When Should You Get a Math Tutor for Your Student?

PBS recently ran an article on their website for parents struggling with when to hire a math tutor for their child.  Sometimes it is a pretty concrete clue: Grades are on the decline. Sometimes it is more of an instinct: Noticing avoidance strategies when it comes to math homework, excuses for why they can't finish, and general negative attitude changes.

When the time comes to making the jump, besides seeking a quality math tutor who is a math specialist, it is important to get to the root of the problem. Why is math getting harder? Was something missed along the way? Where bad habits started that need to be corrected? Is my high school student struggling with pre-algebra concepts but is enrolled in algebra? If your child struggles in one concept, are there other concepts where they could use math enrichment as well?

This makes Mathnasium perfect!  Our center in 4S Ranch fits the needs of anyone reading this article and saying, "This sounds like my kid." We begin with an assessment that identifies areas for growth or advancement. We create a customized learning plan that fits your child and we deliver it with one on one instruction to have the concepts make sense to the student. Once the student is ready, they are given independent time to practice their new strategy on a few problems before meeting with their math tutor and discussing their process a few minutes later.  We help with numerical fluency, number sense, elementary curriculum, algebra, geometry, pre-calculus and calculus help. 

The exchange between students and our math specialists is critical in cementing the math procedure and the student's confidence in tackling the math problem. Common Core math standards require students to communicate mathematically, and through careful questioning by Mathnasium of 4S Ranch's outstanding math tutors, students build their math vocabulary and problem solving abilities.

To read the entire article, you can visit: http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/math/math-tips-for-parents/when-to-get-a-math-tutor-for-your-child/ 

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Survey Says: "We're Not Good at Math"

I came across this survey and sat in silence!  1000 people were surveyed, all 18 years or above, and they were questioned on their self perception or feelings on math.  Grown ups that have at least had the opportunity to benefit from a full educational experience through the high school level.

They admitted to:

• Struggles with math situations they come across in a typical day, like shopping, taxes, interest rates
• Feeling frustrated when they have to use math authentically in real life
• Difficulty when figuring out the discount on a sale or figuring out a server's tip
• Feelings such as frustration, anxiety, worry and inadequacy

Sadly, women have a more harsh perception of themselves than men, a perception the educational system has been working tirelessly to correct.

With future jobs heading toward more and more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills, today's students cannot afford to have outcome. It will short change their opportunities and prospects for careers.

Mathnasium of 4S Ranch is more than math tutoring. Our top priority is build a student's success by making math make sense and instilling confidence as they work toward independence in the concepts they are studying.  We do this whether the child is struggling in math or visiting us for math enrichment.

After reading this article/survey, I feel more responsible than ever to make sure a future generation does have these same perceptions of themselves concerning math.  Students need to be adequately prepared to be successful and have the confidence. Elementary math is foundational to middle school math, such as pre-algebra and other algebra readiness courses. These directly feed into high school math success and impacts higher math concepts. The unfortunate thing about math is the train pulls out of the station in kindergarten and it doesn't stop. Once the struggle begins you have to address it or things slip away. Little by little at first, but at an alarming rate at some point. I have to think many in the survey were "those" kids. They may have gotten out of the class, but math shows up all the time in life's classroom (work, home, household budgets, big ticket purchases).

For the full article, please click here:

http://changetheequation.org/press/new-survey-americans-say-“we’re-not-good-math”

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Why Some Struggle with Math and Others Do Not

Think of all the exciting events that took place in 2013 and yet one of the most popular articles (#39 in its Top 100) written by Discover Magazine relates to "Why Some of Us are Better at Math Than Others."

Parents often greet me with "Why is number sense so hard for my child? We sit at the kitchen table every night and it just isn't clicking. I never had this problem as a child. I just don't get it." They are looking for solutions so their child can work more flexibly with numbers and build a foundation for future concepts. According to scientists, some are simply born with it, while others need to work at it.

Researchers from the country's greatest institutions, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Stanford, have been looking at experiences that make enhancing an individual's number sense so that success in higher math skills results.  Direct instruction, with a math tutor or teacher, has proven significant increases in math performance as concepts increase in complexity. That's awesome news and why places like Mathnasium of 4S Ranch is an outstanding option for math tutoring or math support.

Don't be afraid to start building number sense too early. One of the warm up activities we like to do with our younger students at Mathnasium of 4S Ranch is a game called Blink. It is a fast paced card game where you match cards in your hand to the target card in the center pile. You may match it by color, quantity or shape, all great concepts for math. Students "see" the quantities (just like you see a five on the cards pictured above), distinguish attributes of the shape or color, and race to get rid of their cards.

Here is the link to access the article.  A free subscription may be need to view it in its entirety: http://discovermagazine.com/2014/jan-feb/39-some-have-a-head-for-math?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews#.UtlqXLQo6M_