Math Matters

“I don’t understand math.” “I’m just not good at math.” “My mom hated math, and so do I.” Sound familiar?  Many kids struggle with math and offer excuses for why they aren’t doing well. However, not all kids have difficulties. Parent involvement and encouragement can go a long way to helping those who struggle become more confident in their abilities.

As for why students struggle, confidence may be the key. “I see that students are lacking in confidence.  They don't want to try a challenging problem (unless I will tell them what to do), and I don't think it's a lazy issue.  I really think they just don't want to make a mistake,” says Kara Yarc, mother of four and math teacher at Kearney Middle School.

Parent encouragement is a key element to helping a student do better in math.  According to Stephanie Taylor, mother of one and math teacher at Liberty North High School, keeping a positive attitude is important. “Unfortunately, kids hear their parents and teachers say things like ‘I always hated math too.’”

Yarc agrees that parent encouragement is important. “Encourage kids in math!” she says. “Tell them they CAN do it. Don’t say, ‘Well, I wasn't good at math either.’”

Parents can’t just leave it all for the teachers. For a student to be successful, parents have to be involved. “We do math every single day of our lives. You have to figure out what motivates your kids and do that,” Krisha Klug, Liberty mother of three, shares. “Sitting down at the table and drilling numbers in their heads might not work for your child. You need to figure out what works and go with that.” 

There are some simple things parents can do to help their child.  “Check tests, review them and correct them together.  Making sure kids can find and fix their mistakes will help so much,” Yarc advises. “Give them a hug every time they use a math vocabulary word! Know what they are studying in math and ask them about it.”

Students have a role in becoming better at math as well. “Students need to learn good study skills, not give up, communicate with the teacher and keep practicing,” Taylor says. “People think you either get math or you don't, but it's like anything else...you have to practice to get better.”

While reading skills sometimes are seen as most important, math skills rank right up there. “We wouldn't be satisfied if our kids were bad at reading!” Yarc says. “While I want my kids to be great, confident readers, I want them to be problem solvers, too!”

Jennifer Higgins is a freelance writer, mother and teacher from Kearney who admits she wasn’t very good at math, but will try not to say that to her children from now on.