Abstract
Two decades ago we met: Charles, a young business man needing assistance with a debilitating fear of mathematics; Barbara, an experienced teacher of maths-avoidant adults, in the early stages of research for her doctorate. Both of us were embarking on big challenges. An initial six-month course, set up for our mutual benefit, enabled Charles to progress from viewing mathematics as “the most disgusting, unappealing building” to one “with form, balance and symmetry” and, on the other hand, the metaphors gathered from Charles became an illuminating part of Barbara’s Ph.D. thesis (Miller-Reilly in Affective change in adult students in second chance mathematics courses: Three different teaching approaches. University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, 2006). Recently Charles asked Barbara to teach him again, trying to meet the mathematical prerequisites for entry to a post-graduate business degree. The aim of this paper is for each of us to reflect on our respective journeys over two decades. Each of our narratives is presented in four sections: firstly, relevant background experiences before we met; secondly, two decades ago when the six-month course occurred; thirdly, some recent study; and finally, our reflections over two decades.
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