Sunday, December 19, 2010

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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