Being Rock-star Good at Math: An interview with Vanessa Vakharia
By Tim Chartier with Vanessa Vakharia
Vanessa Vakharia
Expanding one’s knowledge often involves getting stuck. Yet, many math students see their moments of uncertainty as indicating weakness in the field. Classroom teaching, office hours, and tutoring are places where a positive math identity in students can be fostered. For a discussion about working with students’ attitudes about math, Math Values turned to Vanessa Vakharia, an experienced and successful math tutor from Toronto. Vanessa is the founder and director of The Math Guru, a math and science tutoring studio in Toronto. She is also the author of the Math Hacks Scholastic book series and is also the host of the Math Therapy podcast.
Tim Chartier: In your books, you talk about being “rock-star good” in math. You note that the reader can achieve this. Can you talk about this and how you help youth have this belief in their abilities?
Vanessa Vakharia: Absolutely! So for context, I’m in a rock band called Goodnight Sunrise. I’m not saying that just to make you think I’m cool (haha), I’m saying it because first of all, the reason I was always told that I wasn’t a “math person” in high school is because I LOVED the arts, and second, because being “rockstar good” in math is all about the philosophy, of, well…rock-n-roll! Here are three things I always tell kids:
Sometimes being a rockstar is all about faking it till you make it. Madonna, Britney Spears, Courtney Love, Red Hot Chili Peppers…that’s how they all got famous. Now, that doesn’t mean that students should fake understanding math—don’t get me wrong. What it means is that sometimes you have to act confident and take risks when you might be feeling insecure. For example, you might be faced with a math question you don’t know the answer to, but instead of giving up, your inner rockstar would say “just GO FOR IT! Try SOMETHING!” Just like any skill, the more you practice, the easier it gets. The more you practice risk-taking, the easier it gets, and in turn, the more confident you ACTUALLY become.
Rock-n-Roll is all about tapping into your own style and doing things your OWN way. Think about it: we live in a society where everyone wants to be like everyone else and it’s hard not to compare yourself to others on social media and IRL (in real life). The thing is, though, the bands and artists that break through are those who refuse to conform and stay true to themselves. The same is true in math! Don’t try to be something you’re not: you may not be super speedy like your pal, or great at memorizing things like your neighbor, but maybe you’re a creative thinker who loves solving problems, an artist who loves making diagrams, an athlete who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty and put in the work. Remember, develop your OWN math superpower and don’t compare yourself to who someone else is today, compare yourself to who YOU were yesterday!
The music industry is ALL about community and collaboration. Think about it, do you think Katy Perry’s writing her OWN songs? No! Most artists have 2-10 songwriters PER SONG because they recognize that sometimes a joint effort results in a better product. Math is no different. There is nothing more exciting than collaborating to solve a problem, swapping ideas, and getting fresh perspectives on creative solutions. Music isn’t a solo sport, and neither is math; remember, collaboration is greater than competition in math class.
Tim Chartier: I enjoyed both of your books: “Math Hacks” and “Math Hacks ^2”. In each book, you begin discussing “You Hack You.” I began highlighting those chapters and noticed I was essentially highlighting every word in the chapter. What is “hacking yourself” and how can it help someone in learning mathematics?
Vanessa Vakharia: I really think that an essential part of learning anything, mathematics included, has to do with knowing yourself as a learner. I went from failing Grade 11 math (twice) and HATING school, to a 100% in Calc 101 and LOVING education. The truth is that when I hated math, it was because I struggled to understand myself in the context of math education. I didn’t like being told not to ask questions, I didn’t like being told I wasn’t “the type of person who was usually good at math,” and I didn’t like being forced to learn something in a way that didn’t feel aligned with how I learned best. Part of being a student is discovering who you are as a learner of math, and that takes time. I encourage students to approach math learning (not just math - but the LEARNING of math) with wonder and curiosity. So for example, if something isn’t working for you, ask yourself why? What don’t you like about it, how does it make you feel? If something does ignite a spark, why? How does that feel in your body, what strategies led to that spark? Make notes, keep a journal, and over time you’ll find that you’re slowly building a toolbox specific to how YOU learn math and what YOU need to succeed.
Tim Chartier: Your books derive, in part, from your experiences in creating “The Math Guru” math and science tutoring studio in Toronto. Given your experience in tutoring students, what tips do you have for teachers in working one-on-one with students?
Vanessa Vakharia: Honestly my biggest piece of advice is simply this: treat students like the human beings that they are! Often when students walk into our classrooms, we expect them to ditch their identity at the door and put on this one-dimensional “student hat.” One of the reasons The Math Guru is so successful is because instead of expecting students to conform to the rigid expectations of many math classrooms, I designed an environment that caters to who students already ARE, not who I wish they would BE! For us, that means pink velvet couches, a social environment, relatable tutors, colorful school supplies, a phone charging station and tea lattes. You can’t just be interested in math, or in teaching math - you need to take interest in your math students in order to really make a difference. So often we see one-dimensional representations of mathematicians in Hollywood that aren’t representative of our classroom. When students feel like they need to forgo relationships, a social life, and any sense of fashion in order to embrace math…they lose interest. Make it clear to your students that they don’t have to do that in your classroom. That’s my advice.
Tim Chartier: Mathematics Departments often have active tutoring centers. What tips do you have to train tutors? What tips do you have for tutors as they help other students?
Vanessa Vakharia: To be honest, our tutors don’t really get a lot of training because I believe that each tutor brings something unique to the table, and each student deserves a unique approach. I never teach a tutor how to teach content, but I do like to give them tips about how to engage students and what to look out for. So for example, I make sure our tutors know what math anxiety might look like, I make sure they know what words (i.e., “easy,” “hard,” “obviously,” “genius”) might trigger trauma, and I make sure they know what to look for when it comes to student engagement and understanding. Other than that, I let them bring their own style to the content. When we hire tutors, we pair them with an existing tutor for a mentor session, and when we interview tutors we always ask them to teach several concepts to us so that we make sure they don’t just understand the math, but that they’re capable of teaching it.
Tim Chartier: Being good at math has become so connected to being right and being quick. Yet, it’s when we don’t know something that we venture into new areas of learning. If you are always right, it’s likely that you aren’t moving into new areas. Can you talk about learning through venturing into the unknown and into even initially-confusing topics?
Vanessa Vakharia: Yes! This is my FAVORITE topic! First of all, I always tell students that while it may seem that the “right answer” is all that matters in math class, in real life, folks in STEM fields literally get PAID for persistently trying to solve a problem. I mean, obviously we want to cure everything, but the truth is that scientific and mathematical discovery takes time, and those who thrive in those fields do so because they’re not scared of struggling (often for a long time) before coming up with a solution to the problems they are trying to solve. The truth is that while hard math skills are an obvious benefit of math class, less obvious are the math-adjacent skills that can be gained: resilience, risk-taking, productive struggle and patience! When kids ask “but when will I use this in real life” I often respond by saying, “hey, you might not use this trig proof IRL but you WILL use the skills you build while struggling to solve this proof!” To me, raising the stakes in math class by pointing out the math-adjacent skills that students are gaining is a great way to get even the most disinterested kid engaged in a content area they may otherwise have no interest in. Of course, this all goes back to my main philosophy which is to see your students as complicated, messy, and beautiful human beings. Tap into what they’re interested in and show them how what you’re teaching them (how to take risks and solve problems of ANY kind) will allow them to achieve their wildest dreams. THAT is what math education is all about, THAT is how you become a life-changing math teacher!