Finally something that’s attainable!
The book
Tools, tips and techniques to work through math trauma and build essential math skills
We have spent decades telling students to try harder, study more, and push through. We have built tutoring centers, redesigned curricula, and trained teachers. And still, students are avoiding math, abandoning the majors they wanted, and leaving college without the degrees they came for.
The problem was never effort. It was never content. It was trauma.
Compassionate Math: Book One is the definitive guide to healing one's trauma and reframing one's relationship to math: Half compassion, to help the reader work through their math trauma and half math, to solidify one's understanding of math from the ground up.
Written for the adult reader who wants to heal their math trauma and finally understand math: the teacher who is struck by their awesome responsibility and wants to see (and address) the signs of math trauma in their students, the college student who needs strategies to make the most out of math classes (and all classes) and understand the foundation of algebra; and the parent who wants to help their child (or stop automatically calling a tutor) or see how newer curricula are related to how you learned things.
Goodreads
Amazon
A holistic approach to math trauma
Address the root cause, not the symptoms.
This isn’t a mindset book; it’s a math book. This isn’t a math book; it’s a mindset book. In the first book of this groundbreaking series, Dr. Geillan Aly takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery to help the reader heal their math trauma. She shows you that math is both emotional and cognitive and that you need both parts of yourself to support the other. Why? Human beings are mathematical beings.
Written for the adult learner who avoids math but wants to finally call themselves a math person, Compassionate Math: Book One in the Compassionate Math Series, acknowledges the emotional turmoil many feel when studying math. The book begins by explaining why learning math can be extremely difficult and defines the many social and emotional factors that contribute to mathematical success (or failure), giving language and validity to one’s feelings. From there, the foundational ideas of mathematics are explained using simple language and everyday ideas. Throughout the book, Dr. Geillan Aly uses creative metaphors, her own math learning stories, and surprising connections to help the reader understand what they may not have understood before and appreciate the beauty of mathematics.
Compassionate Math provides an approachable path towards understanding mathematics, empowering the reader to reclaim this part of themselves. Rigorous topics aren’t ignored, allowing it to supplement any college text, help a parent or caretaker support their child, or be a springboard to help the reader understand and excel at more advanced mathematical topics.
What people are saying about the book
It was incredibly helpful for us as student teachers to learn from your expertise and challenge the things we carry with us so we don’t pass on maths anxiety to a whole new generation. Breaking any cycle is hard, but you have made it seem doable. Thank you!
The session was insightful and affirming. It gave both motivation for practices, and big and small practices to create equity in the classroom.
The session was very interactive to help us she how to interact with students using the shared board. Great explanation of Inquiry Based Learning and how it works.
I would say that it wasn’t actually about math, but about tips about changing your psychology around math. It was inspiring to rediscover the potential I have for understanding and being able to work though math problems and that I was validated for not being able to work as fast as others do.
I really enjoyed this session by Geillan Aly. It was very informative and engaging, and it gave me a fresh perspective on how I approach teaching. The session was eye-opening because it introduced me to new techniques and strategies that I can use to make my classes more interactive and student-centered. I left feeling inspired and motivated to try these ideas with my students to improve their learning experience and help them stay actively involved.
A great workshop to help you dive deeper into the introspection of your teaching.
I feel 10x better about math walking out of this room than when I first walked in!
Beautifully paced, kind, supportive and connected to truths
Geillan was very friendly and approachable. It was easy to open up about math struggles. Thank you!!
One of the more enjoyable workshops I’ve attended in years.
Thank you for this gift.
It was great! Exactly what I needed at this point in the semester.
A great introduction to thinking about classroom norms and putting our beliefs into practice.
I thought it was going to be another thing where we were told to be vulnerable but actually doing so would be a terrible mistake; however, instead everyone was completely supportive! I couldn’t believe it.
- Kirkus ReviewsAn empowering book for all those who left math class feeling defeated.