Math education adds up to a better career

Q: My seventh-grade daughter, Samantha, hates math. I told her that, like most women, I wasn't good in math so if she got a D, that was OK. Her father is furious. He says she needs to do well in math to have "options." She wants to be a dress designer. They need math?

A: I'm siding with Dad. Samantha needs the strong foundation that middle- and high-school math will give her to succeed in any career. "Students always say that they'll choose a career that doesn't need math. so I explain how their choice does, indeed, require it," says Kyra Smith, a Valencia, Calif., middle school math teacher. "Show Samantha how designers use math: measuring, estimating, purchasing, budgeting, paying expenses, making a profit -- all topics taught in seventh grade in our state curriculum! Point out that math develops logic, reasoning, analysis and other problem-solving skills."

How to help Samantha?

-- Shift your attitude. "When parents say they dislike a subject, they set their children up for failure," says Smith. Read "The I Hate Mathematics! Book" by Marilyn Burns (Little Brown, 1975). It's for kids (and parents) who have yet to find the fun in math. Burns's website offers a list of books that include math concepts. Read those that appeal to her interests. Go to mathsolutions.com/documents/lessons_chart-2.pdf .

-- Set higher expectations and make a plan to support her. Meet with her teacher. Can she get more help in school? "While it's true that the math we teach at every grade is more advanced than in years past, it doesn't mean students can't master it," says Smith. If her elementary experience didn't provide an adequate foundation, consider a remedial class or a tutor to help her catch up.

-- Use real-life examples to demonstrate the concepts. "This helps students cement those concepts in their brains," says Cossondra George, a middle-school math specialist, Newberry, Mich.

-- Teach Samantha to ask "Is my answer logical?" "Students too easily accept the calculator's answer," says George. "They need to determine logical and illogical answers and hone in on the correct one by eliminating possibilities." Encourage Samantha to rework problems she's missed. "This will help her identify mistakes more readily."

-- Tap the web for activities. George likes these: National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (nlvm.usu.edu) organizes math activities by topic and grade level; Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles (cut-the-knot.org) and Cool Math (coolmath.com).

-- Let Samantha teach you: Have her give you a weekly mini lesson, suggests Smith. "This shows her that what she's learning is important and involves you in her life in a neat way! When you teach someone, you reinforce what you've learned."

And let's bury the false notion that girls aren't good at math. Educators, policy makers, business leaders and role models such as astronaut Sally Ride have worked hard to change attitudes. The results have paid off. This spring the Center for Education Policy released a study of math and reading scores in all 50 states between 2002 and 2008. What researchers found was that girls are now doing as well as boys on state math tests, where they had once lagged far behind their male counterparts.