I have been completely immersed in the world of statistics for the last three and a half years. I have had the privaledge of teaching for most of that time as well. What I am amazed to see over and over again is that there are hundreds of people out there who are afraid of statistics and don’t know why!
My first question when someone says, “I hate statistics,” is always, “Why?”
The most common answers I get are:
“I am really bad at math.”
“My friend said it was hard, and I have to take it.”
“I hated that class.”
My response to the first one is that statistics uses some basic math but really its the art of understanding information.
To the second I usually say nothing because no one can get through college on what other people do in their classes.
The third is the one that interests me the most because usually a bad instructor was to blame. I don’t ever want to be one of those. Now, you have to know that the reason that I ask why is because as an eductator I want to know things that I can do to improve my students’ experience with statistics.
What I need is the nitty gritty. Why didn’t/don’t you like your statistics class? Is it because the examples didn’t apply to you? Is it because the instructor couldn’t answer your questions? Is it because it was all words and not enough graphics? Is it because you had a bad attitude going into it so the class never stood a chance in your mind? I am looking for people’s specific comments on the question, “Why is statistics so scary?”