By Perry and Cherilyn Ashley – Tutoring Club of Northern CO. \u00a0– January 16, 2018<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just not a math person.\u201d \u00a0We hear this from students and parents all the time. \u00a0Unfortunately, this is one of the most self-destructive ideas in America today. \u00a0\u00a0In most cases, everyone can do math, but one\u2019s self-destructive negative thoughts toward math hamstrings their ability to do it. \u00a0Students fall into three categories when it comes to understanding math: \u00a0math comes easy, math is difficult, or \u201cI will never get it\u201d. \u00a0In 2005, \u00a0Gallup conducted a poll\u00a0that asked students to name the school subject that they considered to be the most difficult. \u00a0\u00a0Not surprisingly, mathematics came out on top of the difficulty chart. \u00a0\u00a0The problem with math starts with the fact that we believe it is difficult. \u00a0\u00a0Dictionary.com\u00a0defines the word difficult as \u201cnot easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully.\u201d \u00a0The problem with math is it is difficult for many students and it requires patience and persistence. \u00a0Simply, it requires lots of effort, time, and energy to comprehend. \u00a0Therefore, math for many students has little to do with brain power; it has a lot to do with staying power.<\/p>\n
Mathematics has often been termed the \u201cgatekeeper\u201d of success or failure for high school graduation and career success. \u00a0A lack of sufficient mathematical skills and understanding affects one\u2019s ability to make critically important educational, life, and career decisions. (National Research Council [NRC], 1989). \u00a0Currently in American education, mathematics has become a filter which weeds students out of the pipeline rather than being a pump which helps them move through it (NRC, 1989, p.7).<\/p>\n
One of the key causes that filters students into these categories is a time-based curriculum which sets a student\u2019s timeline for understanding. \u00a0\u00a0For many students, time runs out in a classroom for them to \u201cget it\u201d as the teacher moves onto the next topic. \u00a0In the United States, with our scaffolding approach to learning, each concept learned is the further built on with each additional math class. \u00a0The student that \u201cdoesn\u2019t get it\u201d develops gaps in their understanding, making each additional concept harder to understand. \u00a0Without assistance, this understanding gap will continue to grow, making math unbearable.<\/p>\n
As Gordon B. Hinkley stated, \u201cYou can\u2019t build a great building on a weak foundation. \u00a0You must have a solid foundation if you\u2019re going to have a strong superstructure.\u201d Therefore, math students who are studying more complex concepts but have shaky foundations struggle. \u00a0An example is Algebra students who lack the foundation of knowing: \u00a0Ratio, proportions, decimals, fractions, and baisc numeration. Without these foundational skills, Algebra becomes difficult. \u00a0\u00a0Therefore, at the Tutoring Club we utilize a diagnostic test to determine where exactly these skill gaps are. \u00a0We then focus an individual learning plan to eliminate the learning gaps while also assisting a student with their current class work. \u00a0Simply, by meeting the student where they are in classwork and simultaneously working on filling the gaps they\u2019ve developed, students learn to understand math, and for some, even enjoy it.<\/p>\n
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By Perry and Cherilyn Ashley – Tutoring Club of Northern CO. \u00a0– January 16, 2018 \u201cI\u2019m just not a math person.\u201d \u00a0We hear this from students and parents all the time. \u00a0Unfortunately, this is one of the most self-destructive ideas in America today. \u00a0\u00a0In most cases, everyone can do math,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":16874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n