| It turns out you may be to blame for your | | | | your kids," says Marilyn Burns, former |
| kids' math anxiety issues. According to the | | | | teacher and author of the "Hello Math Reader" |
| 2001 report, What Are the Relationships | | | | series published by Scholastic, Inc. Burns |
| Between Math Anxiety and Educational Levels | | | | blames parents for many of her former |
| In Parents and Math Achievement In Their | | | | students' negative perceptions of the |
| Children? by LeAnn Dahmer of Tennessee State | | | | subject. "Fear of math is inherited." Burns's |
| University, parental math anxiety is a | | | | read-aloud book series was created with the |
| contributing factor in their children's lower | | | | inspiring (albeit common sense) notion that |
| test scores. The purpose of Dahmer's study | | | | reading about math from an early age is just |
| was to "clarify the relationship between math | | | | as important as educating children on any |
| anxiety and educational levels in parents and | | | | other subject. The books are punctuated with |
| math achievement in their children." Of | | | | concluding activities, and their texts follow |
| sixty-six participating families, information | | | | curriculum guidelines from the National |
| from eighty parents and eighty students was | | | | Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which |
| used to calculate the final results. Among | | | | include problem-solving strategies and |
| the tests completed by participating first, | | | | "number sense versus paper-and-pencil |
| second, third, and fourth grade children were | | | | drills." Burns wants families to understand |
| the TerraNova achievement test and the Math | | | | and appreciate the importance of math, not |
| Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS). A negative | | | | just to trudge through the homework. Carolyn, |
| correlation was found between math anxiety | | | | a recent high school graduate, agrees. "I |
| and evaluative scores. Parents' anxiety was | | | | hated math," she said. "I hated the idea that |
| also linked with their children's anxiety. In | | | | I had to take it for as long as I did; I |
| other words, a child's anxiety about math | | | | hated the idea colleges require it. I mean, |
| negatively impacted his or her test scores, | | | | really, how often in my life am I going to |
| and that anxiety was influenced by parents' | | | | need to remember what sign and cosign are?" |
| attitudes about the subject. This situation | | | | But, as I got older, I realized my attitude |
| is not unique to America, however. CBCNews | | | | towards it was just making it worse...My dad |
| revealed earlier this year that math anxiety | | | | hated math, too. Maybe that's why. He would |
| amongst Vancouver high school students and | | | | always say, "Don't worry, honey. Just get |
| their parents was on the rise. Canadian | | | | through the classes, make your grades, and |
| Parent Advisory Councils are reporting the | | | | you'll never have to bother with it again." |
| number of math tutors and teens needing math | | | | It made me feel good when I was younger, |
| help is increasing substantially. "There | | | | because I felt like someone understood me, |
| seems to be an issue of kids who are simply | | | | you know? But maybe that wasn't such a good |
| not getting the math," said Julianne Doctor | | | | thing to tell me." The worst thing parents |
| of the Vancouver PAC. He continued by stating | | | | can do is be anxious about their own anxiety |
| math marks are often the unjust "gate | | | | and then twice as anxious about the anxiety |
| keepers" to universities, barring or | | | | they may be transferring to their children. |
| admitting students based on grades from a | | | | That, in itself, sounds like a math word |
| subject in which the student may or may not | | | | problem gone wrong. ("By what factor would a |
| have any future interest. While math anxiety | | | | parent's anxiety increase if Child A's panic |
| may be on the rise in North America, grades | | | | attacks exponentialize by three and Child |
| are not - and when grades go down, so do | | | | B...?") Look, it's not nearly as complicated |
| students' chances of being admitted to | | | | as the dreaded subject we're all analyzing to |
| universities of choice. So what's a parent to | | | | the "Nth" degree: just stop dreading it! Try |
| do? The mounting data just seems to pressure | | | | changing your own attitudes about math, |
| us more, to blame us more. Most of us are | | | | first. See if you can find something |
| just doing the best we can. How often do we | | | | interesting, challenging - dare I say, even |
| look at our kids' math homework with dread, | | | | fun - about those fractions, so your kids |
| knowing full well we won't have the first | | | | can, too. If you can, then maybe, just maybe, |
| idea what to do with it? Are we supposed to | | | | we won't have to recondition the next |
| cover up our deep-seeded hostility towards a | | | | generation. |
| subject that probably did us wrong, too? Do | | | | |
| we smile and pretend to be in love with | | | | Math Made Easy provides Math help for Algebra |
| material of which a lot of us are glad to | | | | help, Geometry help, math homework help using |
| have seen the last pages? Well, no. But we | | | | math online tutorial services and math |
| needn't be so negative about it, either. | | | | tutorial cd so you can watch your math scores |
| "...Don't complain about math in front of | | | | soar. |