Love it or loathe it, we all have an opinion on maths
Perhaps you’ve always loved numbers and count yourself as a spreadsheet fanatic. Or maybe you had a bad experience of maths at school which has followed you into adult life.
Do you enjoy nothing more than calculating the savings you’ve made on the weekly shop? Or perhaps you dread confronting the numbers on monthly bills and payslips.
Whatever your relationship with numbers looks like, the chances are others within your community have had similar experiences.
Chatting together can help support social mobility within your area – perhaps there are gaps in access to education which could be addressed as a group?
Getting more confident talking about numbers could even help your community strengthen participation in local issues – understanding the numbers involved can be empowering and help people to make informed decisions.
Talk about numbers to help build confidence
The Big Number Natter is also a great way to normalise talking about numbers. Regularly discussing the numbers we use in daily life can help us realise that making mistakes is perfectly normal and it’s always OK to ask for help.
Also, giving people the opportunity to be honest about their feelings with like-minded people can be a transformative experience, as Alma told us:
“We talked about maths anxiety and I realised I was not alone. When everyone started talking about their feelings I also opened up about my experience and didn’t feel humiliated. It opened some wounds, but it was therapeutic eventually. Because of the discussions, the wounds started to heal little by little and I felt it was OK to be anxious and it wasn’t the end of the world.”
Communities also span the generations and number confident adults can lead to number confident children - research by Mumsnet and National Numeracy suggests parents pass on their maths anxiety down through the generations.
In short, building confidence with everyday numeracy is a great thing and will benefit life at home, work and school.
So why not host your own Big Number Natter within your community this May? Sign up to National Numeracy Day for free tips and conversation starters to make sure your Big Number Natter has something for everyone.
Just talking about numbers can be the first step towards starting your numeracy improvement journey. The conversation will also be held online and you can join in using #BigNumberNatter
Check out the National Numeracy Day homepage for more information about the free resources and activities available.
You can also try the free National Numeracy Challenge to help with number confidence and skills. It’s full of everyday maths questions and resources to help you improve.
