Do you have a middle school student who just doesn’t seem to care about math? It might just be an act.
The middle school math class is not just a community of learners dedicated to mastering new skills. It is also a group setting which means your kids know their peers are watching them because they are watching their peers. Everyone is watching everyone else trying to figure out "how to be" in middle school. This peer influence can have both negative and positive effects on the middle schooler’s study habits. Teens and ‘tweens who feel anxiety about math or who are afraid they are "dumb" in math are less likely to participate in math class. They don’t want their classmates to hear them ask a “stupid” question. They don’t want to get teased about getting an answer wrong. Instead of admitting weakness, teens and ‘tweens choose to look and act apathetic. Don’t get fooled by it. They care, often deeply. It is just a defense mechanism to cover up their own insecurities. Middle school kids in group learning environments behave differently than they do in individual learning environments. They tend to be more focused on learning when their peers are not watching them.
What to do about the Apathetic Attitude
Students who don’t ask for help, participate, or try hard lose many opportunities to learn and improve their understanding of new math concepts. Therefore, the apathetic acting students will not thrive in math class and probably won’t get good grades. They may also develop gaps in understanding which will cause them even more challenges and embarassment in high school math.
At Mathnasium of Littleton, middle school children are not in front of their peers. Even if a classmate happens to be here, they won’t know what is on anyone else’s individual learning plan. Additionally, our system simply doesn’t let students get by without frequent student/teacher interaction. That gives anxious middle school children the freedom to just work on math mastery without worrying about getting teased or talked about because everyone is working with an instructor all the time!
Let’s get your middle schooler on the right track in math. Give us a call today 303-979-9077.
This article was written by and owned by Cuttlefish Copywriting, www.cuttlefishcopywriting.com . It is copyright protected. Mathnasium of Littleton has permission to use it. Other Mathnasium locations should contact Heather at [email protected] before using it.
