. And in fact, considering the amount of resources and the avail of all types of help (tutors, online resources, websites offering solved problems), it is simply hard to understand for a college math instructor.

It seems that the link is broken way back. In fact, if student would come to their first college algebra class equipped with the tools and background they�re supposed to, we would probably a full row of A�s all the time. But that is not the case, which indicates that our assumption is broken. This is, student don�t get to college prepared in a proper way. This lack of preparation usually involves lack of emotional readiness as well.

Where does the problem originate? Personally, I believe the problem starts in the high school years. It seems that kids are used to learn new math all the time at elementary level, and inf fact, their minds get exposed to this radically new objects which tend to expand their mathematical minds (think of what is like for a kid to see a fraction for the first time). Then, at the high school level, they just get into the habit of memorizing, and not comprehending. Most of the concepts they have already learned them way back during the early years. All of a sudden, they're not learning more new things, they are just memorizing. I think the key to the problem is realizing how little of new concepts is learned in high school.

There is a difference, in which students who took calculus in high school tend to do much better in their college math than those who did�t.And this is probably because they continued learning new things in high school as well. It is truly necessary to enhance math in high school, and to convert it from a big memorization routine, to truly exciting discovering years. If we don't, chances are that we'll continue this frustration path and the unnecessary fear will triumph.