INSPIRING A LOVE FOR MATHEMATICS: A JOURNEY TO MATH EDUCATION Part x

Often, I hear people say “I am terrible at math” or “Math was my worst subject” when they hear I not only majored in mathematics in college, but that I actually made it my career. Maybe you have said it before or maybe you have sat working on math homework all night as a child or as a parent helping your children and have felt that frustration rise in you. Why is it that so many people have such strong feelings toward math? The truth lies not in the subject itself but in how it is taught and experienced. Math has the power to ignite curiosity, foster creativity (yes, I said creativity!), and empower learners to solve real-world problems. Math education should be a journey of discovery and excitement. 

Foundations, Social-Emotional Learning and Relatability in Math 

The Importance of Strong Foundations

Math, like any well built structure, relies on a strong foundation. Without a solid grasp of basic arithmetic, geometry or algebra, students will struggle to move on to more complex concepts. This is why it is so imperative to build a rock-solid foundation. This foundation should not just consist of rote memorization of equations and processes, but a deeper level of understanding for mathematics, holistically. According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM 2018), if we rely “solely on algorithms [we] can hinder deeper conceptual understanding and limit students’ ability to solve problems creatively and in different contexts.” I truly believe that laying that solid foundation not only helps students in future math courses, but helps them in other courses and forces them to apply logic and reasoning to topics like reading, writing and science. Of these building blocks, I want to emphasize algebra. This may be the most important course to really build this foundation for high school math. Unfortunately, we offer this course at a time children are going through major changes in their social, emotional and physical world. Yet, if students are able to gain a solid foundation with the help of those around them, we can see remarkable results in their high school and college math and science courses. 

Social-Emotional Learning in Math and Age-Appropriate Math Levels

Understanding a student’s emotional and cognitive development is essential to an effective math education. As a math department chair, there were so many times I would see a parent who, with the best intentions, were trying to push their 9th grade student into an 11th grade-level math class. Although they had taken the prerequisites to earn the placement and certainly deserved it academically, they were unprepared socially and emotionally. I would often see these students struggle. I would often see these happy, high-achieving students face adversity they are not equipped to cope with and shut down. Understanding Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) helps students build resilience, manage frustration, and approach challenges with confidence. By fostering skills like self-awareness and perseverance, a supportive math environment where students feel safe and are able to make mistakes ensures a student’s success in math. Keeping the content age-appropriate not only keeps students engaged, but also prevents overwhelm, allowing them to build skills incrementally and with greater achievement. 

Making Math Relatable

One of the keys to effective math education is relevance. As a high school math department chair and teacher, I was building a new math program and named the course “Consumer Math.” I had so many other names for it, but in order to get it approved by our accreditation services deeming it a “college preparatory course” to receive credit, I had to stick with a boring name for an otherwise unboring course. In this course, I was so proud of the material I outlined. I taught 12th grade senior students about credit cards, loans, TAXES!, mortgages, how to open a banking account, how to budget and so much more. My students, who were not the highest achieving students, were suddenly so motivated by mathematics. It was finally relevant to them. The question I hear so often in the math classroom, “When will I ever use this?” becomes so much more clear when math is linked to real-world applications. From understanding how interest rates on a credit card work to exploring the math behind technology and engineering, contextualizing math helps students see its value. If you ensure that students understand not just how the math works, but why it matters, you can really bridge the gap between abstract concepts and practical applications.