Beilenson - Math for moms and dads: a dictionary of terms and concepts-- just for parents

Thirty years ago or so, you sat in math class, staring at the blackboard as your teacher derived the Pythagorean theorem. If you break out into a cold sweat at the memory, you are not alone. Those classroom experiences left many adults math-a-phobic, avoiding all math-related endeavors in the ensuing years. Therefore, it is one of life's little ironies that for all you may have since accomplishedcollege, the job market, parenthoodyou now find yourself back in math class. Only this time, you aren't worrying about your grade but rather your child's success.

As nerve-racking as it may be to watch your child struggle, the real anxiety stems from not knowing how to help. That's where Math for Moms and Dads can make a big difference. As a parent and math teacher, I have sat on both sides of the homework assignment. I know the stress of watching my own kids grapple with math concepts. Yet having worked with students of all abilities, I also know that any child can learn, improve, and earn higher grades in math. Math for Moms and Dads walks you through the techniques and strategies that you, as a parent, can employ to help your child succeed.

Yes, you really can help. However, before tackling irrational numbers or exponents, the road to success begins with the right attitude. Make math a positive experience for your child. For too many students, math class is fraught with confusion, stress, and frustrationfeelings that can overwhelm the learning process. By alleviating the negative feelings that your child associates with math, you will create room for change to happen. There are several ways parents can help lessen the anxiety.

Too often, stepping into math class feels like landing in a foreign country. When language is unfamiliar, reading the signs or even having a conversation becomes arduous. I have had students panic when they see the word integer or identity or inverse. Why? Because it is virtually impossible to answer a question correctly if you're not sure what's being asked. Unlike Spanish or French class, where students must memorize vocabulary, math teachers rarely drill students on the meaning of math terms.

Therefore, the first step toward making your child more comfortable and confident in math class is to help improve his or her math fluency. Use the vocabulary section of Math for Moms and Dads to review and clarify all of the terminology you need to know to speak math with your child. The more often you use these math terms with your child, the more easily fluency will come for both of you.

A second approach for making math a positive experience is to model the behavior you want to see in your child. Too often, I hear parents saying I can't do math, or I hate math. Try not to make your problem your child's problem. If you, as your child's role model, can't do math, then the first time your child encounters difficulties in math class, the response will be I can't do math, either. The primary purpose of Math for Moms and Dads is to help build your confidence, because a parent's own math phobia single-handedly creates the biggest obstacle to kids' success.

Third, cheer your child onespecially when the going gets rough. There's a big difference between finding math difficult and not being able to do it. I have seen the greatest confidence boosts in students who do not have a natural facility with numbers but who have had to work really hard in math class. Every time students learn that they have the capacity to take on a challenge and win, they learn a giant life lesson and confidence soars. That is the great value in learning how to do something hard. The next time a challengeacademic or otherwisepresents itself, your child will be more likely to say, I can do this. If I learned how to use the quadratic formula, I can do this, too. Keep your child motivated during the hard moments by always applauding efforts. It helps as much in math class as it does on the soccer field!

Finally, help your child see the connections between math and everyday life. The less abstract math is, the more manageable it becomes. As a parent, I always try to illustrate for my kids how math surrounds us everywhere in our daily lives. In my house, baking cupcakes is proof of the commutative law of multiplication: three rows of four cupcakes equal four rows of three cupcakes. Going to Starbucks is a trip on the coordinate plane: our house is the center of the universe at (0, 0), and coffee is three blocks up and two blocks left at (3, 2). Putting money in a savings account is a geometric progression that really pays off! Soup cans are cylinders, cereal boxes are prisms, and basketballs are spheres.

The next time you go out for dinner, let your child check the bill for errors or figure out a 15 percent tip. Ask him to double the recipe quantities for Aunt Martha's famous chocolate cake. Moreover, if your child ever asks How much longer? on a road trip, simply state the time you left, the distance of your destination, and your average speed.

The more you make math an evident part of your child's life, the less math class will seem like a foreign country. Help your child have a great experience and feel comfortable by learning the language, being a positive role model, and making math a tangible part of life. You will both reap the rewards.

As important as it is for math to be a positive experience, establishing good habits will take your child further down the road to success. These good habits include excellent computation, showing all your work every time, and a disciplined homework routine.

Good habits matter in math. While mathematics is theoretically based, school-level math is rather concrete. It is a contained world. The problems always work out. They always rely on information in the chapter. There is always a right answer. It is generally far more mechanical than theoretical. Students can earn good grades in math by mastering procedures instead of being intellectually creative. That mastery requires good habits.

In fact, I have seen kids with a tenuous grasp on a particular concept still ace a test because they have become master technicians. As a parent, you can help your child do the same.

You would never expect a middle school student to read Aristotle or Tolstoy, but you prepare them for the task by giving them a foundation in grammar, vocabulary, and literary concepts. The same holds true for math. Higher mathfrom algebra to calculusrequires a strong foundation, and students have to acquire certain skills before meeting the challenge. The building blocks are not conceptual. They are computational. They are arithmetic, fractions, decimals, exponents, and square roots.