Education: The Road to Life Success Begins With Math

Math helps students develop valuable life skills.

(NewsUSA) - Children who take math early in their educational careers set a stronger foundation for success in school and throughout life, according to education experts.

For example, in order to make competent decisions, children must learn to analyze facts and understand complex situations.

"Students who take advanced mathematics courses during high school and begin to study algebra during middle school are at an advantage," said Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D. and vice president of Sylvan Learning Center.

The skills taught in math courses cross over into other subject areas, such as English and writing. For instance, math students learn good problem-solving skills, which improve their ability to create a coherent essay - a task that requires students to shift between abstract concepts and supporting facts.

"Success in algebra correlates with success in higher education and learning reasoning skills," Bavaria said. "Taking additional math classes helps children to become logical, independent thinkers."

Sylvan Learning Center offers the following tips for parents on how they can foster their children's math skills at any education level:

* Elementary school: Play games with your children. Games are a great way to help children develop decision-making and mental math skills. Many board games involve probability and patterns while requiring children to make strategic decisions, solve problems and develop understanding about numbers.

* Middle school: Parents should demonstrate positive attitudes concerning math. Your outlook is important in encouraging your children to think mathematically.

* High school: Set high standards for your children. Ensure they are mathematically challenged and encourage their interest in math. By 10th grade, they should be expected to have studied algebra and geometry.

* Incorporate graphing calculators. Students should be encouraged to use all of the modern tools at their disposal to better understand the underlying reasoning and computations used in problem-solving. Students who use graphing calculators have an advantage at test time, since many standardized tests and college entrance exams permit, or even require, the use of graphing calculators.

* Help schools obtain math technology. Sylvan Learning Center and Texas Instruments are providing an opportunity for schools to win $10,000 grants that comprise mathematical technology, professional development and math tutoring. Log on to www.education.ti.com to nominate your child's school.

For more information about math tutoring at Sylvan Learning, call 800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.educate.com.

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