Article Contributed on: 6/1/2009 8:13:07 PM
Everyone is worried about our economy these days. We, as a society, need to ensure that our children are better prepared for the global economy that awaits them than we were for today. Today, the economy affects each of our lives, and in order to understand and be prepared for it, everyone needs to understand math.
"An economist from the Hoover Institution, Eric A. Hanushek, estimates that the U.S. economy would grow 4.5% more in the next 20 years if our students' math and science skills were as good as the rest of the world's." http://useconomy.about.com/b/2008/07/23/us-economy-would-benefit-from-better-math-skills.htm
Math skills are essential to everyday life. We all know that you must be able to make change, estimate your bill at the grocery store, balance a checkbook and keep a household budget. How about other higher math skills that may directly affect the economy? Adjustable rate mortgages versus fixed rate (housing crisis), the stock market, national debt, the banking industry, and many more examples where people who do not work with numbers in their careers must understand how numbers work and their relationship to each other.
While our students' test scores are rising and they appear to understand all of the material in class, are they truly excelling? America ranks near the bottom compared to the rest of the industrialized nations. In order to compete, Americans need to do better at math and science. Today's students will be tomorrow's global leaders, and they need to not only understand mathematics, but also be able to think logically, and solve problems quickly and accurately.
At Math Monkey, we are showing kids the relationships of numbers, and methods to solve math problems without the use of calculators or memorization. We believe that every child can learn math and love it; those who are struggling simply need to be shown a method that makes sense to them. Math Monkey's unique approach based on a truly time tested method and with a curriculum written by a renowned global expert, students learn quickly, with great accuracy while computing problems in their head.
Sometimes the negative feeling about math that a parent had as a child, carries over and impacts their own children. With our game based program, kids can have fun learning again. The students are not being lectured to, and instead are interacting with each other and building confidence and mental agility skills.
In tomorrow's global economy, simply completing the homework assigned may not be enough. Student must expand their math knowledge and challenge themselves. When you understand math, the possibilities are endless.
Math Monkey.com/KenCaryl