A Future Letter To Your Kid's Self

Dear Mackenzie,

I am an 9^th grader at Columbine High School. We are currently on a loooong break right now because of the Coronavirus. My mom is making me work on my school studies while my brother and I aren’t in school. We do a lot of stuff online lately. I’m writing because one of my English teachers gave us an assignment to write a future letter to ourselves. She told us to talk about something we’re struggling with now and then write a future letter to ourselves giving more explanation about why we might have been frustrated and how we overcame it. So, here goes…

I’m frustrated with math. No matter how hard I work to improve my grades in math, I just can’t seem to understand it like other kids do. I am more right-brained. I like to dance and sing and create art. My mom has my art all over the house. I just don’t think my brain is wired to understand math. I think it’s more for left-brained people. What advice can you give me to survive math classes until high school is over. 

- Mackenzie R., 9^th grader

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Dear Mackenzie,

I understand your dilemma and I want you to know that you are not alone in thinking that your creatively oriented mind just isn’t suited to math, thus, it makes it harder for you to understand math. It is actually quite a common misconception that math is better achieved or even strictly a left-brained activity that is only liked by those who have more structurally and logically developed brains. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that the idea that only left-brained people are good at math is a myth, and here’s why; you see, math has more than one component to it. When you describe math as being a left-brained activity, you’re likely referring to arithmetic, which is computational thinking. You’re right in that this is a very left-brained activity. Mathematical thinking, however, requires using the right-brain. This is because it’s creative in its approach. It often involves drawing, visualization of problems and creatively re-conceiving and approaching how to work backwards. 

Some students find that whenever there is a problem in their workbook or textbook and they can see how the example is shown, they can understand it and can do it fine. But whenever there’s any sort of twist on a problem, they have more trouble with problems. This is an example of students who are very locked into procedural, left-brained approaches to problem-solving. Students who rest on only learning this way end up just parroting back what teachers tell them, rather than opening up their mind and engaging their creative thoughts with mathematical thinking in order to help them solve problems. Rote memorization, and pencil and paper reliance put too much focus on the wrong thing. They do not help you conceptually understand things like numerical fluency and number sense. Practicing using mental math and making sure you understand the concept rather than just the memorized problems or facts leads you to have the structure you need to approach math problems in a way that activates your creative side. And it is for people with all types of brains. 

When you work on your relationship with numbers in a way that isn’t just memorization, but more applied and conceptual, as time goes by you will able to attack question you’ve never seen with confidence! When you are able to combine all the skills and knowledge you have been taught and then you creatively approach problems because you understand how and why numbers are related and what you’re supposed to do with them, the possibilities are endless and math might even become… dare you say it… F U N! 

Not only will developing and engaging in creative problem solving survive your math classes, it will help you feel challenged by them and possibly even want more. Additionally, this type of thinking will extend far beyond your math classes. When you grow up and move into the workforce, you will find employers that are looking to hire employees who are quick thinking and have multiple solutions for problems. They likely won’t want someone who has to be led from one task to the next and be babysat to be able to do their work and find new challenges when their work is completed. The problems might not be math related, but you will be able to reach back into your arsenal of creative thinking and remember the days when you had to creatively approach math and come up with solutions not based on what you already knew, but based on where you were headed. You can’t learn this type of thinking overnight. It comes from years of encountering and interacting with challenging problems that require mastery of left-brained analysis and techniques and right-brained creative problem solving. Many people can problem solve, but those who contribute original pensiveness and creativity to a problem will be those who truly stand out in work and life.

Be proud of yourself for everything you naturally have, work on your weaknesses and don’t ever assign yourself to a right-brained pigeonhole again.

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Looking for activities to do with your kid while they're at home? Have them write a future letter to them self.

1. Start by having them write about something that they struggle with. Writing about things like this often helps them deal with the emotions that come with struggle.
2. Then have them write a future letter to themselves about what they're struggling with. The intention of the letter is to remain positive about the outcome, as if they are years out of having moved past the struggle that is currently plaguing them.