Society values math skills. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a solid math education can mean a 350% increase in pay. Yet even with unfilled jobs in our economy, NASA estimates that two million jobs in technology will go unfilled by American workers because they are unqualified.
What we shouldn't do
U.S. SAT test scores were low, so what did we do? We dumbed down the test: no more imaginary numbers, no more geometric proofs, no more trigonometry. But even after doing that the scores didn't go up by much. Fortunately there are solutions that do work.
Eight key solutions to math success in our schools
Here are eight key solutions to the U.S. math crisis
Money-Saving
Right now with the curriculum in use students use about 30% of their brains. By and large there are no kinesthetic and no auditory math lessons, and the use of manipulatives is limited. Unless a student takes to abstract thinking right away, the odds are good he or she won't be good at - or like - math.
Get rid of grade levels
Huh? How could we do that? But think about it: students don't learn in grade chunks; they learn at their own pace. Segregation is bad - any kind of segregation. We have grades because it makes life easier for bureaucrats. That's not good enough: Let's get rid of grade segregation. I understand that's happening right now at the Ridgeview Charter School in Colorado and hundreds of other schools across the US - and it's a success.
Get rid of labels and categories
In a well-meaning attempt to help more students, school bureaucracies create categories such as LD, ADD, and ADHD, and they define processes for each. In fact, every student should have a label: His or her name. Let's use our great American marketing muscle to target each student individually - and to let students fulfill the American dream by providing an environment that lets them reach their own potential, not some bureaucrat's idea of their potential.
Let students guide other students
You cannot be successful in a major corporation if you don't mentor and be mentored. Yet students are not given this opportunity in the classroom. There's no better way to learn than to teach.
Let students work at their own pace
It's unrealistic to expect 22 students to learn the same material at the same time in the same way. What happens when students are not allowed to work at their own pace and get closure on a lesson? Anxiety, frustration, and other negative emotions - not to mention an aversion to math.
Provide training to teachers
It's actually not hard to run a classroom where everyone is working at their own pace with different learning styles: It's done everyday in 5,500 Montessori classrooms across the US. Let's get our teachers trained in these wonderfully effective techniques.
Promote epiphanies
Did you know math is not only fun, it is exciting? Let's set a goal for kids to experience an epiphany a day. There's no better feeling or motivation for math excellence and mastery.
Build positive role models in math
Kids want to be like their role models. Ask a child who their favorite actor is and you'll get a quick answer. Ask the same child who their favorite mathematician is and you'll likely get a blank stare. When Neil Armstrong became a role model after walking on the moon, everyone wanted to major in science and computers. Today we need to identify and promote role models that make kids want to be mathematicians.
Solving the U.S. math crisis - it can be done. If you've got your children in school, make sure your children's teachers, your curriculum director, and your principal know about ShillerLearning; we'll send a representative to demonstrate how using ShillerLearning will dramatically increase their students' math learning - and test scores. If you're homeschooling, make sure your children have a curriculum that addresses all the learning styles and lets them learn at their own pace.
Whatever your situation, you are the solution