Math

There's no doubt that math is a four-letter word for many people, regardless of their age.

In a Youth Radio feature on math, commentator Andrina Thomas noted, "These Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies are two for five dollars, so if I bought one it would cost me $2.50; that I can handle, but get me in the classroom and I lose it."

This psychological barrier is pretty common according to Shelly Goldman, associate professor of education at Stanford University. "Usually people are very good at doing things in their everyday lives mathematically, but yet when asked to answer a test [or school] question, they cannot perform as well. There's some people who have a theory about how everyday knowledge and school knowledge are not related and don't mix."

The math anxiety probably starts in third grade when we don't quite commit those nasty mutiplication facts to memory. Since virtually nothing can be solved without some combination of numbers, it's tedious and frustrating to pick your way through a problem.

The first step, then, is to be sure from the middle of grade three and up, that you absolutely know, forward and backward, within two seconds of being asked, every math fact from zero to 12, in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division!

The second issue with math is vocabulary. Whether you're in first grade or your first year of graduate school, you must know what the terms mean in this language.

Third, it's important to do enough problems (ack! Homework!) that you can see how the same steps are used again and again, in different problems. This is especially true from fourth grade pre-algebra on up.

From this page you can check out the California State Standards for any grade. To improve the skills of math facts, vocabulary, and solving problems, take a look at the Games & Activities page.

Then go treat yourself to a Milano cookie…you deserve it!