This week, in Education Weekly, there is an article about how math is viewed as either you "know it" or you don't. And after reading the article and the studies that surround it, I realize that math is a challenge for many of us. According to this study, 1 in 5 adults have severe math anxiety- and 67% of teachers say math is a challenge for their students. That's HUGE! It's time to change some of these statistics.
Many of you who have read my blogs know that I love reading. I read all the time, to the point where I am constantly looking for new articles, books and studies on all topics. Throughout my teaching career, I have encouraged my students to develop that same love of learning through reading. Then one year while teaching, I had a bunch of girls in my class who I'd often overhear saying "Ugh I can't do math! It's the worst." And I noticed more and more that certain kids, while doing math would "shut down" and avoid any assignment we were working on. Some kids seemed so anxious that they couldn't even focus on what we were doing. So that's when I decided that my next challenge was to make math enjoyable for my students- especially the ones who said "I am NOT a math person."
I will admit, when I started trying to figure out best practices for helping these kids, it was a learning curve for me too. I was taught there was one way to solve a math problem, but then I thought to myself "What if there are different ways to solve the same problem? What about manipulative or visuals?" So I began to develop a better understanding of math concepts and various ways to teach them to students. It's funny because one principal I worked with said " You're such a MATH PERSON" when in reality, I did enjoy it but reading was and still is my passion.
So over the years, I have embraced math, and have liked the challenge of figuring out math problems in multiple ways. It's also beneficial to students- having kids watch this helps students understand that we are all lifelong learners and that there's more than one way to solve a problem. So the next time your child asks you for help, remember that you ARE a math person- we all are! We all just need a boost of confidence.
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