It’s been more than two decades since Omama Kjerstin Gabrielson had to solve for x and y. When her sixth-grade daughter came home with a pile of math problems to solve, Gabrielson dusted off those old algebra skills. She fumbled along, helped her daughter solve a few problems and sent her off to school the following day.
Problem was, Gabrielson got it wrong.
That’s when it dawned on her: She was outsmarted by middle school math.
It’s something Barb McArthur, a middle school math achievement coordinator for Portland Public Schools and a veteran math teacher, hears a lot. McArthur has a bit of good news for parents stumped by their kids' math work: "It's not their job to know the answer."
Math instruction has changed dramatically since today's parents were in school, but mom and dad can still help. Here's what McArthur suggests if math homework is causing grief and frustration:
– Help your child identify what she already knows. McArthur offers an elementary math problem as an example: If you have 24 cookies and six kids and you want to find out how many cookies each kid is going to get if you share them, then what do you already know?
“You know there are 24 cookies and you know you have six kids and you know you are sharing,” she said. Have your child underline what they know or highlight an important idea in the problem.
“Kids struggle because they just have trouble reading the problem and isolating the thing that they are supposed to figure out and what they already know,” she said.
– Look back at older homework. Work from the past three or four days may offer clues on a current homework assignment. Teachers help children build upon their math skills; reviewing older assignments may shed light on what they’re being asked to do.– Impose time limits. Your child shouldn’t spend hours sweating over math homework. A middle school student shouldn’t spend more than 30 to 45 minutes on math homework at night, she said.
“It’s not meant to be brutal," she said. "It’s meant to be a review of concepts they already know and a preview of things that are coming up."– Find a study buddy. Ask your child to identify a couple of classmates they can call upon when the going gets tough. Or pair them with a high school student from the neighborhood. High school students can still recall middle school math concepts and can help guide a younger child, she said.
“When you choose well, a high school student becomes a mentor and a role model,” she said, adding that the high schooler doesn’t have to be a math whiz to lend a hand. “You get a big bang for your buck when you do that.”
-- Take a deep breath. Parents should remain
calm and keep an eye on their child’s frustration level. Said McArthur: “As
soon as their emotional level starts to rise, they are not going to
learn a lot.”
– Write it down. If your child is truly stumped, have her jot a note to her teacher. Ask your child to explain what she did to try to solve the problem or answer the question. The teacher can then diagnose the problem and address it in class.
Got a question for Omamas? Drop us a line.