Why didn’t I learn this before?
This was the constant question on my mind as I sat in the Idaho Falls Mathnasium and learned that “percent” means “per hundred.”
Doesn’t sound ground-breaking? Believe me, it was. And not just for me, but also for the students who pass through the Mathnasium doors.
Many of these students were originally intimidated by math.
“The question I like to lead with when a student comes in is, ‘Can you tell me how you feel about math in one word?’” said Brenda Barnard, the Mathnasium center director. “Usually that word is ‘it sucks.’”
But it often doesn’t take long for that to shift. The intimidation disappears, and when their mothers come in to pick them up, they say, “Mom, I’m not done yet. Don’t come yet; I’m not ready to go.”
“Mom’s just like this—” Brenda raised her eyebrows. “That’s a good moment.”
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