GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THEPROBLEM IN MATH

OUR   CHILDREN

                                                                                          TammyVu

                                                                                          4-23-03

                                                                                          MathG

                                                                                          Walton

                  Having a child is a big responsibility. Parentsdon’t get a handbook about raising a child when they get home from thehospital. It’s a hard job and some parents just want to find an easy wayout. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why many children have a hard timein school and particularly in math, parents just don’t want to deal withit or they don’t know how to deal with it. I could tell you that this isthe main reason why I had such a hard time in math. My parents and teachersplayed a major role in the reason why I had math phobia for so long.

            Ifind that some parents and teachers just don’t know how to explain mathin the level that a child could understand. Therefore, the adult getsfrustrated and the child gets frustrated and so the subject is left alone,never to be touched again.  Anotherinteresting fact that I’ve discovered is that most elementary teacherstry to avoid math because they don’t know it well enough themselves, thisalso goes for parents too.  This isa problem for so many children that grow up not knowing how to deal and copewith math because they didn’t have the proper guidance when they were achild.

Another reason is, the time. Parents are always onthe go. Going to work, watching the kid’s and the everyday errands theyhave to make.  But, when they watchthe kid’s, are they really interacting with them? In my case, whenever Ihad homework, my parents would talk among other adults and take a quick glancefrom time to time at what I was doing. They didn’t actually sit down andhelp me, because they didn’t know most of the subjects themselves, butthere are ways in which parents can get involved with helping their child inmath without a textbook or worksheets from the store.

So, I will be addressing this problem and how you canhelp your child build their skill in math with simple yet effective techniques.

First we’ll take a look at facts on whychildren have math phobia. Like I said, math relies on the teacher and how sheor he explains and interprets the concepts like the book, “Whydon’t our Children like Math?” says “Poor instruction in mathrelies a lot on worksheets and very little on talking about ideas andconcepts—as a result, the understanding that is so important to learningmath gets lost.” I see this all the time with parents also, they go tothe store and buy workbooks for their child thinking that it will be the answerfor their child to accelerate in math. But that’s not true at all.

Another fear of math might be because of the ideathat math is a bunch of useless numbers on a piece of paper as Dr. Healy states“Most people think of math as arithmetic, the study of numbers and therules or operations, such as addition and multiplication, that we use tomanipulate them….Mathematics is a much greater science of relationships,which uses numerical symbols to describe fundamental truths about our universe.The numbers on a page represent powerful abstract concepts” (YourChild’s Growing Mind pg. 291).

In our class (Math G) I find it very helpful that wesee if there are other possible ways to get the answers, as the same goes forchildren. We just don’t want to get to the answer, but how we got thereis what counts. As Dr. Healy suggest “The human brain must think up theproblems, try new solutions, and approach questions from different angles. Itis important to learn the rules, but we must teach our children to move beyondthe “one right answer” mentality (Your Child’s Growing Mindpg 296).

So what are some of the things that teachers andparents can do to help children understand math more?

Be patient. Childrendon't want red marks or incorrect answers. They want to be proud and to makeyou and the teacher proud. So, the wrong answer tells you to look further, toask questions, and to see what the wrong answer is saying about the child'sunderstanding.

Ask yourchild to explain how the problem was solved. The response might help you discover if your childneeds help with the procedures, the number facts, or the concepts involved.

Help yourchildren be risk takers: helpthem see the value of examining a wrong answer; assure them that the rightanswers will come with proper understanding.

“Through theyears, we have learned that while problems in math may have only one solution,there may be many ways to get the right answer. When working on math problemswith your child, ask, "Could you tell me how you got that answer?"Your child's way might be different than yours. If the answer is correct andthe strategy or way of solving it has worked, it is a great alternative. Byencouraging children to talk about what they are thinking, we help them tobecome stronger mathematicians and independent thinkers” (Helping yourChild learn Math).

            Anotherimportant skill to teach your child is to imagine. To actually visualizesomething that is not there is an important aspect used in math as Healy says“I find that these youngsters lack another skill which can’t betaught in books –visual imagery, the ability to mentally“see” something that is not actually in front of them” (Yourchild’s Growing Mind pg 298). Some tips on how to help your child to domath in their head is:

1.    Help children do mental math with lots of smallnumbers in their heads until they develop quick and accurate responses.Questions such as, "If I have 4 cups, and I need 7, how many more do Ineed?" or "If I need 12 drinks for the class, how many packages of 3drinks will I need to buy?"

2. Encourage your child to estimate the answer. When estimating, try to use numbers to make it easy to solve problems quickly in your head to determine a reasonable answer. For example, when figuring 18 plus 29, an easy way to get a "close" answer is to think about 20 + 30, or 50.
3. Ask often, "Is your answer reasonable?" Is it reasonable that I added 17 and 35 and got 367? Why? Why not? (Helping your Child Learn Math).

So,what are the basics to know in math? I was actually lucky enough to find thatthere was a site based on his book by Keith Devlin that summarized and narrowedmy research on the basics to know math and here it is:

1.    NUMBER SENSE. This is not the same as being able to count. It's much more basic thanthat, and includes the ability to recognize the difference between one object,a collection of two objects, and a collection of three objects -- and torecognize that a collection of three objects has more members than a collectionof two. Number sense is not something we learn. Child psychologists havedemonstrated conclusively during the past 20 years that we are born with numbersense.

2.    NUMERICAL ABILITY. This does involve learning -- both to count and tounderstand numbers as abstract entities. Early methods of counting, by makingnotches in sticks or bones, go back at least 30,000 years. The Sumerians arethe first people we know of who used abstract numbers; between 8000 and 3000B.C., they inscribed numerical symbols on clay tablets.

3.    SPATIAL-REASONING ABILITY. This includes the ability to recognize shapes andto judge distances accurately, both of which have obvious survival value. Inaddition to forming the basis for geometry, this ability is important for a lotof mathematical thinking that is not, on the face of it, visual or geometric.

4.    A SENSE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT. Much of mathematics depends on "if this, thenthat" reasoning, an abstract form of thinking about causes and theireffects.

5.    THE ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT AND FOLLOW A CAUSAL CHAINOF FACTS OR EVENTS. A mathematicalproof of a theorem is a highly abstract version of a causal chain of facts.

6.    ALGORITHMIC ABILITY. An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure forperforming a certain mathematical task -- the mathematician's equivalent of arecipe for baking a cake. In elementary school, we are taught algorithms foradding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers and fractions.Secondary-school algebra requires that we learn algorithms to solve equations.Algorithmic ability is an abstract version of the fifth ability on this list.

7.    THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND ABSTRACTION. Humans developed the capacity to think aboutabstract notions, along with acquiring language, 75,000 to 200,000 years ago.

8.    LOGICAL-REASONING ABILITY. The ability to construct and follow a step-by-steplogical argument is fundamental to mathematics. It is another abstract versionof the fifth ability.

9.    RELATIONAL-REASONING ABILITY. This involves recognizing how things and people arerelated to each other, and being able to reason about those relationships. Muchof mathematics deals with relationships among abstract objects (Finding yourInner Mathematician).

Many people arguethat they can’t do math, but if you have these nine basic abilities, thenyou can do math just fine, we just need to get the laziness out of us and workour brain.

Canwe make math a fun game? The answer is of course we can! I just wish that myparents knew about this when I was still a curious little one. There areeveryday experiences that offer great learning opportunities for children tolearn math. Here are a variety of things they can do with the parent:

1.    Weighing -Putting a child on a scale represents an opportunity to compare pounds andounces, and heavy versus light. Children may learn what size clothes they wear,and be able to judge what will fit and what won't (that's an early exercise in"spatial relation").

2.    Cooking- Adults pour, measure, divide, estimate time, and read labels every time theyprepare a meal. Why not include even very young children in on the action?Before he can pour pancake batter or read recipes, a child can stir with awooden spoon in a plastic bowl. Show a child how you follow a recipe step bystep, and how you set the oven temperature. Remember to warn children aboutwhat's too hot to touch or eat!

3.    Managing money -- Children can touch, count, save, sort, and spend money (withsupervision, of course). What better way to teach children about the value ofmoney than by taking them shopping and showing them how much they must pay foritems -- and how much they will save with discounts and coupons! As childrenget older, they begin to learn about working for money when they do householdchores for an allowance.

4.    Around the house -- Household repairs offer children excellent opportunities to practicemath skills. Let children watch as you measure a door frame, or hang a picturein the center of a wall. Children can help you make a list of items you willneed to complete a project, including the number of tools. Everyday activitieslike setting the timer on the VCR or setting the dinner table are opportunitiesfor children to count and work with numbers.

5.    Play --Children keep score during store-bought games such as Sorry and dominoes.Children may also race against the clock or measure the distance they can hitor throw a ball. Help children make neighborhood activities and sports morethan just good exercise.
When children pretend, they often create lifelike situations in which they maycheck a bus schedule, or gauge how much fuel is needed for a long car trip.Pretend play sometimes takes off from reading literature, much of whichcontains information about numbers and counting. Also, don't forget about mathconcepts involved in puzzles and blocks, both of which involve the whole childin learning (Math and the myth of 1,2,3).

Someother great tips on how to help your child is to:

1.    Use summer breaks to give your child a chance toshine in the next grade by reviewing basic computation skills with them. Thenext year’s math instruction will start out far more successfully.

2.    Don’t rush your child’s progress:don’t add new types of computation skills until the child has masteredthe previous skills.

3.    Extra time on tests will give your child a chance tocompensate for his difficulties. The point of a test is to find out what thechild knows. For some children, rigid time limits hide what they know insteadof showing their knowledge (Real Help for Real School Problems pg. 166). I aman example for this last one, I could remember clearly throughout my life, Iwas always so worried about the time, and everyone else finishing before methat I would go blank even if I knew the material.

Iwanted to expand more on the part of play because most parents when lookinginto a preschool, and I’ve actually heard of a preschool like this; theyoften look if the child is being obedient, sitting in their chair, not talkingor interacting with other children and looking in a book. But word of advice,THESE ARE CHILDREN! They need to move around, touch, feel, and explore!That’s how they learn as Dr. Healy says that “Many of the wordsused in math stand for abstract concepts, but the way the child learns themis—guess what!—through physical experiences with objects and eventsin daily life. Some of these concepts are: equal, greater, less, more, bigger,plus, take away……and so on….How many ways can you expose yourchild to the ideas of up/down, before/after, above/below? Anytime such ideascan be tied with language to everyday experiences, they seem interesting andunderstandable. I am concerned that many parents (and some teachers) expectcomputer software to “teach” math too soon, thus bypassing somecritical steps” A fun activity given by Dr. Healy is “Making mudpies…is a readiness activity for algebra—the science of describingrelationships of quantity. Measuring or comparing distances and sizes ofobjects is also important” (Your Child’s Growing Mind pg. 301).

            Children love to do things with adults, that’sbecause we are truly their role model, everything that we do influences them.So playing games or using everyday experiences with them will allow them togain knowledge and have fun at the same time. I help my little cousin who isfour years old by sorting and categorizing all the fruits, cans, small and bigboxes into the right storage. My child development teacher suggests that thiswill allow him to learn sets and groupings of objects. So this was somethingthat he enjoys and is learning at the same time. I know I used Dr.Healy’s book a lot in this essay but she is a great author and I love herbook. I just wanted to use one last quote from her, and that is“Parents’ major role is to help build the self-confidence, concepts,and the underlying skills with interesting and meaningful activities. Remember,an atmosphere in which wrong answers are viewed as a learning opportunity andchildren are encouraged to take intellectual risks may be the most importantfactor of all” (Your Childs Growing Mind pg. 308).

Bibliography

ERIC, Why Don't OurChildren Like Math? ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.Charleston. 1989

Healy, J. PhD, YourChild's Growing Mind, Broadway Books. New York. 1987

Kantner, P.,Helping Your Child Learn Math,

http://nipin.org/library/pre1998/n00109.html,viewed on April 7, 2003

Setley, S., RealHelp for Real School problems. Starfish Publishing. 1995

NationalAssociation for the Education of Young Children, Math and Myth of 1,2,3. 1997

http://kidsource.com/kidsource/content4/math.myth.html,viewed on April 8, 2003

Devlin, K., Observer: Your InnerMathematician, The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2000

http://www.nku.edu/~longa/htmls/mathbrains.html,viewed on April 7, 2003