News from Mathnasium of Radlett

Parents, if there’s one piece of maths advice we can pass along to help you set your family up for maths success, this sums it up: 

Stop telling kids you’re bad at maths. You are spreading maths anxiety ‘like a virus.’

Here’s some food for thought: most people see no problem admitting their distaste for maths!  In contrast, Bonfert-Taylor states that “Few people would consider proudly announcing that they’re bad at writing or reading.” Collectively, “We are perpetuating damaging myths by telling ourselves a few untruths: maths is inherently hard, only geniuses understand it, we never liked maths in the first place and nobody needs maths anyway.”

Now that you have the myths, here are some maths facts:

• Maths understanding is not exclusive to an elite fleet of geniuses—virtually every child (and grown up!) has what it takes to succeed at maths.
• Mastering maths is much like mastering other subjects: concepts soon click into place with consistent studying, effort, as well as solid instruction and guidance. 
• There are many, many people with fond memories of maths class (ourselves included) … just like there are those with fond memories of art, English, history, and music class.
• Our entire world runs on maths… from quirky instances of maths patterns in nature to all the maths used to develop technology that supports our everyday lives. Knowing maths makes life easier! Ask anyone who’s ever had to calculate a restaurant tip or adjust a recipe on the fly.
• Maths is the foundation for all STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields but is useful for all career paths! As an example, the clothes we buy wouldn’t fit as well or look as good if designers didn’t use maths when making dress patterns.   

As parents, you can help crush cultural maths myths and set the stage for your child’s success by promoting positive, realistic attitudes about maths and making your household a maths-friendly home! Include some maths games into the rotation for family game night (Monopoly and Cribbage are two of our favourites!). Get your child involved in cooking and dive into concepts such as ratio and proportion. If you have a pet, ask questions like, “If Buffy eats 2 cups of food a day, and this 40-lb bag of dog food has about 130 cups of food, how many days will the bag of dog food last? How many weeks? How many months?” If you’re feeling the maths blues, we specialise in making maths fun—reach out to us for ideas and a dose of inspiration!

If you struggled with maths as a child, take heart—it is entirely possible to support a struggling child without tapping into your own negative experiences. Use the right language when speaking with your child: Maths isn’t “hard”, but it does require practice. As you explore maths with your child, do so with fresh eyes, an open mind, and a desire to learn. You’ll find many opportunities to slay your personal maths dragons, boost number sense, and have fun!

How do you debunk maths myths in your household?