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Math without tearsDo you have to do math everyday? I have a teacher friend that almost had a cow when I said this, but I don't believe that, at least in elementary math, you have to have math daily. Sometimes we go without math for months, and then sometimes all we'll do is math for weeks. How does this work? Well, elementary math isn't that hard to teach, for one thing. I know that it can seem a great, daunting task, especially when we remember back to our own schooling experience. Most industrialized nations don't take the 7 or so years we do to teach the basics, they take 3 at the most. What is elementary math? It goes something like this: Numbers--counting, recognition and writing, including skip-counting Basic 1-digit adding and subtracting 2-3 digit adding and subtracting, with and without "regrouping" Simple multiplication and division Complex multiplication and division Fractions--adding, subracting, dividing, simplifying decimals Also, statistics, probability, reading graphs, money, measuring, time, and word problems (or the basic application of math that happens naturally in the lives of intelligent, active people who are not stuck in a sterile classroom with no windows all day). If you don't push this stuff on children who are barely capable of understanding it, you won't have to spend too much time on each concept. It's when we push children who don't have the mental or emotional maturity that we end up feeling like all of us are math wipe-outs. If you don't believe me, ask someone who does math tutoring for adults as a volunteer. If a person is ready, the basics don't take that much time. When I reach a point of great resistance, I put it away for a while. When we take it up again, the kids are the ones who usually ask for it, and then they are primed to pay attention, of their own accord. Of course, there are those "teachable moments" that we all have to be open to, when some concept we tried to all but hammer into the mind of our child just "clicks"--like when they are doubling a cookie recipe, buying cloth for a dress they are sewing, or saving for an easel and oil painting set. After the elementary stuff, algebra isn't too far off. There are so many good programs out there, but I just used a .25 copy of Holt Algebra that I purchased at a half-off thrift store sale. It's funny, but all of the cobwebs I had in my head when I took it at the age of 13 just disappeared when I was teaching it to my kids--I must have been at the right "emotional and mental maturity"--finally! We took about 6 months to do both Algebra 1 and 2, and this with my kids who were 12, 14 and 15 when they started. But does it work? I have grown children who keep their checkbooks, pay their bills, and make change quite well. Not only this, but they also enjoy math, just for fun! They think up problems and try and solve them, one uses his skills to figure out complex physics equations for programming he does in his leisure time. It does work, as long as you maintain an attitude yourself that it is worthwhile and fun to learn, and that may be the hardest part. If you are having trouble, try reading a book titled "Mathematics: Is God Silent?" (see sidebar). This will open your eyes, as it did ours, to the wonderful ways God has revealed Himself in the mathematical structure of the physical world around us. You will never be able to look at an equation the same again. Also, even though you may not have had a great experience with math as a student in school, teaching it to your children may open your eyes to all the enjoyment you missed. When a person is in a classroom, the teacher moves ahead, no matter whether you have grasped a concept or not. At home, you can take as little or as much time as you need. It is amazing, but as you teach you find that you understand more than you ever thought you did, and you actually begin enjoying it, because you feel you can finally do it well. Instead of crying, math should leave you smiling! Leave a Comment { Last Page } { Page 46 of 84 } { Next Page } |
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