It is not OK for your child to not be good in math. If we want our kids to seek math oriented careers when they get older, we have to involve them in programs that will peak their interest and get them exited. 1st Event is the FreeMath Scavenger Hunt to begin Sunday, June 28th.
Dr. Boykins Elementary School celebrates defeating a Top Math and Science School in math event. Two charter buses transported his Mathletes 4 hours to compete with the school in Charlotte Mecklenburg School District. The success of this event, became the MathFest Competition that has served over 65,000 students to date.
Join our FREE Math Scavenger Hunt for all students in 1st-8th Grade. Plenty of fun following the clues and solving math problems. Top students will win Gift Cards. Hunt begins on Sunday, June 28th.
We continue to hear almost every day that the United States is not producing enough mathematicians, engineers, doctors etc. and because of this reality, Congress has to allow so many H1B Visas so that these experts can come from other countries to take these jobs in America. In the Bible, Proverbs 22:6 says that we should “train up a child in the way that he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This is an excellent lesson about the steps that we should be taking to build the math experts of the next generation.
As an educator, I have heard parents for over 20 years mitigate their child’s lack of performance in math by saying things like “it is OK for my child to not be good in math, because their mother and father were not good in math either. Who wants to learn math that they won’t ever use or excel in a subject that many teachers even struggle to teach and learn?" Enough! It’s time for us to take the lead with our kids and their lack of math achievement. It is not OK for your child to not be good in math, but what can we do for a generation that seems to only want the video games, social media and the cell phone?
I am reminded of a group of children from Singapore. The country is so small that their main natural resource is their kids so they really invest in the future success of their students. When students do well, they earn math books as a as a reward. In the grocery stores where we have all of the gossip magazines, they have math materials for kids. I am not saying that math achievement is a matter of national security, but I am tired of our kids giving up their dreams because they struggle with the math. My son has a friend name Jarret who went to Florida State to be an engineer. All Jarret wanted to do in life was to be an Engineer. He came to our home for a cookout and I told him I was so proud of him and his career choice. About two years later I asked my son, “How is Jarret doing with that engineering at Florida State?” His response made me angry; Jarret changed his major to Sociology. There is nothing wrong with being a Sociologist, but not if your initial goal was to be an Engineer. I inquired about why Jarret had made the decision to change his major and was told that “he started to struggle too much with the math.”
It is no secret that our children are being saddled with massive debt from their college education, but the career choices are impacting them just as bad. Enough with the Sociology, Political Science, and Communication. We should pass a law that colleges have to limit the enrollment in these fields to not more than 15% of their student body. Force and support our kids in the tough fields that will provide a decent living for them and their families.
In my early days of being an educator, I knew that we needed to be a part of the change that we wanted to see in our students. So we started explaining to parents that their child's future was linked their advancement through AP Calculus by the time they completed high school. We put the programs in place for students to achieve this goal. We accelerated the curriculum down to kindergarten then we created the fun programs and competitions that encouraged students to be achievers with math. As a result, 19 of our students from this 4 year experiment are now engineers. Engineer number #19, is currently a Chemical Engineer for Procter and Gamble. Another one of my mathematicians was interviewed by magazine about her thoughts of participating in these math competitive events that led to the creation of MathFest Competition. Aliyah Moore, Fifth Grader at Oliver Elementary School in Riverdale, Georgia said, “When we went to other schools to compete, I thought I couldn’t do well, but when I did I felt so impressed and so surprised that I wanted to cry.” When was the last time that you created something or involved your child is something academic that was so exciting that it made them want to cry?
Let’s get busy with our support for math activities and competitions for our kids. Donate to our nonprofit, National School Improvement Alliance. For the students who might not feel prepared, we will create some capacity building sessions later, but let’s just have some fun now. On Sunday, June 28th, we are launching the first of many FREE Math Scavenger Hunts for all 1st-8th Graders in the country and we will give away some Gift Cards for prizes. Please get your child involved, help support our efforts by donating and sponsoring these math ideas. Check out the MathFest Invitational Events that we have setup for kids, and get your child involved. Math books, math games, math fun activities and competitions are the answer for our kids. It’s time for the adults to get serious about math achievement for our children as their future depends on it