Pre algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Multiplication Tables - Why Don't Our Kids Know Their Multiplications (atlanta)

Pre algebra, algebra 1, algebra 2 and multiplication tables... Why don't our kids know their multiplications?





I tutor math for several middle school and high school aged kids and it amazes me when they don't know their multiplication tables. These students are 7th, 8th and 9th graders. Now I'm not going to start finger pointing because that never solves anything but I will start talking about responsibility and accountability.

I talked with several math teachers and they also noticed quite a few students in their algebra classes don't know their multiplications. Some of these teachers think that kids are just passed on from grade to grade without really getting a good grasp of the basics (reading,writing and arithmetic). While others think that kids are distracted by so many gadgets (video games, music videos, MP3, cell phones, etc). I talked with several parents and they think that most kids use calculators (so there is no need to know how to multiply when you can just use your calculator) . I talked with some of the students and they just don't think it's that "big of a deal".

When I was young (okay I won't go into a long story about the good ole' days) the major focus in elementary was the 3r's; reading, writing and arithmetic. Now-a-days that doesn't seem to be the case. There are many factors that may suggest why are kids don't know their multiplication tables. But we as parents, teachers, tutor, mentors, and adults who care, have to take some responsibility. It is our duty to ensure that all kids understand the importance of the simple things like multiplication. It is our duty to show them the correlation between multiplication and algebra. It is our duty to show them how algebra relates to our everyday life i.e.items on sale, loaning people money, getting change back. In this age of technology it is our duty to make it interesting and fun to learn. Let's not turn our backs and watch some of our kids grow up to be adults who come up short.



That's my two cents what's yours?

You can find out more about P.Denise Smith at:
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Are cell phones in school a tool or distraction (atlanta)

I was watching Good Day Atlanta this morning and the question was posed are cell phones in school a tool or a distraction for kids? I thought this was a fairly easy question with a straightforward answer, guess again.

Apparently there are people (not sure if they are parents or not) who feel that kids are going to have cell phones in school whether we like or not. Sooo we might as well let them have the phones and incorporate it in their learning. I understand trying to make use of new technology but are we going too far? I understand that we want to make sure kids stay interested in school but does that mean that everything goes?

How much learning can a child get from using a cell phone during class? We have books, the internet and sometimes virtual classrooms let's make use of those tools. Let's engage our kids in conversation, debates, hands on applications that will encourage them to grow and actually become thinking productive adults.

Let me know what you think.


P. Denise Smith is a tutor who specializes in tutoring math and reading for kids k-12th.
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New Age Mom's Text More Than Talk To Kids

According to a recent poll Generation Y Moms talk to their kids via text, cell and facebook more than face to face. Read http://tiny.cc/momstext. Are we losing the art of being personal? Are we being reduced to short sentences (140 characters) and code for communication (SMH...for those of you who are not up on the lingo SMH means shaking my head)? Sure it's great to be able to talk with your son or daughter when they are not around but what's happening to the art of communication? As humans we thrive on relationships. Like sitting down to eat dinner together and talking about your day; like watching a movie and discussing it; like driving in the car and talking about the lastest happenings. These sorts of communication proved to have great benefits for our kids. There is something about face to face interaction that technology can't replace. There is something about looking at a person's face when they are talking that texting can't relay. You can't see a goofy smile or feel the warmth in your mom's voice (or the voice of dissappointment or anger) when you get a facebook, twitter or texting message.

Technology has it's place in family communication but I don't think that it should be the main way we communicate. Now more than ever our kids need us to be there for them, to listen to them, to guide them, to direct them...LET"S NOT TAKE SHORTCUTS!!!







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Is Breakfast The Answer To Our Children Doing Better In School?

We've all heard that breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day.  There's the commercial with the frosted mini-wheat quizzing a little boy during breakfast (Kellogg's stating that “A clinical study showed kids who had a filling breakfast of Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved their attentiveness by nearly 20 percent.”) Now studies are saying that children who skip breakfast; miss school more often, are unable to problem solve, and generally have slower memories ( read http://www.shortweet.com/5609ac). Can it be as simple as eating a bowl of cereal or sitting down to eat breakfast that will help our kids do better in school?

Sure breakfast can prevent children from experiencing distracting hunger pains during morning class but is breakfast the answer to doing better in school? No I don't think it's as simple as that. So many of us are always looking for a "quick fix", a "right now" answer. Having breakfast may stop the hunger pains but it doesn't necessarily mean that it will increase their attention span. We are going to have to dig a little deeper than that.  Likewise because a child skips breakfast doesn't mean that he/she is going to miss school often. I think there are some key factors that we are missing here. It also turns out that whether a child's family consists of one parent or two working parents, children still skip breakfast or don't eat a nutritional one (looks like we can't play the socio-economic card). Yes, we are going to have to dig deeper to find the answer to helping our children do better in school.

We are going to have to have parent involvement (imagine that), teacher creativity, community involvement, and student involvement (and yes we can include nutritional breakfast).

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Is Paying Georgia Students To Get Good Grades The Answer

In 2008 we had several different incentive programs to get kids to study or increase their grades. We paid them to study and we paid them to get better grades. Read http://www.shortweet.com/dcf050.  NOW it's all up for discussion again. Yesss the debate is on in 2010.

 I was recently talking with my granddaughter who is 16 years old and learned that a friend of hers was paid $300 to attend summer school this past summer. Let me repeat that, $300 for attending summer school.  The drop out rate in the district that her friend attends is very high. Needless to say this sparked a good discussion between my granddaughter and me.

Then I was listening to a radio station and heard that several middle and high schools are paying students that have poor grades $100 to increase their grades. Of course the radio host asked people to call in with their opinion. There was a lot of talk about increasing our graduation rate and motivating kids to do better. But there also was discussion about rewarding those who were doing bad and not rewarding those who are doing good already.  

Is this a good solution to helping our teenagers stay in school and graduate? What message are we sending? What will happen if the money runs out, especially with all the budget cuts?

Discussion is only great if it leads to a productive solution or at least a plan.

Let me know what you think.     

What Does All This Testing Really Mean

Why are so many Georgia kids not passing state tests?  Are the teachers not focusing on what the test covers? Are the students not able to remember what they have learned?

Some blame the teachers while others blame the students or even the parents. I'm sure there is enough blame to go around. Let's stop blaming and start figuring out a way to fix this.

When I was in school (yes in the good ole' days) I had teachers that made math and reading fun. We played math games in Elementary (that were very competitive) even the most unruly wanted to get a candy bar (that was our reward). We even had math contest in middle school.  Groups within a class challenged each other and sometimes classrooms challenged other classrooms. In Elementary we read books and had to act out the characters (that was fun). In middle school we had group discussion about books we read and our ideas. Ok ok enough already.

I'm not saying this is the answer to Georgia kids passing reading and math state testing but I am saying let's get the kids involved in learning. Let's allow peer pressure to work in favor of learning. Let's utilize facebook and twitter to help get them involved. Let's help lessons make sense to them before they have to take tests. Let's even suggest reading a book instead of texting or video gaming (imagine that). Let's have teachers who are passionate, nuturing and care about their students. Let's have some help for our teachers.

In this age of microwave, fast food and "give it to me now" this one can't be fixed overnight BUT it can be fixed. If you have a pre-schooler start by playing word games while driving in the car -I'm thinking of a word and it starts with the letter (?), describe the word and see if he/she can guess it. I played this game a lot with my daughter when she was little (as we walked to her school). If you have elementary school aged children maybe they can help you cook dinner or bake a dessert (yes I said cook). This will allow them to use measuring cups and spoons (and learn a little about the metric system). If you have a high schooler you can talk about sales (discounts 10%, 25%, etc) on their favorite game, clothes, etc. Get them to figure out how much they could save and what they can do with the money they saved.    .

Let's start to fix this one step at a time and you and I can do our part.

also read: http://www.shortweet.com/7d2a92