5/29/2017 DoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?

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NicoleLawson,left,anddaughterQui'shiaFloydattendanafterschoolcommoncoremathclassatOldOrchard
ElementarySchoolinToledo,Ohio,in2014.Theclassteachesparentshowtousecommoncore"thinkingmath"tohelp
theirchildrenwithhomeworkthat'slikelydifferentfromthemaththeylearnedinschool.
BrianWiddisforEducationWeekFile

Surveyfindsparentsranksubjectlower
BySarahD.Sparks
EDUCATIONWEEKEVENTS
May9,2017
WeavingProjectBasedLearningInto
RigorousHighSchoolCourses
Inthepast20years,parentshavetakentoheartpublic
PrinterFriendly WEBINARJUNE7,1:00P.M.EASTERN
awarenesscampaignsurgingthemtoreadtotheirchildrenevery REGISTERNOW.
EmailArticle
Sponsoredby:itslearning
night.Butmathinitiativeshavenotgainedasmuchtraction
Reprints
evenasemergingevidencesuggestsearlymathmaybeoneof Mindfulness:TakingtheStressFrom
Comments Students'Tests
themostcriticalschoolreadinessskills. WEBINARJUNE13,2:00P.M.EASTERN
Tweet
REGISTERNOW.
Asurveylastmonthofmorethan2,500parentsfoundthatthey Share 423 Sponsoredby:SecondStep,creatorsofMindYeti
generallyrankmathandscienceaslowerinimportanceand
Chat:LettingStudentsTakeOwnershipof
relevancetotheirchildren'slivesthanreading.Moreover,38 TheirAssessments
CHATJUNE15,2:00P.M.EASTERN
percentofparents,includinghalfthefatherssurveyed,agreed
SIGNUPFOREMAILREMINDER.
withthestatement"Skillsinmatharemostlyusefulforthose Sponsoredby:NorthwestEvaluationAssociation

thathavecareersrelatedtomath,soaverageAmericansdonothavemuchneedfor
HelpingEnglishLanguageLearners
mathskills,"accordingtothesurveybytheOverdeckandSimonsfoundations. GraduateFromHighSchool
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"Nobodyisproudtosay,'Icanbarelyread,'butplentyofparentsareproudtostandup REGISTERNOW.
Sponsoredby:MiddleburyInteractiveLanguages
andsay,'Icanbarelydomath,Ididn'tgrowupdoingwellinmath,andmykid'snot
doingwellinmaththat'sjustthewayitis,'"saidMikeSteele,amatheducation MarketBriefWebinar:Amazon,Apple,
Google,andMicrosoft:How4TechTitansAre
ReshapingtheEdTechLandscape
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5/29/2017 DoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?EducationWeek
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professorattheUniversityofWisconsinMilwaukeewhowasnotassociatedwiththe
study.

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"Weneedtoshiftthemindsetthatmathisjustsomeinnateabilitythathasagenetic MultimetricAccountabilityandtheWhole
Child
component,andyouareeitheramathpersonoryouarenot,toaconceptionthat
LeveragingDigitalContenttoDifferentiate
everybodycandomathwitheffortandsupportandtounderstandwhythat's Learning

important."

EarlyMathCritical

Infact,someevidencesuggestsearlymathskillscanbecrucialtostudents'overall
schoolcareers.Ina2007study,GregDuncan,aneconomistandeducationprofessorat
theUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine,andhiscolleaguesusedsixlargescalelongitudinal
studiesofstudentstolookatwhatmostaffectedastudent'slongtermschooloutcomes.
Theyfoundthatachild'smathabilityatthestartofkindergartenwasthebestpredictor
ofhisorheracademicperformancein8thgrade,evenmorethanearlyreadingscores,
attention,orsocialemotionaldevelopment.Thatheldtrueregardlessofgender,race,or
familyincome.

Analysesoffederallongitudinaldatareleasedlastyearshowedthatschoolreadiness
gapsbetweenpoorandwealthierkindergartnershavenarrowedby16percentinthelast
Superintendent
20years,partlycreditedtolowincomeparentsreadingtotheirpreschoolagechildren EsmeraldaCountySchoolDistrict,Goldfield,NV
morefrequently.However,mathreadinessgapsshrankbyonly10percentduringthat AssistantPrincipalofOperations:ElPaso
IDEAPublicSchools,ElPaso,TX
time,thoughit'sdifficulttotellwhetherparentsengagedtheirchildrenmoreinmath
DeanofStudentSupport
duringthattime.Thefederaldata,whichaskedspecificquestionsaboutthenumberof UPEducationNetwork,Springfield,MA
booksinachild'shomeandtheliteracyactivitiesparentsdidwiththeirchildren,didnot ExecutiveDirectorofSecondaryEducation
SchoolDistrictofIndianRiverCounty,VeroBeach,FL
haveexplicitquestionsaboutmathactivities.
DeanofCurriculumandInstruction
UPEducationNetwork,Springfield,MA
Moreover,thesamesocioeconomicgapsseeninearlyliteracyshowupinmath,too.For
MOREEDUCATIONJOBS>> POSTAJOB>>
example,whilelowincomepreschoolersareexposedtofewerwordsingeneralthan
theirwealthierpeers,therearealsoparticulargapsinexposuretowordsrelatedto
math,suchasnumbersorsizeandshapecomparisons,accordingtoaforthcomingstudy
inthejournalZerotoThree.Parentswererecordedfor7hoursover16months,when
theirchildrenwere1toabout2yearsold,andresearchersledbySusanLevine,an

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/05/10/doparentsseemathaslessuseful.html 2/7
5/29/2017 DoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?EducationWeek

educationprofessorattheUniversityofChicago,foundwidedifferencesinhowoften
parentsusednumberwordsandspatialdescriptions,likeshapeorsize.

"Wefindthere'sa60folddifferenceintheamountofnumbertalk,"Levinesaid."Atthe
lowend,at1to3yearsofage,thekidsaregettingabout1,500numberwordsfrom
theirparentsatthehighend,theyaregettingmorethan100,000."Thegapwassimilar
forspatialwords.

Inaddition,childrenexposedtomoremathrelatedwordsastoddlershadbetternumber
andspatialsensebythetimetheywerepreschoolage,Levinefound.Althoughthere
weresocioeconomicgapsinmathexposure,itwasn'tuniformtherewerealsogapsfor
parentswhoweremoreorlessanxiousaboutmath.

Parentsdogenerallyteachtheirtoddlerstocountto10aroundthesametimetheyteach
theABCs,butdon'tgobeyondthattoskillsthathavebeenfoundtobepredictiveof
longtermmathachievement,suchasidentifyingthesizeofasmallgroupbysight,
accordingtoLauraOverdeck,aboardmemberoftheOverdeckFamilyFoundationand
thecreatorofBedtimeMath,afreeappbasedprogramthatprovidesshortmathpuzzles
forparentstodowithchildrenofdifferentages.Parents"don'tpick[mathactivities]up
againuntilthechildisinschool,andthenmathishomeworkandquizzesandtests,"she
said.

Lastmonth,JonSchultz,amiddleschoolspecialeducationteacherinQueenAnne's
CountypublicschoolsinMaryland,andhiswife,ErinAnderson,asociologistat
WashingtonCollegeinChestertown,Md.,weretakingtheirdaughterstotheNational
MathFestivalinWashington.Theydescribedoneofthem,Grace,7,asa"mathlover"
whojustcompetedintheSt.JudeMathathon,acompetitionforchildren.

Graceandher5yearoldsister,Claire,havebothbeeninacomprehensivepreschool
sincetheywere2andhavebeenlearningmaththere"andfrom'SesameStreet'the
yearbeforethat,"Andersonsaid.Butgenerally,theysaidparentshavebeentoldmore
aboutliteracyactivitiestodoathomethanaboutmathactivities.

"Ithinkit'smucheasiertotellparents,'Here,readabook,'than'Godomath
problems,'"Schultzsaid.

Andersonadded,"Ithinkmathissomethingthat'salwayskindofparceledoutandI
wastotallyguiltyofthisasakidthatyou'reeithergoodatmathornotgoodatmath.
Readingisforeverybody,butwekindofdivideupwhoarethepeoplewhoaregoodat
math,"Andersonsaid.

Overdeckagreed.

"Onereasonreadingeffortshavebeenmoresuccessfulsofar,Ithink,isparentsare
morewillingtotryreadingtheyhavelessanxiety.Mathisdifferentbecausethere'sa
wholecultureofmathanxietyinthiscountry,soinmanycases,schoolsareasking
parentstotakeasubjecttheyhatedanddoitwiththeirchildren,"Overdecksaid.

What'smore,Overdecksaid,changesinthewayschoolsteachmathhavebeenmore
visibletoparentsthanthechangesmadetothewayreadingistaught,makingthemfeel
lessconfidentthattheycanhelptheirchildrenwithevenelementarylevelhomework.

"Youlookatthehomeworkandsay,'Whoa,Ididn'tdoitthatway,'"saidJohanna
Olexy.Mathisthefavoritesubjectofher3rdgradeson,Jackson."Withreading,it's
easytosay,'Icanread,Icanpickabookandsitwithmykids.'Butthere'salwaysa
certainpointwithmaththatIgo,'Waitaminute,whatisthisagain?'"

SolvingGenerationalMathFear

Increasingparentinvolvementinearlymathmeanschangingwhatparentsthinkmath
means,saidRebeccaParlakian,theseniordirectorofprogramsatZerotoThree,a
nonprofitearlyeducationadvocacygroup.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/05/10/doparentsseemathaslessuseful.html 3/7
5/29/2017 DoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?EducationWeek

"Whileitseemsreallyclearwhattodoforearlyliteracyreadtoyourchild,talk,think
outloud,saystoriesandrhymeswedon'talwaysmakeitclearwhatitlooksliketodo
mathwithyourkidseveryday,"shesaid."Whatwehearfromthegeneralpublicis
thesesubjectsaresupercomplexandreallyforlaterinschoolexperiences.It's
assumedmathissomethingthat'staughtinelementaryschool."

Itcanbehelpful,shesaid,ifpreschoolandearlyelementaryteachersexplainto
parentshowtheartprojects,boardgames,orpuzzleschildrendoinclassrelateto
mathskills.Forpreschoolers,simplyplayingaboardgamewithdiceorsortingtoysby
differentrulesbuildsearlymathunderstanding."Itmaynotlooklikewhatparentsthink
mathlookslikeintheirheads,butthat'spartofthelearningprocess,"Parlakiansaid.

TheUniversityofWisconsin'sSteele,whois RELATEDBLOG

expectinghisfirstchild,saidhewouldstart
introducingmathlongbeforeschool,asking
thechildatage2or3aboutthepatternshe
orsheseesallaround.

"Mathisallaboutquantifyinganddescribing
theworld.Imightask,'Howmanywindows
Visitthisblog.
doyouthinkthereareinthisbuilding?'
Countafew,lookforpatterns,figureouthowyouwoulddecidehowmanythereare,"
Steelesaid."Icouldlookatabookshelfandaskhowmanyofthosesmallerbooksdo
youthinkwouldfitonthatshelf,comparedtothelargerbooksbelowit?Really
straightforwardthingslikethatgetkidsthinkingabouthowtheyseemathematicsin
everythingaroundthemandgetthemintothehabitoflookingattheworldthrougha
mathematicallens."

TheOverdeckandSimonsfoundationsarebuildingupaninventoryofmathand
scienceengagementprojectscraftedbyteachers,whichtheyandparentscandowith
studentsoutsidetheclassroom.Sofar,morethan1,000projectshavebeensubmitted
nationwide,andmorethan700havebeenfunded.Eventually,thefoundationshopeto
distributematerialsorlessonplansfromteachers'proposalstootherschoolsand
parents.

CoverageofearlymatheducationissupportedinpartbyagrantfromtheCMEGroup
Foundation,atwww.cmegroupfoundation.org.EducationWeekretainssoleeditorial
controloverthecontentofthiscoverage.

Vol.36,Issue30,Page9

PublishedinPrint:May10,2017,asDoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?

RELATEDSTORIES
"CommonCoreSurvey:MathTeachersSayParentsAreStrugglingtoReinforceSkills,"(Curriculum
Matters)June23,2016.

Youmustbeloggedintoleaveacomment.Login|Register

5comments Sortby: OldesttoNewest

aurorarising Score:1
ReportAbuse
11:13AMonMay12,2017

Ifyouwantparentstospendmath mewiththeirkids,STOP
callingitmath me,orarithme cprep,oranysimilarmoniker.
Folkswhoareanxiousaboutmath/arithme cdon'tactually

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/05/10/doparentsseemathaslessuseful.html 4/7
5/29/2017 DoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?EducationWeek

havetohearnumbers,orspa alconcepts,orformulasforthe
the"u eries"tostartbuzzingintheirheadsorstomachs.
Justthemen onofthetermscandryone'smouth.

Instead,oereasytosolvepuzzles,rhymes(withnumbersbut
notdescribedassuch)oranyotherslightlyfunac vity.Backin
theday,mythenpreschooldaughterworkedjigsawpuzzles
withherDad,progressingfromeasytoverydicult.Idislike
puzzlesandhatedmath.Wedidn'tseeitasmath,justasa
pleasantac vityforbothofthem.Hermathskillswerealways
aboveaverageandshehasamathrelatedcareertoday.Use
MaryPoppins'adviseandaddaspoonfulofsugarwiththat
mathmedicinetohelpitgodown.

RebeccaKlemm Score:1
ReportAbuse
11:51AMonMay12,2017

Ispend mewithparentsgivingthemlifecenteredmathso
theycanconcentrateontheusageofmathindailyliving.If
interested,Icanwriteanar clewithhowtoteacher
arithme candgeometrytogetherusingtheenvironment.
Teachingyoungchildrentocount110canhurttheirlater
understandingofplacevalue.Itisaresidualfromearly
coun ngsystemspriortothe13thcenturydevelopmentof
thebase10placevaluesystemwehavetoday.Wedonot
teachchildrentolearnthealphabetbeyondz(baislike10in
numbers).

ThereisasenseamongparentsthatifIhadtosuerthrough
math"problems"thenallchildrenneedtoaspartoftheright
ofpassage.

2replies

MariaElena Score:1
ReportAbuse
8:32AMonMay13,2017

Indthatpartoftheproblemisthelackofprepara onof
early(prek6)teachers.Some mesmygrandkidshavecome
homewiththewrongexplana onofhoworwhysomething
shouldbedone.Wecannotneglectmath.Itisthelanguageof
science!!!Idon'tbelieveparents(ok,maybesome)arethe
onesmakingmathanissue.Whenyouhavechildrenhavinga
testques onmarkedwrongthatsays:Solve5x4=andthe
childwrites20andistolditiswrongbecausehedidnot
explainhowhearrivedatthat(andno,theinstruc onsdidnot
saytodoso)wehaveaproblem...anditisnotthechildrenor
theparents!Wehavealotofyoungpeopleintheclassroom
whohavetakenteachingjobsasa"job"andnothingmore.
Whatarewehiringineduca on????Yes,parentsaretoblame
forsomeissues,butlet'smakesureweownthosethatare
oursanddosomethingaboutthem.

mcruiz Score:0
ReportAbuse

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5/29/2017 DoParentsSeeMathas'LessUseful'ThanReading?EducationWeek
6:46PMonMay14,2017

Idon'tthinkparentsseemathas'LessUseful'thanreading.
Quitethecontrary,mostofthemknowthattheirchildren
needasolidfounda oninMath.However,asasociety,we
havemanagedtomakemathseemasthemostdicultschool
subject.Ins nc vely,werecoilfrommath,becauseweall
know,itisdicult,andyouneedtohaveaspecialtalenttobe
goodatit.
Thispercep onofMathasadicultsubjecthasbeen
worsenedbythestrangeapproachestomath,requiredby
"experts,"whodemandfromstudents,notjusttheabilityto
solveamathproblem,buttheabilitytoexplaintheir
reasoninginwri ng.
Readingis,orshouldbe,straigh orward.Astoryisastory,
grammarremainsbasicallythesame,andwri ngiss llruled
bythesameconven ons.Math,intheorderhand,iss llthe
vic mof"experts'intentonmakingitdicult.

1reply

TableTalkMath Score:1
ReportAbuse
12:41PMonMay18,2017

I'veseenthis,andwanttohelp.Recently,Istarteda
newsle erforparentswithquickpromptsandideastouseat
home,ontheroad,oronarandomwalk.Ohyeah,andit's
free.

tabletalkmath.com

Togoalongwiththat,Iwroteabookwiththesame tle,
availableonAmazon.Honestly,weneedtodomoreto
supportparentswhowanttohelp,whichIbelievemostdo.In
doingso,wehavethechancetochangepercep onsandbuild
abridgebetweenwhathappensinourclassroomsandwhat
happensoutsideofit.

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