How many of you cringe when you hear the following word problem?
"A train leaves New York at 2:00pm on a Saturday afternoon travelling at 60 mph and at the same time a second train travelling at a speed of 45 mph leaves Los Angeles..."
Fortunately, I was never that kid in math class sitting behind a desk hoping and praying that the teacher wasn't going to call on me for the answer. Math has always come easy to me (writing on the other hand isn't my strength, and yes I'm hoping and praying this article doesn't illustrate it too badly).
As I got older I realized that I was in the minority and that most people couldn't stand math, especially the dreaded word problems. What people needed was a tutor, and with the internet these days you can have your very own home math tutor. There are numerous websites in existence today that can assist students with many different facets of mathematics including fractions, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, even calculus and beyond. But for the sake of this article let's focus on the traditional K-12 math curriculum.
Today, more than ever, children are lacking in traditional computation skills, symbolic manipulation, and mathematic reasoning. In my opinion, this is partly due to the fancy calculators and other types of high-tech devices that promote more of a "math appreciation" attitude than studying actual math content. Let's face it, if a child that graduates from the 6th grade doesn't have a handle on general math skills (e.g. carrying, borrowing, long division, fractions) there isn't much hope. These skills are the foundation with which the student must build upon. Without a reasonable hold on these aforementioned skills the child will become uninterested in trying to learn anything further. This is where the breakdown starts.
What about the parents? I often here this argument from people when talking about a child's shortcomings. The sad fact is that the majority of adults hated math just as much as the kids and are unable to provide any further support. In this day and age of technology and with the next generation of computer savvy kids upon us the internet is an ideal arena to assist with this growing problem in our schools today.
Author Info:
If what I'm writing makes sense and you are looking for a home math tutor I would recommend checking out The Math Foundation. You can find them at http://www.mathwithjeff.com
The Math Foundation offers a clear, concise, and easy to understand product that enables students of all ages to learn math effectively. Take a peak and then get back to me on the word problem above!
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