Just thinking about writing about math makes me queasy.
Math wasn't my favorite subject in school, and that's a serious understatement. It didn't make sense to me in elementary school, and by the time I reached middle and high school, my repeated failures as a math student had sapped any joy I may have gotten out of it. So I came to dread math. Math class made me anxious. My parents, not great math students themselves, weren't much help. They hired tutors. They spoke with my teachers. I squeaked (barely) through math in high school and avoided all math in college.
But now that I'm a parent, I don't want to pass my math issues on to my girls. I want them to be curious about math, science and reading. I want them to be excited about numbers, not saddled with my math baggage.
So what to do?
I asked Rose Palmer, a Portland elementary school teacher and math specialist, for some advice. Turns out the school district has some terrific resources for parents when it comes to helping kids with math.
First, she said parents can go to this page and click on "helping your child learn mathematics" for practical tips. And check out the "linking math and literature" link on this page for suggestions about children's literature that incorporates math.
If you've got little kids, Palmer said had these suggestions: Point out math wherever you go. If you're at the grocery store, ask your child to feel heavy objects and lighter ones. Count apples or pears in the produce aisle, or pinecones while you're on a walk. Point out shapes. Those simple exercises teach your child about measurements and comparisons.
"Math is all around you," Palmer said. "Show them the beauty of mathematics in the world around them."
(Yes, Palmer really is the kind of person who thinks math is beautiful.)
You can even check out storybooks on math, like "The Greedy Triangle," which Rose describes as "a cute book about a triangle wanting to change shapes and every time he adds a side he becomes a different shape." Or "A Remainder of One," a book about division.
I also asked a good friend of mine, Chuck Slusher - a guy who loves numbers so much he has a doctorate in economics and teaches math at Lincoln High School in Portland - for some advice on how math-phobic parents can foster a love of numbers in their kids.
The most important thing is to not expect that your experience will be the same as your kids'. This means not harping on your issues with math, for example, and either setting the child up to expect that math will be dreadful for them too or giving them an excuse if things are not ideal. Very few people are inherently math phobic. Parents should try to be encouraging and emphasize the positive, even with topics that they are not as comfortable with.
Math classrooms, especially at the elementary level, are very different places from when we were young. Most of them use hands-on ... methods that are really interesting and enjoyable for students. When I taught K-8, so many kids loved math time because they were active and (it) played into kids' natural inquisitiveness.
What are your phobias? How do you avoid passing them on to your kids?
-Noelle Crombie; firstname.lastname@example.org