"Boring Math" Impacts Students Negatively

This New York Times article just hurts my heart. The amazing opportunities today's kids have with STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and their interest in them is stunted due to boredom, insecurity, lack of connection to the material, or not hearing the content in a manner that makes sense to them.

This is why Mathnasium is so focused not only on Making Math Make Sense, but it is in our DNA to get kids crazy about the subject.  We stick to the academic expectations, but make it engaging and supportive so our students flourish in the subject.  

To paraphrase the NYTimes:
"Finding ways to make math exciting for students who are in the middle of the pack could have a profound effect on their futures, providing them with the skills and enticing many who are insecure in their own abilities. But it is going to require a fundamentally different approach to teaching these subjects from childhood through high school." 

Here are a few excerpts presented in the article for ideas to begin that change:

• When students see the application of math in a real world setting
• A Flexible Curriculum: At Mathnasium, we create customized learning plans so students can receive the math tutoring help they need if they are struggling, or work with materials that provide math enrichment and challenge. We look at their abilities among concepts, so if they are strong in one and weaker in another, we work at their respective place so they are always moving forward and gaining knowledge.
• Early understanding of "Number System Knowledge" which we call Numerical Fluency at Mathnasium. Students need to know how numbers are put together and taken apart to make other numbers efficiently. This foundation sends a ripple effect into higher level math.
• Learning from individuals who are not "specialized" in their field. Mathnasium instructors focus only on math and have to pass a math literacy test plus have the educational background to support all levels of math through calculus

For the full article, click here.
Image retrieved on 12/18/13 from here.