Math Therapist Helps Flushing Students Reframe Views

Author Vanessa Vakharia led a session at Flushing High School to help students rethink how they see math.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Mathematics

Rows of empty wooden student desks in a sunlit classroom with tall windows and a pale wall, with a single pencil on one desk. — Author Vanessa Vakharia led a session at Flushing High School on Nov. 5 to help students reframe how they view math. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you think most people who say they're bad at math actually can get good at it?

Vanessa Vakharia, author of "Math Therapy," visited Flushing High School on Nov. 5 to help students reframe their views on math. She observed three math classes that morning before leading a group project.

Why it matters

The visit addresses students' attitudes toward math, a subject many learners approach with anxiety or self-doubt. For New York City students, it offers a model for rethinking how math confidence is built in the classroom.

The visit involved observation of three math classes and a single group session, with no outcome measures reported. Whether the approach changes student confidence or achievement over time has not been established.

The players

Vanessa Vakharia

Vanessa Vakharia is the author of "Math Therapy" and a writer focused on helping people change their relationship with mathematics.

Flushing High School

Flushing High School is a public high school in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York City.

The details

Vakharia asked students to raise their hands to show their attitudes toward math. Students then paired up in a group project called "Finding Our Math Superpower," identifying their strengths as they related to math, and slips of paper with their messages were stapled to a bulletin board.

Grade 11: Vakharia failed the math course twice in past school years.
Nov. 5: Vakharia visited Flushing High School and led the session.

Big Picture

The session applies growth-mindset research, which holds that beliefs about ability can shape academic effort, to a classroom setting focused on math anxiety. It extends that research from theory into a single school intervention.

Parents and students in New York City can consider how a shift in attitude toward math might affect study habits and course choices. Schools weighing similar sessions can note that the approach centers on students identifying their own math strengths.

The takeaway

Reframing math as a skill students can build, rather than a fixed trait, is a practical starting point for changing how they approach the subject. Students can begin by naming the math-related strengths they already have.