The Ottawa Citizen – Elizabeth Payne
“It’s a refrain educators hear constantly. And it makes them cringe. “I’m not good at math, so I don’t expect my kids to be.” It’s not an argument you would ever hear a parent make about literacy — ‘I’m not a big reader, so it wouldn’t surprise me if my kids don’t read’ — but it’s commonly applied to math, as if it were a special power that some are born with and some are not. And that’s just not true, say educators and researchers. In fact, there is impressive and growing evidence to support the fact that virtually everyone can succeed, even excel, at math. So why aren’t they? Why are math scores sliding in Ontario? The answer, as with most things involving public education, can be complicated. But it doesn’t have to be. Math educators and researchers point to a few concepts and principles that, if followed, could change math education, achievement and even attitudes among Canadian kids.”(more)