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Strollerderby
Sure, Kid, We Can Talk About Anything. Except Math.
When my daughter informed she would be not be homeschooling after all, one of the many little sighs of relief I exhaled was that I wouldn’t have to teach her algebra, or even addition.
As a bright kid, I was always “gifted” at math, but that didn’t mean I liked it. By the time I hit high school, I’d gotten the message that being good with numbers wasn’t cool for a girl, so I shirked it. When it came time to go to college, I chose a school that did not require any math classes.
Now my stepson is 15, and I can’t even read his math homework, let alone help him solve it.
Happily, I saved my kids from a lifetime of math cluelessness by marrying a professional nerd who teaches math and physics at a university. In our house, he is the math department.
When Lisa Belkin broached this topic over on Motherlode, commenters pointed out the gender disparity between men and women around math. Lisa’s family, like mine, is headed by a math averse mom and a math friendly dad.
I’m trying to do more math for the girls’ sake. I want my girls to grow up knowing women can do just as much math as men. But let’s be real: I can pull this off now because the oldest one is 5. She is hard at work learning to count to 100. When she starts bringing home differential equations, she is going straight to Daddy.
Two recent studies show that most American parents are a lot like me when it comes to math homework: clueless and uncomfortable. One commissioned by Intel shows that parents feel more equipped to talk about sex and drugs with their kids than math and science. Another, by Sylvan Learning, found that more than 6 out of 10 parents are not confident that they can solve their kids’ math homework in middle and high school.
Those jitters about math homework translate to kids, who start to feel nervous about the subject themselves. Math is increasingly important for higher education and professional fields, but most adults rate it as the most challenging subject taught in school.
For good reason. Less than 40% of eight and fourth graders are “proficient” or better at grade-level math skills. Clearly our kids could use some help with their math homework.
Do you help your kids with their homework? Does the thought of having to go through high school algebra again give you the shivers? If we can’t help our kids learn math, who can?
Photo: tracy_the_astonishing
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6 Comments
Eric commented on Nov 12 09 at 9:39 amMost teachers are hard working, dedicated individuals who really try their best. That said, the statistic you point out is the reason that I am a big proponent of teaching your kid at home. I don’t necessarily mean ‘home schooling,’ but taking time out to learn some new information or develop a new skill. Math needn’t be scary. Even if you can’t remember it all right away, it will do you good to knock the rust off. Plus you’re role modeling for your kid that its alright to be challenged by math, and how to overcome the challenge instead of avoiding it.
Maggie commented on Nov 12 09 at 10:07 amSomehow we as a culture have to find a way to break the stereotypes around how ‘uncool’ it is to be smart at the wrong things. I don’t actually think the gender disparity is about math being hard for girls, my own experience suggests it’s more about boys and teachers assuming that boys ought to be better at it. Whether it’s laughing at the girl for asking ‘too big’ a question or shaming the boy for letting a girl get the highest grade on a test, Math-smarts are all too often portrayed as dangerous for a girl to have. Pretty much the same way that Academic-smarts are portrayed in some high schools as uncool for people of color to have. Got to find a way to make learning, knowledge, and competence equally cool for everyone.
Laure68 commented on Nov 12 09 at 12:40 pmOur family is the exact opposite. I love math and science, while my husband is less comfortable with it. I was an only child and my dad loved all things scientific. I often helped him fix the car, and he never made me think it was strange for a girl to do such things.
And I agree with Maggie about math still being viewed as “uncool”. We really need to get past this.
By the way, for people with young kids, I would highly recommend 2 CD’s/DVD’s from They Might Be Giants. They are “Here Come the 1, 2, 3′s” and “Here Comes Science”. The science one especially surprised me, as it presents very complex topics with super fun music and videos. My 3-year-old already loves it. I’m sure he does not get all the concepts, but at least he is being exposed to them.
Ali commented on Nov 12 09 at 4:51 pmI am also the math/science one in our home and my mate is not. I dont see what the big deal is. I homeschool all of our kids and we do math and science every single day. Science is the study of the world you live in so that is easy enough. Math is logical. I think what some people dont like is that the require a bit of effort.
Ben commented on Nov 12 09 at 5:19 pmComments
Education in the west is encouraging specialisation at the age as young as 16. Students would naturally concentrate on subjects that they want to specialise in. For example, a student who aspire to be a lawyer would think that studying algebra and trigonometry is a waste of time. Even for one who wishes to be a banker, fraction-to-decimal can always be done using calculator without having to learn algebra. Eduction in Asia has been emphasizing on generalization up to the age of 18 or more. Many young students are still able to handle their algebra and trigonometry. However, in some countires such as Singapore, the tendency is to move towards specialization at younger age, on par with the west. This is leading to the same effect as the West now as many young students are not as keen to handle subjects that are outside their interest.
Dr Richard Bavaria, Sylvan Learning commented on Nov 17 09 at 2:18 pmOne of the most common anxieties I’ve seen in my 40-year teaching career is from females who have fallen for the “boys do better at math than girls” myth. They’ve internalized the myth and have convinced themselves that math has no relevance to their lives, they’re no good at it anyway, and if boys are so good at it, let them have it! When it’s time for math class, the girls feel anxious and uncomfortable, unable to do the work. This is true not only for middle school students, but also adults trying to help their kids with their math homework. Math homework time does not have to be stressful. Show your child that his/her learning math is important to you, that you’re going to be involved in the learning process, and that you’re going to have high expectations. The child will rise to those expectations. Visit my blog (http://www.drrickblog.com/post/2009/10/26/Helping-with-Math-Homework.aspx) to learn math homework tips for the whole family.
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