Vanessa Vakharia  0:02  
Hi, I'm Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru. And you're listening to Math Therapy, a podcast that helps guests work through their math traumas one problem at a time. Whether you think you're a math person or not, you're about to find out that math people don't actually exist. But the scars that math class left on many of us definitely do. Oh, and don't worry, no calculators or actual math, we're involved in the making of this podcast.

Vanessa Vakharia  0:27  
Hello, hello, hello, we are back, baby! That's right, season three starts in two weeks, and we're getting you warmed up for it today with some stories from our electronic mailbag. Seriously, the pandemic has sucked for so many reasons, but I have to say that one of the best things has been this newfound ability to connect with people all across the universe. It's not like we couldn't do it before, but it sort of felt that way. Most of our guests and stories from the first two seasons have been from Toronto because that's where we were recording from. But all of a sudden, it's like location isn't even a thing since we're all online, which means that our season three guests are legit from all over the world!

Vanessa Vakharia  1:01  
The other incredible thing that's happened is that I've connected with so many people because of this podcast. So before we start season three, I wanted to honor the courage and bravery of some of you who have reached out to share your story so that our listeners can know that they're not alone in their math anxiety. All right, let's do it and open up that virtual mailbag. 

Vanessa Vakharia  1:20  
Our first message is from Melissa Dean, who's actually a Math Therapy listener. She reached out to me a few months ago to share her story.

Melissa Dean  1:27  
Hey Vanessa, and all the Math Therapy podcast listeners. My name is Melissa and I am a self proclaimed math education disrupter and teacher leader in Manitoba. And I stumbled across the math therapy podcast accidentally one day and first listened to the episode with Sunil Singh, who happens to be one of my absolute favorite method disruptors! And as soon as you guys got into episode, I knew I'd found my math education home. I grew up thinking I wasn't a math person, I found my class super stressful. I didn't like the competition and sense of pressure I felt to get the right answer. I focused on memorizing procedures and found problem solving mystifying. I finished high school and even completed my first year applied mathematics course along with a first year physics course believing that a) there were some people who are math people, and b) I wasn't one of them. 

Melissa Dean  2:19  
Fast forward several years, and I found myself teaching grade eight math and I realized that I was creating a classroom culture that fostered the same beliefs, with a focus on competition, speed and high stakes assessments. I determined that there had to be a better way. And with that started myself on the path to where I am now, which is a passionate and fiercely determined math educator with a determination to disrupt the current norms of education and assessment, and reimagine math classrooms everywhere. 

Melissa Dean  2:48  
I realized just last week, though, that I still don't think of myself as a math person. Even though I work tirelessly to help my students discover the joy and the playfulness and creativity and curious nature of mathematics that we all should get to experience and deserve. I realized that I still don't think of myself as very mathematical, which is ridiculous. I completed a first year mathematics and first year physics, it didn't happen just by magic! So thanks to the road I've been on and listening to your podcast, I realized the truth of it all. I'm not a math person; because there is no such thing as a math person. It is not a thing. I tell my students all the time, they're just people! Some of us have had our eyes open to the beauty of mathematics. So my mission now as an educator is to help all of my students and my colleagues experienced the same thing. So thank you so much for sharing your vision and your voice because it gives me the courage to share mine.

Vanessa Vakharia  3:44  
Wow, it is so inspiring to meet educators like her and to know that our show is helping teachers start their own grassroots movements. Melissa, you rock! Keep us posted on how using math therapy in the classroom works out. 

Vanessa Vakharia  3:56  
Okay, so our next story comes from Molli, who I actually met on Clubhouse of all places. By the way, jury's still out on that. I mean, I can't say that I love Clubhouse, or maybe it's love hate not even sure. Okay, whatever. Here's Molli's story.

Molli  4:09  
Hi, Vanessa. It's Molli from Seattle on the west coast of the United States. So as you know, I've been a tutor and a teacher for many years. And I also wrote a book about math anxiety, that covers these very emotional aspects. But unfortunately, what I found is that a lot of parents and teachers and administrators don't understand these emotional aspects. And even worse, they don't care about them. 

Molli  4:35  
So I was tutoring a 13 year old boy in seventh grade, and he had an ADHD diagnosis and severe math anxiety, and probably also math trauma. And the day in question, he had a pre-algebra worksheet that he was very overwhelmed with, and so he was having a very hard time with it. And I told him, okay, so we'll get through these two problems, and then we can take a break. But unfortunately, his mom and his stepdad were not happy that I didn't push him to finish, and they complained to my boss who also agreed that I should have pushed him to finish. And then my boss said, and I quote: "cram math down his throat". And I'm sorry, but that is just the worst thing that a parent or a teacher or an administrator could say to a student who has math, anxiety and math, trauma! And that is why it is my passion to reach these parents and teachers and administrators. So thank you, and I appreciate what you do.

Vanessa Vakharia  5:31  
Ew, cram mouth down his throat - that is gross!! Are we serious?! Sounds like a real great way to get someone to have a full on math meltdown! Well, at least we have teachers like Molli working to change the equation for students. 

Vanessa Vakharia  5:43  
All right. The last submission I wanted to share with you today is from Roxy. I am at Roxy at a virtual conference. I presented that last month and she told me this story. And I was like, Oh my god, you have to share this with our listeners. Just listen to this.

Roxie  5:57  
Hey, my name is Roxie, and I'm a math teacher from Texas. I just wanted to share some of my experiences as being a math person. Often when I was younger, especially in college, I was told that I didn't look like a math person because I had bright red eye shadow. And I wore fishnet shirts and stockings and wore combat boots and listen to loud, you know, crazy punk music. And I was just often told, like, "yeah, you just don't look like a math person". And I would ask people what they meant by that, because I really didn't understand - like, "well, what does a math person look like? How could I "look" like a math person?" And like, "well, just not dressed like you" - and I was like ... but I AM a math person! So I had it explained to me several times, I just still don't get it. Like I really don't understand well ... how does how you dress make you a math person or not a math person? 

Roxie  6:52  
At the same time, I had professors my last year of college tell me that I had to change the way I looked, in order to get a job. They told me like, "you're not going to get a job dressing the way you do". Like, you have to take out your piercings, you can't wear makeup like that you have to dye your hair a natural color. And by the way - my hair was red, which is a natural color! Another experience I had, I had a guy in college, he was a very cute guy. Like we would see each other a lot. I guess we had a class about the same time in the same building. And one day he comes up to me and says like, "hey, we should exchange numbers, I'd like to get to know you". Like oh, yeah, great! And so we exchanged numbers. And we were chatting a little bit. And he goes, "so what's your major?" Because he saw I had booked out I was studying and I said, "oh, I'm a math major". And he goes, "oh, yeah, no, this, this can't happen". Like that's ... are you serious?! It's like no, yeah, I'm a math major. And he goes, "yeah, I'm gonna have to take my number back" and reaches over and takes his number back with the post-it that I wrote it on. Like, I'm not joking - this actually happened! And you know, his loss. But just to this day, I ... can't like, really, I can't ... I don't understand how that's a "no"!

Vanessa Vakharia  8:00  
I love it. His loss is right. But Wow, it just goes to show that we are shamed in so many ways for having the nerve to enjoy math, which is kind of messed up. Oh, and also on the theme of "not looking like a math person" - and by the way, you can imagine the extent to which my eyes are rolling into the back of my head right now - you are not going to want to miss this season premiere on April 8, because it is going to be a game changer. That's all I'll say for now. So stay tuned and make sure you're subscribed to the show!

Vanessa Vakharia  8:29  
Until then, that's all for this little bonus episode. I honestly love hearing the stories so much because it reminds me that we, myself included, are not alone. It also reminds me that math trauma can happen in so many ways. And every day I hear a news story that makes me think, Oh my god, I never thought of it that way! And guys, knowledge is power. Once we know it, we can start to change it. To those of you struggling with math trauma of your own, you are not alone. That's why this show exists, for real. And my greatest hope is that sharing stories like these and inviting you to eavesdrop on the math therapy I give my guests helps you mend your relationship with math. Finally, if you've got a story like this, please send it!  Head to this episode's description in your podcast player for instructions on how to do that. 

Vanessa Vakharia  9:13  
Season Three of math therapy starts in two weeks and it's a banger of a season. No seriously, it's like our craziest season yet and we have a theme. Want to know what it is? You'll have to tune in next Thursday when we drop the trailer and yes, I know that was like. total clickbait, but whatever it is what it is. Meantime, if one of the stories in this episode resonated with you please tweet us at @maththerapy. And you can also follow me personally @themathguru on Instagram or Twitter. Math Therapy is hosted by me Vanessa Vakharia, produced by Sabina Wex, and edited by David Kocherg. Our theme song is WVV by Goodnight, Sunrise which is my rock band. And guys if you know someone who needs math therapy or needs to hear someone else getting math therapy, please share this podcast and rate or review it on whatever podcast app you use. Those things make a huge difference. I'm determined to change the culture surrounding math and I need your help, so spread the word. That's all for this week - stay tuned for our season three trailer which drops next Thursday. It is going to be insane. It is going to be WILD. It is going to be the craziest time it is going to be a party. It is going to be everything you imagined and so much fucking more!!!