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Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring

Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring
By Germain Tanoh, PhD

No other school subject creates such negative emotional response the way math does. It is on the top of the list of subjects that students dislikes and where they are having most trouble. Mathematics is not like other courses. It requires a different learning process. At school, the time dedicated to students by teachers is not enough to support the unique learning needs of each individual student. But outside of the school many parents are too busy or they lack the mathematical background to (help their kid with their math homework) answer their kids math questions. As a consequence, students get confused, unable to keep up with their class, and may give up. Many parents worry that their children may not succeed in an increasingly competitive world. They worry that their opportunities will shrink, if they don t get good grades, or if there are not accepted into the right college. You may be concern that your children will have a less happy life than you do. Such concerns have led many parents like you to turn to private tutoring for the education of their children. Once a small industry for wealthier parents to access, tutoring is now coming to the masses. Tutoring is an efficient way to support your child unique learning needs while building self-confident and effective math study skills. This paper will examine the challenge of learning math and explore how one-on-one math tutoring can turn your child into a lifelong math learner and help him/her achieve academic excellence.

Math is the Future

Mathematics is an essential skill as important as reading and writing. The need to understand and be able to use mathematics in everyday life and in the workplace has never been greater and will continue to increase. Math knowledge and skills can help solve problems like shopping, budgeting household expenses, and planning for ones future. To be successful in the workplace and understand the world around you, you must be able to understand the graph and charts used in newspapers and other publications. In todays digital world, those who understand and can do mathematics will have significantly enhanced opportunities and options for shaping their futures. Embracing mathematics during childhood opens up opportunities for a better future for your child. As most parents, you want the best future for your kids. Today having a College degree is a minimum requirement to get a better job. Most of the degrees that lead to a well-paying career require the student to have a good command of math before being accepted into the programs.
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Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring

Postsecondary schools where math is a must have skill include medical school, business school, and engineering school. Some social studies programmes like psychology and criminology students have to take a course in statistics, which suppose a basic math background, before they graduate.

The Challenge of Learning Math

When your child experience difficulty with learning math, it can affect his/her self-esteem, his/her motivation, and achievement in life. If not addressed properly, these problems often grow and can limit his/her potential to achieve success. The three most common reasons students fail maths are the following: Lack of learning support. At school it is not unusual to see 20 to 30 students in a class. This makes it difficult for the teacher to understand and meet the need of each student. Learning math is a sequential process. It means new knowledge is built on what a child already knows. As a consequence, a student falls behind quickly if he/she missed one or two math classes. Even when the student attends class regularly, it may happen that he/she lacks the prerequisite knowledge and skills needed to learn and understand a new math topic. There are many roots cause of the knowledge gap that make learning math so challenging. The school may have not covered some topics on the math curriculum, because teachers were on strike. The student may be in a new school, and the previous school may not have covered the topics he/she needs to know to understand new math topics. The student may have particular learning disabilities that can slow down progress in school. Math anxiety. Math anxiety is not an intellectual disability but an emotional reaction to math. A development phase of math anxiety is math avoidance. If your child is avoiding math there is a greater chance that he/she has math anxiety. Math avoidance has become a very popular sport in our educational system. Students develop strategies and plans to avoid math. They are more inclined to enrol in a program if it requires fewer maths or no math qualification at all. This behaviour is rooted in the belief that math is innate and not learned. Negative life experiences associated with learning math may trigger math anxiety. Bad experiences with math are the main reason students dont like math and can explain their negative attitude about learning math. It is not uncommon to hear students say that they hate math. I've hated math ever since I was nine years old, when my father grounded me for a week because I couldnt learn my multiplication tables., a student confessed. Tutoring your child by yourself or sibling can be very frustrating and may cause more damages than good. A close relative rarely has the patience and objectivity to teach your child who is challenged by learning math and feels frustrated. Also, poor teaching method, social pressure and high expectation can increase math anxiety. Parents should know that elementary school teachers are not skilled
Hello Math!|Copyright 2013 Hello Math. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without express permission of the author.

Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring

mathematicians. Teaching math is not their tasse de th, they prefer to teach reading and other subjects. They may consciously or unconsciously communicate their feelings about math to their students. Bad math study habits. General learning study methods can help your child pass most of his/her courses, but to be good in math, he/she will need to adopt a different approach and develop math study skills. Mathematics is not like other courses. Because of this specificity, math requires a different study process. All he/she has to do to succeed in other courses is to read, understand, and recall the subject material. To pass math, an extra step is required: Your child must use the information he/she has learned to solve math problems accurately. In school no one teaches the students how to read a math text book that is why many students read their mathematics textbooks the same way they read a novel.

The Solution to the Equation

A tutor can help guide your child through the labyrinth of content in a way that facilitates learning and reduces math anxiety. Not only tutor provides guidance, a tutor also acts as instructor and coach or mentor.

What is Tutoring?
If we use a very broad definition of tutoring, then infants receive a lot of tutoring. Children learn to speak languages through one-on-one help. They learn about their environment and culture by being immersed in the culture and by exploration. Individualized feedback from a variety of people in the culture contributes greatly to the learning process. Moreover, reading to your children, playing games with your children, working with your children on learning sports, and so on are all example of tutoring. Tutoring is helping your kid become a more dedicated and efficient lifelong learner. Effective math tutoring must meet three specific goals: 1. Supporting the students acquire knowledge and skills in math. 2. Building effective math study habits, including mathematical thinking and math maturity. 3. Dealing with math anxiety and the stresses cause by the educational system. The third item in this list does not receive the attention it deserves. Math is particularly stressful because it requires a level of precise, clear thinking and problem-solving activities quite different than in other disciplines.

Huge Benefits in the Students Life

Tutoring can contribute significantly to your childs self-image, attitude toward math, learning skills, and long-term retention of what is being learned. In addition to increase math understanding, tutoring can greatly reduce math anxiety. Here are two key ideas emerging from research on tutoring and other methods of instruction: 1. An average student has the cognitive ability (the intelligence) to do very well in learning the content currently taught in our schools.

Hello Math!|Copyright 2013 Hello Math. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without express permission of the author.

Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring

2. On average, good one-to-one tutoring raises a C student to an A student and a D student to a B student. Many students in the mid range of F grades see progress to the C level. These are profound findings. They say most students have the innate capabilities to learn much more and much better than they currently are.

What to look for in a Tutoring Service and a Math Tutor

Once a small and informal "pushcart" business, tutoring has become a burgeoning industry marked by franchising, marketing, and corporate strategies. Parents have more choices and registering your child in a franchised tutoring centre seems the easiest way to help your child but not the most effective. The method used by franchised tutoring centres is called prescriptive tutoring. Every student has to go through the same prescribed program of learning. This method often is based on rote memorization of mathematical concepts. It doesnt teach math study skills, neither it take into account the individualized learning needs of each student. This means that after a full day of school and an hour or two at the tutoring centre, the students are then left to do their homework on their own. This is a lot to ask of someone who already feels discouraged about mathematics or challenged by schoolwork. In addition, the presence of others in a tutoring centre can be very intimidating. Students learning capability may be diminished by feelings of shyness, competitiveness, inferiority, or any number of emotions. In a one-on-one tutoring, a coaching relationship typically develops between tutor and student. Your child feels more comfortable asking questions and receiving corrections, he/she is not afraid to make mistake because no one will laugh at him/her. A tutor is a teacher, a guide, and a coach. As a parent, you will want to know about the qualifications and experience of your childs math tutor. Here is a list of some possible qualifications that a good math tutor might have: 1. A skilled Mathematician. Expertise matters if a tutor is going to meet the unique needs of your child. The tutor should have good math problem solving knowledge and skills over the range of his or her math content knowledge. Parents should seek someone who is capable of evaluating students difficulties and propose actions and a plan to overcome them. 2. Math teaching experience. Have considerably experience in helping students learn math. If your child has particular math learning challenges, you want a tutor who is experience in dealing with such challenges. In any case, parents should select a tutor who understands both the theory and practice of teaching and learning math. 3. Knowledge of Math Curriculum Standards. Know the school, district, and province math standards below, at, and somewhat above the level at which one is tutoring. 4. Great interpersonal skills. This includes areas such as: (a) Being able to reach out and make appropriate contact with a student; and (b) Being able to develop a personal, mutually trusting, human-to-human relationship with a student. 5. Empathy. Knowledge of the human condition of being a student with a challenging life in and outside of school. A good tutor can help your child build self-confidence as a
Hello Math!|Copyright 2013 Hello Math. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without express permission of the author.

Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring

learner. Parents should select a tutor with experience working with the age and level of the student. 6. The commitment to making students independent. The long term goal of the tutoring is to ignite intellectual independence. Parents should expect the tutor to help a student develop effective study habits, adapt to the pedagogical style of the school and the teachers. The tutors job is not to do the student homework. Parents should select a tutor who can teach their children how they learn, and who can use that knowledge to devise new styles of learning for them. 7. Embrace Diversity. Math is universal subject; all cultures in the world have contributed to the core knowledge of mathematics. A math tutor needs to be comfortable in working with students of different backgrounds, cultures, race, religious faith, and so on. In addition, a math tutor needs to be able to work with students.

Say Hello to Math!

Hello Math is a British Columbia based tutoring company that provides mathematical assistance to parents and students. It was founded by Dr. Germain Tanoh a skilled mathematician with more than 15 years experience as an educator and business consultant. Germain believes that everyone can learn math. His dedication for sharing his experience and his passion for teaching math led him to found Hello Math. Hello math gives students the opportunity and the support necessary to learn significant mathematics with depth and understanding. Hello Math understands the challenge you are facing in todays competitive academic and job market. Students are under pressure to obtain the best possible grades. Our tutors are professional mathematicians, math teachers, and experienced university math instructor. All of them hold at least a Bachelor in Math, with many also holding PhD degrees, and most have teaching credentials and/or graduate degrees. We are very familiar with the province of BC math curriculum. We are passionate about teaching, coaching and making a difference in the lives of our students. We make our priority to establish a safe and trusted environment where the student can (express himself or herself) share is feelings and learning needs. Our Tutors have the ability to reach and deal with different learning styles. Hello Math challenges the belief that mathematics is for the select few. On the contrary, everyone needs to understand mathematics, no matter your cultural background, race or religion. No children must be left behind.

Hello Math Tutoring Advantage

We are committed to working with you and your child to accelerate academic excellence. We provide the following unique advantages:
Hello Math!|Copyright 2013 Hello Math. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without express permission of the author.

Helping Your Child Achieve Excellence in Math: A Parent Guide to Math Tutoring

Overcome math anxiety: Success requires more than ability, competence, or hard work. Your child needs to have a positive attitude toward learning math. We make it possible by reducing negative responses to mistake and increasing parents support to their child effort. Your child will feel more comfortable with math and he/she will very soon realise that he/she is smart enough to succeed in math. Build effective math study habits: Our tutors assist with homework completion, rebuilding math study skills, and exam preparation. We teach students how to master the problem solving techniques that will enable them to achieve their academic goal. Our tutoring program provides your child with effective study habits that he/she could rely on for solving math problems by his/her own. Comprehensive needs assessment and goal setting: By asking the right questions up front, we assure that your child will receive the support that fits his/her learning needs. Our tutors work with students to assess their situation, set short-term goals and long-term goals for academic development, and assist them in reaching those goals. Progress Report: Regular communication with parents about their childs progress is an integrated part of our services. Parents receive regular updates on their child's progress, this allow them to see how their kid math skill is improving. Students learn in the comfort of their home. There is no better place where your child feels most comfortable then home. It is the most convenient place for both you and your child. You dont have to drive your kid somewhere. We come to you! We guarantee results: Our tutors are trained to bring out the best in all the students they work with. Your child will raise his/her math grade by at least one grade level on his or her next report card or your money back. We make learning math fun and enjoyable. Children love to play that is why we bring into each individual tutoring class, math games and real world examples that connect with students interests. For instance, by incorporating the name of his/her dog or favorite soccer team in a sample problem.

Let your child start experiencing the joy of doing math. Call today 604-565-MATH (6284) or visit www.hellomath.ca for a free one hour initial assessment.

Hello Math!|Copyright 2013 Hello Math. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without express permission of the author.