Children are the epidemy of innocence. We come into this world, eyes wide open to everything, and experiences shape us as time goes on. The older we grow, the more we learn – good and bad – and slowly we are sculpted into certain mindsets, patterns and behaviors that make us who we are. But what if mindsets aren’t always good but more hinderances. Say, the belief that you have no artistic talent, or you don't know how to do math. We see this all the time at Mathnasium of Cherry Creek. Parents of children come in and explain that they are “bad” at math. They say things like “math is so boring” and “I’ve never been good at math.” You might be one of these parents – someone who had bad experiences with math as a kid and a continued bad relationship with math as you've become an adult. Consider this: by saying that you are just "bad at math" what are modeling to your child - especially one that struggles with math? If your child suffers from math anxiety and you are in a “bad at math” mindset, you could really be passing all that anxiety on to them! You must first address and adjust your negative feelings toward math before addressing your child’s troubles.
Reducing visible negativity towards math (words, body language, facial expressions) is the first step. This may not entirely change the way you feel about math – you can still own that math might not be your favorite subject. However, staying away from talking about math negatively will be progress in the way of helping your child overcome their fear of math. And alongside of that, here are a few tips for ways help strengthen your kid’s attitude toward math.
With such a fast-paced world, it’s no wonder why so much focus is put on speed and how fast something can be accomplished. However, speed is not always a great measurement of how well your child is understanding math concepts, nor is memorization. Math is a conceptual and is best understood as build blocks that lead to more and more knowledge. Foundation must be built first, to really test comprehension for math. Practicing, repeating and taking on new challenges is how true growth happens and while it may seem redundant, your child will start to garner more confidence the more they practice and keep on working through the sticky areas until they become more fluid with the concept. Encourage them to keep trying and not give up. It’s very rewarding to see them eventually get it.
In the last 20 years, there has been a plethora of new teaching methods that have entered school curriculums. Many times it’s dependent on what type of school they attend and what the district standards are. The way your child is taught math might be very different than the way you learned it, which can be completely positive. Kids are sometimes asked to show their work more than they were 15 or 20 years ago. Partly because of how easy it is to just find answers without doing the work these days. Know that there are reasons why teachers ask students to show their work. They are on your child’s side and they want them to understand the concept more than just come up with the right answer.
Some parents are great at math and use it all the time as a function of their job. If this is you, you are probably able to understand most of the math concepts your child is learning all the way through high school. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you can meet them at their same level to be able to teach them though. Understanding and reviewing/teaching are two very different things. Other parents might not have done technical math or had to learn new math concepts since high school or college. For those of you who fall in this category – it’s ok to admit that you don’t know how to help with your child’s math homework. Again, don’t focus on what you can’t do, focus on what you can do.
If you are at a point where your child is struggling with math and not understanding the way it’s being taught in their classroom or by you, or if you are struggling to help them because they’re homework is beyond the level of math you’ve completed and/or understand, we can help! Bring your child into Mathnasium of Cherry Creek for an assessment. We specialize in creative, effective ways to teach math and we work with your family’s schedule to do so. There are multiple ways to teach math and perhaps your child needs to be introduced to a new methodology when it comes to learning math. Math is for everyone. Giving your child the right support and encouragement will boost their confidence and help them recognize that mathisfor them.
