by Frieda J. Rendahl
You remember algebra: the class in which everyone else was catching on and you were drowning in x + y = cd! You thought that was all behind you, but now your child is a reluctant mathematician. It must be hereditary. Maybe the best thing would be to eliminate math from the school curriculum. That would make lots of parents (and students) very happy.
But math is all around us. We find it at the grocery, the bank, the football game. It helps us build safe bridges and exciting roller coasters. Christians especially should appreciate math; it speaks to the consistency and order of God’s creation. It helps us see logic and balance in the world around us. Math provides black and white answers, teaching the difference between correct and incorrect. It provides an example: you follow the right rules, you get where you want to go. It reminds us that God does not change, and that everything else does. Two plus two is four—always has been and always will be (if you stay with whole numbers).
Math, like God’s world, is about balance and proportion. The circumference of a circle is a little more than three times its diameter, and if you put the heel of your hand on your chin, you’ll be able to touch the middle of your forehead with your middle finger. But what can parents do when their children are confused by math?
Present a can-do attitude. Wise parents avoid the trap of emphasizing their own mathematical struggles. Cataloging your own difficulties may temporarily comfort children, but it also furnishes an excuse to do poorly in math. Emphasizing your family’s deficiency in math could turn your child into a self-fulfilling prophecy—an excuse to fail. It is all right to let your children know you had trouble, but also relate the positive steps you took to overcome the difficulty.
Not everything in life is easy, yet with God’s help, everything is possible. This is a good time to teach children that God cares about them. Pray about the problem. Then help your child understand that successful students are made, not born. Children have a wonderful variety of individual strengths and weaknesses. Some have more intellectual ability than others, but the skills and attitudes required for success in school are all learned.
Use opportunities to teach your children the “Ps” of accomplishment: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently. Point out activities where children have improved their skills through effort. Sports, music lessons, computer work, and handwriting are all good examples. In each case, highlight the repetition and perseverance used to improve skills. Perseverance at anything makes a success out of most people, and math is no exception.
Accept the fact that the brainpower of children develops at different rates. This is no more a concern than some children growing faster than others. It is especially true in the early years when children may not be ready for the logical thinking that math requires. Similar problems may pop up again around junior high level when children begin to develop the ability to think in abstract ways. This is just a fact of life. Some children are not ready to grasp why 2 x 3=6 when the curriculum introduces it, but they can memorize the appropriate mathematical tables. The effort put into memorizing will reward children with passing marks and forestall the stress and frustration of having to figure every problem. Memorizing provides opportunity for success, and many children develop understanding as they do the assignments. Others grasp the concept when it is presented in the next school year.
Help children think in mathematical ways. They do not have to be a chore and can provide hours of family fun. Encourage your child to see patterns and groups in everyday occurrences. Practice looking at things in a different way: “What would this look like if you were a bird?” Find one more answer beyond the obvious. Point out ways math helps us through the day. Post unusual questions. “Can we figure out how far you bicycle travels when the wheel turns once?” “How many dollar bills would it take to make a line three feet long?” “How many pounds of turkey will we need to feed everyone at Thanksgiving dinner?” Let the children suggest ways to find answers to such questions, then take time to implement their suggestions.
Finally, acknowledge every success . . . and celebrate them all! Saying, “You’re so smart” or “You sure are doing well in school” can be interpreted by insecure children as compulsory compliments. They disregard them or dismiss them as not true. Be specific and genuine: “Wow, I see you really worked hard on this assignment; you got all of these correct” or “You’ve memorized 30 facts tonight. Super!” These kinds of remarks focus attention on accomplishments in a positive way. The sincerity with which you deliver the comment can’t be brushed aside. Small successes breed larger successes. Before you know it, the family deficiency is the family strength.
From Lutheran Parent November-December 1997 © 1997 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved.