by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com.
Train up a child…
Helping Children with Math Homework
A common phrase heard by parents is, “I was never any good in math either”. My husband, a retired math teacher, says that you never hear parents say, “I was never any good in reading either”. A parent’s attitude is transferred to children easily. Undoubtedly, this attitude expressed about math influences a child and often causes the child to think that it is alright to be less proficient in math than in reading and “lets them off the hook” when it comes to doing math homework. One of the best ways to help children with math homework is to have the right attitude about math itself. In addition, parents need to be involved with the homework and need to provide opportunities for math usage to help children see its importance.
Math is similar in one way to building a house. You can’t put the walls up until the foundation is laid. Often children miss out somewhere along the way in math and that affects the understanding of current assignments. In such cases, the child simply needs to go back and find where he/she got off track and “fill in the chinks” in that foundation.
There are two reasons for learning math. The first reason is obvious. It is used in many, many aspects of life. Adults should never say, “You’ll never use this.” This causes the child to think they don’t have to learn it. The other reason for learning math is that it is a mental exercise that develops the thinking processes. When children learn to do math, especially word problems, they are learning to consider all facts and are required to sort out what is needed and set priorities to solve the problem. These same procedures are used in all decision-making in real life. In this respect, all math is useful. It is interesting that at one time math was referred to as the math discipline. That title is fitting as math truly disciplines the brain.
Parents often shy away from becoming involved in math homework for fear they will do it wrong. It is true that some different methods are being used in some schools, but often if the child is asked to explain the methods, the problem will be solved by the child during the explanation. A good thing to do is to ask the child to tell you what he/she knows about a problem. This helps the student break down the problem in parts. It is not a good idea to try to teach children different methods until a child has mastered one method as it will cause confusion. It is profitable to take the time to study the textbook to see what method is being taught rather than try to teach a child to solve the way we were taught.
When children hear parents comparing prices and noting how much money can be saved, they are being helped with math. When children are restricted from impulse buying and required to compare prices, they are being helped with math. When coupons are clipped and children are allowed to keep a portion of the savings, they are learning math. When parents require children to learn multiplication tables, they are doing a very important action to help their children in math.
In a recent workshop I attended, we were told that an unusual number of students nationwide are finding it necessary to take remedial math when they go to college. There is a real concern about the low math achievement in this country. We can help not only our children with their math, but in doing so, we are helping our country.