And why do you need it?
This morning, I felt incredibly frustrated. I was trying to manipulate a new website, but could not quite ‘get’ the way it was ‘thinking’. I felt I should be able to push my way through – after all, once someone has explained what to do, it’s as easy as pie. But I lacked a foundation in website making and, in particular, how this one works.
I have been thinking about extending my teaching of parents for some time now. It seems there is nothing available to directly instruct mums and dads to teach or assist their own kids with elementary or middle math (preschool to Year 5), while, at the same time, training parents to see and understand the big picture.
And information about how to easily teach your child to think mathematically is stuck away in university journals.
My approach is similar to that of Dr Suzuki’s highly successful mother-tongue method of teaching music. The mother-tongue method is a method in which the parent is trained to teach the child. Just as it is easy and natural for the child to learn their first language, their mother-tongue, this method works with music and math too.
So, I will teach you, the parent, (this means mum, dad, nan, or pop,) once weekly, and you will teach your child, in very short and enjoyable bursts, almost every day. I will teach you not only what to teach, but also how to teach. Much of the way you interact with your child will be informal and fun, involving lots of silly games which you can play anywhere, such as in the car. Unlike other approaches, such as Kumon, there is very little pencil-and-paper work. Kumon relies on repetition, as a substitute for mathematical thinking. Results from such methods show that children are no better off in their high school results.
You will learn how to engage your child. Your child will begin to see the world quite differently. Your child will be amazed to see that his or her world is simply full of of mathematics. You will learn why each particular lesson is important and how it fits into the overall map of your child’s mathematical development. Math is extremely visual, so I have manufactured lovely hands-on tools for children to gain a solid Number Sense. Many older students today lack the foundation of this Number Sense, which is crucial in mastering high school math, especially algebra.
My work is based on the latest world research and my own research and discoveries, teaching children, of what works. It also takes into account the old-fashioned basics. I have taken on the job to translate the ‘lab-thinking’ of research - much of which, ridiculously, never reaches the classroom - into a programme for real, live kids.
To succeed in the Sydney Math Parent Course, you do not need to be adept with arithmetic, or actually know anything about mathematics. In fact, this can be an advantage, because a person who is brilliant in a particular field often does not grasp the astonishing achievement when a child masters a milestone. You will shown each teeny-tiny step that a child goes through.
This Parent Course will teach you how to empower children in mathematics. Absolutely everyone is capable of achieving a high level. It has been shown that no one needs to be left behind. As we know, jobs in the future will lie in the STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
There is a wonderful word that is relevant here. It is ‘self-efficacy’. Here, the meaning of this word is that when your child sees a mathematical task, he or she will immediately feel excited, and competent. He or she will feel head-and-shoulders above the crowd. That might be the rest of the class, or even dad, to whom she or he is explaining the problem! Your child won’t be put off if the problem is hard, or if she gets it wrong the first time, but will be eager to learn how to master it. In my math courses, we try to avoid the word ‘problem’, but use instead, ‘challenge’, ‘joust’, ‘tournament’, ‘duel’, ‘ride the magic carpet’, ‘showdown,’ or even ‘lock horns.’
Fact recall, such as 2 to 12 times tables, ten number bonds, one hundred number bonds, 13 to 20 times tables, square numbers and roots, prime numbers, and lots more will be learned to the level of automaticity.
Due to a highly developed Number Sense, your child will become addicted to mental computation. Did you know that research shows that whenever we do a mental calculation, even a dead-easy one, the brain is suddenly flooded with serotonin, the happiness hormone? We feel marvellous about ourselves!
Many people in the past, and even now, are being taught mathematics poorly, and are prone to ‘maths anxiety.’ My programme trains parents never to pressure their children. If the child’s self-efficacy is developed carefully, he or she will be - solidly - two years ahead. And loving it!
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