Dispelling the Math Myths

By Theodore Stanczuk

The knowledge/proficiency in math, or in any subject, depends not only on the teacher's competence to teach the subject but also on the pupils' and their parents' attitude. Wide spread beliefs in the following "math myths" hinder the teacher's classroom effectiveness.

• The ability to do well in math is inborn.
• One must have a mathematical mind to excel in math.
• One-half of the population (girls, women) are not expected to understand math.
• A negative parents' attitude: "I did poorly in math, and I do not expect my children to do better."

Teachers should do their best to dispel the above myths. However, they can only do so much without the parents' and students' cooperation.

University math professors, even at such a prestigious university as Harvard, complain that some students are poorly prepared for math at the university level and must take a remedial math course. Professors are asking "What were those students doing in school for 12 years?" The math professors tend to believe that students simply have not learned what they should have in their high schools.

The high school teachers, on the other hand, claim that they could not do much about it, when the students arrive from the elementary school practically math-illiterate.

The elementary school teachers, in turn, defend themselves saying: "The promotion procedure, as it exists now, does not pressure students to excel, because they are well aware that despite their low level of the competence in the subject matter, we will push them anyway to the next Grade."

The best teaching methods will come to naught if a student lacks the motivation, is lazy or simply does not want to learn. It appears that these students' traits in Canada are considered as disabilities and are treated as such, providing remedial classes, resource classes, summer courses, etc. – all costly measures.

Teachers should have a mechanism at their disposal to compel such "disabled" students to learn, and the right to penalize them when they fail a given subject. One mechanism that works very well is making him or her repeat the school year. This right has been taken away from the teachers of the Ontario school system, the right that teachers in other countries possess.

Math subject is cumulative. This simply means that each consecutive step in math study, if it is to be successful, will solely depend on the student's proficiency in the substance of the subject matter taught at the preceding step(s). For example, students who lack a sufficient knowledge of common fractions, and are pushed to the next grade, will be those who later cannot learn ratios, proportions and percents.

Students are well aware that despite their low level of competence, school will push them ahead to the next grade. There is no pressure for students to excel. We must stop creative promotions of students to higher grades without merit, and compound their knowledge of a subject(s) to higher levels of incompetence.

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