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Parents, don’t pass your math anxiety to your children

Published: January 22, 2015   

By Vernell Bowen
Superintendent of Schools

Vernell Bowen

It is often expressed by parents to teachers, that they do not know how to help their children at home with school work. Math seems to be one of the most common areas that parents express their lack of ability to assist their children. Some of the most often heard comments are “I never did well in math,” or “I just don’t understand this new way of teaching math.”

The first thing that parents need to do is to not pass on their own fears of their inability to do math. Don’t make this statement to your child. Learn where this fear comes from for yourself, but also understand what might cause your child to have these fears. The most common cause of math anxiety is the fear that you will not get the correct answer. Getting the correct answer in math comes from a deep understanding about why the rules of mathematical procedures really work. It is important to provide students with manipulatives to help them understand processes and procedures.

Don’t let these myths keep your child from having success with math.

•  You’re born with a math gene, either you get it or you don’t.
•  Math is for males.
•  It’s hopeless and much too hard for average people.
•  If the logical side of your brain isn’t your strength, you’ll never do well in math.
•  Math is a cultural thing; my culture never got it.
•  There’s only one right way to do math.

As long as these myths persist in our society, there will always be students who fail. It is the responsibility of teachers and parents to dispel these myths and search for ways to ensure that students understand the math being presented to them. The first step in overcoming math anxiety is to dispel the myths. The following are some ways to help students to overcome math anxiety.

•   Look for ways to develop a positive attitude. Teachers need to provide instruction that teaches understanding of the concepts, not just memorization.
•  Make sure that your child asks questions in class. Ask for clear illustrations and or demonstrations or simulations.
•  Practice regularly.
•  Hire a tutor or work with peers that understand math.
•  Remember all of us make mistakes, but we can learn from our mistakes.

There are many activities parents can do at home to assist their child in understanding the concepts of math. If your child has had real-life experiences with math, this will provide more confidence when learning math at school. Here are a few ways to develop math concepts at home.

•  Make a schedule with your child for time and organization using the calendar.
•  Provide cooking activities that will help with measurement, understanding temperature, time and dividing in portions.
•  Have your child help with grocery shopping. Have them round the cost of items to estimate the cost and what the total cost will be with taxes.
•  Read labels for size of the same products and compare the best buy.
•  Read labels to determine ingredients and what are calories, sugar content, size of servings, etc. If you have two servings, what does this mean in regard to ingredients?
•  Have your child make a monthly budget based on the allowance they receive.
•  Read maps, relate to the miles and how long it will take to get to a destination.
•  Estimate and measure rooms/heights of things around the house.
•  Play games that involve logical thinking (checkers, dominoes, chess, Monopoly, etc.)
•  Allow your child to use a calculator.
•  Talk math with your child.

Don’t let your frustration of math anxiety affect your child’s success with math. When your child is struggling with math, consult with the teacher, find a tutor, find websites that will assist your child. There are many sites that will provide assistance for practice and explanations of problem solving: just Google “sites that help your children understand math.” Many sites are free, but some require you to pay a fee. There is really no excuse for children to have failure with math today when there are so many resources available for parents and teachers to access online.

Click for the Catholic Schools Herald January 2015 index 

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