[tokenadult]

I like teaching subjects that are intentionally advanced for the age of the learners presented with problems that require a lot of mental stretching and effort for the learners. I have a FAQ document about how people feel when they take on tough learning challenges that explains what to do when the lesson is anything but easy.[1]

AFTER EDIT: I simultaneously posted with two other participants here who both made good points. Let learners know that something that feels not easy at first can become easy after practice, and let learners know that sometimes topics may be reasonably easy for them even if other people have said that the topic is hard. I have to emphasize these points to in my classroom teaching.

[1] http://www.epsiloncamp.org/CourageandStupidity.php

[charlieflowers]

I'd love to pick your brain on something. My 5th grade daughter has math anxiety, picked up believe it or not in 2nd grade. As far as I can tell, her actual ability is average or slightly above. But her self-esteem is on the line for every problem, so she won't relax long enough to actually think ... she grasps for the fastest "formula" from rote memory, and if that isn't right, she is distressed.

I need some insightful advice on how to help her out of this mindset. I've googled and looked at books, but there's a lot of regurgitated crap out there blocking me from finding the good insights.

[tokenadult]

That's a good question. Did you see the other links from the bottom of the link I posted above? I usually suggest to parents that they read those in numerical order,

1) http://www.epsiloncamp.org/ProblemsversusExercises.php

2) http://www.epsiloncamp.org/RepetitionPractice.php

and

3) http://www.epsiloncamp.org/LearningMathematics.php

to lay a foundation for their own thinking in communicating with their children. Please allow me to ponder this question overnight in my time zone and maybe I'll come up with more specifics that can arise in a future HN thread or by personal email. (I'm really tired this evening, after cloudy and stormy weather all day, so I'm not sure I can do your question justice at the moment.) Thanks for asking.