STUDENTS WHO LOVE MATH REAP BENEFITS FAR BEYOND SCHOOL YEARS

Students who love math experience significant benefits which continue throughout their lives, including increased problem-solving and language skills, increased spatial and directional ability, better financial mastery and improved memory.

“For students––and eventually adults––to truly reap the greatest benefits from math, we have to foster more than just a desire to get good grades.” commented Pauline Grayson, Center Director of the Mathnasium of Lakeland Highlands. “Grades are an excellent indicator of a student’s lesson retention, but a love and enjoyment of math indicate a true understanding of foundational math concepts, which will benefit that student for life.”

Parents are key players in fostering their child’s positive relationship with math. “Parents who are uncomfortable with math themselves often pass that discomfort on to their children” says Grayosn, “but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

There are plenty of strategies parents can employ to encourage a love of math in their kids:

• Express your own love or appreciation for math. Even parents who feel they aren’t good at math use some math regularly, whether it’s balancing a checkbook or calculating how much gas is needed to get to your destination. Express the positive ways math touches your life, not the negative.
• Do some math every day. Just like reading, math should be a part of your daily schedule. Solve fun brain teasers or word problems with kids at bedtime or around the dinner table. A little bit of math goes a long way when it’s a daily practice.
• Show the usefulness of math in the real world. Point out the different ways you use math every day: at home in the kitchen, out shopping, in financial matters, travel, construction, finding patterns in nature or language, telling time, or using logic to solve problems. When kids understand the value of math in their own lives they’re more likely to appreciate it in and out of the classroom.
• Expand the experience of math through supplementary education. Exposing your child to math learning environments outside the classroom will give them a well-rounded experience. Find a supplementary math program with a strong emphasis on strengthening foundational knowledge and which specializes in making math fun.

“We’ve always known that good grades in math are an indicator of graduation rates and university acceptance,” says Grayson. “What we now know is that a love of math brings benefits that extend far beyond academic success. Knowing this, I think we should do everything in our power to help every child fall in love with math.”

About Mathnasium

Mathnasium, the nation's leading math-only learning center franchise, specializes in teaching kids math in a way that makes sense to them—whether they're looking for tutoring or enrichment. The proprietary Mathnasium Method™ is the result of 40+ years of hands-on instruction and research. Franchising since 2003, Mathnasium has become one of the fastest-growing educational franchises. There are over 800 Mathnasium franchises in the United States and abroad.