We’ve all heard the complaints from students about how they don’t believe math will be useful in their lives after school, but what about their parents? How do they value math as a subject worth learning, particularly in relation to other skills?

Survey Results

A recent survey of more than 2500 parents found that over a third of them believe that math is only useful for people going into math-related careers, so the average American doesn’t have much need for math. Researchers also noted that the parents tended to value reading skills over math. This creates an issue for teachers who must overcome this mindset from both students and their parents to not only teach math skills, but also teach the value of math in everyday life.

Early Math Skills

While most of the emphasis on early learning has been on reading, researchers have found that early math skills are just as important to long-term success. They believe the reason for this disconnect is two-fold: first, it’s much easier for programs to encourage parents to pick up a book to read with their child. Libraries can easily support this message as well. Second, there is a culture of anxiety around math in America. It’s much more culturally acceptable for people to claim they’re “just not a math person” than admitting that they can’t read well. Parents often have bad memories of not understanding math when they were younger, and the way math is taught changes often, with little visibility to parents. For these reasons, math is often left to schools with little support from home, or in early years.

Changing the Perception

As mentioned earlier, math skills are crucial from a young age. One long-term study found that math skills at the beginning of kindergarten were the best predictor of academic skills in eighth grade. In order to encourage parents to start working on math skills with their young children, it’s important for those who work with young children—such as kindergarten and preschool teachers—to explain to parents how to talk about math with their children. Activities from estimating the number of fish in a tank at the pet store to looking for patterns in the tiles laid out on the floor can strengthen early math skills. For teachers of older students, reinforcing the importance of math skills such as logical reasoning and critical thinking can help parents understand why math is such a crucial skill for everyone, not just those going into math-related careers.

To learn how Wowzers K-8 Online Math program can make learning engaging and open a math dialogue between students and their parents or teachers, contact our team or try a free trial.