Everyone can do maths.

Many people give up too early. They have a negative mindset, which lets them think, that they can not understand maths. Not everyone needs to understand complex mathematic equations, but everyone can understand them.

Why people think they are bad at maths

In everyone’s early school days maths was easy—just simple numbers which were easy to follow. After some time, there is the point where a person makes a mistake in math. Maybe he got something wrong at the board, and the teacher shouted at him, or the tasks got too complex to solve.
Alternatively, when there is no obvious math homework solution, everyone just said: “I was never good at maths. Sadly, I cannot help you”. Such adverse experiences can manipulate a human brain, which lets the person think that he is just bad at maths and will never understand anything.

Why everyone can understand maths

A basic example. What is one horse plus two horses? Exactly, three horses.

There is a pizza with eight slices. Now, what is one pizza slice plus seven slices? Exactly a whole pizza! 1/8 + 7/8 equals one. Fractions are simple, but the topic can get frustrated with an explanation like this:

As a fraction we understand an ordered pair (a, b) ∈ IN with a,b ∈ IN. a is the numerator and b is the denominator of the fraction. The notation looks like (a,b) a/b.

Are a, b, c ∈ IN and a/c with b/c fractions, then the sum is (a+b)/c.

No one can learn from this. It needs to be simple. When a brain can not understand something, it can not think about it logically.
The pizza explanation teaches someone the same, but in a much simpler way!

Everyone can think logically. When someone hurts himself while playing with a sharp knife, then the brain will logically combine the pain with the knife's sharpness. In the future, the brain will try to avoid doing this. If there is no obvious way of doing something, then the brain needs to think for a longer time, and at this point, people give up to early.

The students could give the teachers the fault, but this is not always true. Teachers need to explain as simple as possible, but people need to understand how to learn most effectively in their way. When there is an unlogical looking topic, then they need to make it simpler for themselves.
If the teacher gives unlogical looking explanations, then make “pizza” out of it.

What can parents do?

Parents should never tell their kids that they are unable to help them because they never understood maths. Instead, try to solve the problem with them together. Doing some maths does not only keep the parent's brain fit after some extended maths break, but can also refresh some knowledge.

Doing this will also motivate the children to go on with maths, and they will likely never think that they are bad at maths. They need to understand at a young age that they can understand everything.

Problems with the German/Austrian school system

As soon as someone cannot make “pizza” out of everything, and there is a drop in his grades, he will likely need private tutoring.
Private tutoring is not free, and it is not even cheap. Because the school system cannot ensure that everyone goes home and understands the topic, parents need to pay lots of money annually.

The school system could prevent students from not understanding topics by providing multiple simple explanations. Giving more straightforward answers does not only count for maths but every other subject which can have understanding difficulties.
When a brain has multiple associations to a specific topic, then the brain can easily remember it. Think about a locked chest with numerous keys. In the chest is the memory, and if there are many keys, it is easier to remember.

Conclusion

If someone makes his explanation straight forward and easy to understand, everyone can understand it — this does not only apply for maths.
Parents should not forget that children try to copy them. Be an idol.