by Joan Collins

Created on: August 30, 2009   Last Updated: September 14, 2009

I remember hating math as a child. My school was going through a phase and everyone was working at their own speed. This was a blessing for those who understood math; it was a curse for those of us who had difficulty figuring it out. Because some students were too shy to ask for help, they struggled. As early as sixth grade I realized the importance of whole class instruction.

Realizing that math is one of the two most important educational subjects (the second being reading), I knew that math could not be stressed enough in our schools! I teach in a multi-age classroom and see the needs of the children from grades five to eight. I have learned a few things that I have used to increase math understanding for the students in my classroom.

The first thing math students do is refresh the basic facts. Math is made up of only four basic elements: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Everything else a student does revolves around those four elements. For the students who can memorize well, memorization is taught. For those in the extreme who cannot memorize, crutches are offered. Parents are challenged to quiz their children at home for fifteen minutes three or four days a week. Repetition is a teacher when it comes to math basics.

The next thing students tackle is PEMDAS or, Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. These are the steps for solving a mathematical problem. Working left to right, students do all of the problems inside of the parentheses, then go back and do the exponents. An important part of My Dear is that you do either/or: work the multiplication and division problems as they appear. The same is true of addition and subtraction. Working left to right, do the adding and subtracting in the order they appear. Once students have mastered these two things, the basic facts and the order of operations, they are ready to tackle the rest of their math.

The interesting thing in all of this is that I have also become aware of another important factor in the learning of math, self-esteem. After fighting for two years for tougher math books, my desires were granted. There was a huge step from one year's book series to the next. Due to the nature of my multi-age classroom, I always have many returning students. On the first day of school I handed out the new math books to each grade level and told them that this book was going to be much harder than any book they had ever had. I told them that I was not worried about it because, if they would pay attention in class and work their hardest, I knew they were smart enough to do well. They took the challenge and proved me correct.

The following year, three of these students came back to visit me over their Thanksgiving break, which started three days before that of my classroom. They shared with me that math was so easy, they hadn't had anything new yet this year! Two of these three students had been very average kids before my challenge. Let kids believe they can, give them the tools they need and watch their math skills improve beyond anything you have ever imagined!

Students who do well in math learn to love it. It becomes a puzzle they know they can solve if they take the right steps. A great math education is an open door to the rest of the world. Emphasis math in our schools and throw open the doors!

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