"There are all these people that believe they're dumb," says Vanessa Vakharia, founder of The Math Guru. "We've created this whole category of people that are 'math people', and it's a total lie."

Having failed grade 11 math twice in high school, Vakharia assumed she was not one of those 'math people.' An incredible teacher flipped math on its head, presenting it as something that wasn't scary. "Don't be ridiculous," her teacher told her. "Of course you can do it. We're just doing math."
 

Dismal EQAO scorings across the province have put students, parents, teachers and the curriculum itself on the defensive. While grade 3 students who fare poorly with EQAO scores are up to 25 times more likely to have trouble later on in high school math, measures can be taken to turn things around. And, as some Toronto tutors believe, the problem may not be ineptitude – but attitude.
 

Vakharia's tutoring facility is geared primarily to teenagers who tend to self-select out of math because they feel like they have to choose between two identities: the brainy academic, studying alone; or the socially popular 'creative' type. There is a dichotomy in popular culture that you can be artsy or academic – not both. "What is important to a teenage kid? They want to be cool and they want to have friends. Most of them don't aim to be the smartest person at school, they want to be cool. The perception is, if you're going to be really smart, you're not going to get invited out," explains Vakharia. 
 

Her facility is set up as 'unofficial' learning environment. "The layout is like a friend's house, the tutors are young and we have varied interests. For them, immediately getting that vibe that they don't have to be a certain type of person in order to do the material makes a big difference."
 

Prior to peer pressures, many students are thrown off by math early in on. Math anxiety plays a huge role in determining a student's attitude toward the subject, and their belief in their own capabilities. If a fearful student is subject to constant competitive drills, that same student is going to self-select out of math as soon as possible. The Math Guru tries to remove as much of the anxiety surrounding math as possible – from exam parties complete with snacks and loot bags, to back to school boot camps, to ongoing group sessions. She has found that girls struggle with math confidence, while boys battle with not wanting to ask for help – they are supposed to be inherently 'smart.'
 

She gives the tools to help them to become more autonomous, which is a huge sell when those same kids become teenagers. "They hate feeling that they're not in control, but they're too lazy to take control," said Vakharia. "These kids are very capable - it's lacking that motivation or inspiration to want to actually work at something. Anyone can do anything, there's so much proof of that. It might take you ten hours to do the same thing that another person can do in an hour, and it may take them ten hours to do what will take you an hour to do, but you can still do whatever you want."
 

Confidence in math empowers greater autonomy for the rest of their lives. It is a precept that Francis Tsui puts into practice in operating his one-to-one tutoring business (alongside completing his degree in Civil Engineering). The 22-year old is originally from Vietnam, but completed the bulk of his schooling in Hong Kong prior to emigrating here. While math was a bit of a struggle in Hong Kong, it came relatively easy to him here. At the prompting of his high school teacher at Downsview Secondary, he started tutoring fellow classmates. His teacher taught him how to guide his students through steps to arrive at concepts. This methodical approach has proven extremely effective. Tsui's high school students improve their grades by an average of 25 per cent. 
 

But a major issue he sees are parents situating him as a glorified babysitter – one that is magically going to earn perfect scores for their children. 

He feels many students are simply spoiled by parents whose solution is to buy their teenage children things and cushion them from any real-world consequences. As a result, students are more inclined to coast – opting for playing their new PS4's over bettering them selves. Tsui advises a tougher approach: Let them fail, and feel the ramifications of their inaction. "Some parents will always hold their children's hands, or put them on a leash. Some responsibility is with the parents too. You shouldn't hold them too tight. Let them fall, tell them to stand up. Give them some space to think." 
 

Tsui tells his more distracted students who lament their inability to achieve results like their peers; "You have the ability to do that. You just have to play less games." His simple advice to parents who are not seeing results? "Help them by not buying them games."

Michael Gibben, owner of I.M. Success Tutoring & certified teacher, works primarily with younger grades – primary and junior. "From our experience – confidence is huge. Kids have a lot of tentativeness and uncertainty. If they are just presented a math sheet of 50 problems it's going to be overwhelming."
 

His contention is that students need a way to connect with the material. "We look at what they're interested in and find out how to apply it to all the different streams of the Ontario math curriculum – number sense, probability, geometry, etc. Whether its Harry Potter or horseback riding, we make it about their interest. At that point, they know that it's about them, then they want to learn because it's about them." 

He cites the example of showing a little boy how to do addition by tapping into his love of Spiderman – "Instead of making it about 7+1 or 6+2, for him it was; 'let's do six Spidermen. If we add two more Spidermen to the rescue, how many Spidermen are going to rescue the people? It was implementing that concept through visualization but making it about his interests. And providing lots of positive guidance." Using this approach, the conceptual aspects of math can be introduced and reinforced. 

Since moving away from a rote and repetition model towards a student-directed model, the revised Ontario curriculum has "benefited students but at the same time, because it's not rote, you also really have to work on conceptualization as well," says Gibben. "And that's been the increase in tutors, to reach that higher understanding. Reaching that higher understanding often involves getting to know your students and getting to know how to apply the understanding of a concept to their interests."
 

Kids have the ability to excel in math. They need a dose of courage though to motivate them to achieve. Boredom and apathy set in when one feels ineffectual – tackling the problem early through tutoring is a great option parents should not hesitate to enlist, if feasible. 

"It's being able to build the confidence, relate it to what they like to do, give them that guidance and reinforcement," said Gibben. "Build confidence and the academic follows."

Tiffy Thompson is a writer and illustrator who lives in Toronto. She is drawn to the quirky and eclectic stories of those that live and work here.