by Lacie Taylor
This is a common question for home-school parents, and it comes with a whole slew of related questions: Does a little struggle here and there necessitate getting outside help? Isn’t struggle just part of learning? Do we really need to hire a tutor or outside teacher, or shouldn’t my learner be able to get what he or she needs from the resources already available to them?
On the one hand, these questions beg a much bigger discussion and can quickly get controversial and unwieldy. And with home-schooling, we are faced with both the blessing and the curse of freedom. If things aren’t working, it’s easy to question the curriculum or the approach, and it can get complicated and time-consuming to experiment and change courses. On the other hand, with math, you might argue that it’s very simple. With math, you can’t afford to take the gamble. A little struggle can avalanche into a huge and insurmountable struggle quickly. If there is a question, get help sooner rather than later.
There are two main reasons for this:
One: Because of the linear, or sequential, nature of math, once you get behind, it can be very difficult to catch up. It can actually become impossible without some intervention. The self-pace that home-schooling affords goes a long way in alleviating this, but it’s still an issue. When you’re at a level that assumes solid and lasting mastery of skills that you don’t yet have, you can honestly be giving it your all, and you simply don’t have the foundation required to grasp the new skills you’re being expected to learn.
Two: It is possible to pass the chapter tests and assessments without getting LASTING mastery of the skill. This means that a student can often “get by” for years with a weak foundation before it really starts affecting their ability to progress. So by the time there is evident struggle, they really may be in over their heads and legitimately need more help than you can realistically and sustainably give.
Bottom line: even before there is evident struggle, have your learner’s math skills objectively assessed, and get help early. Mathematically speaking, an ounce of prevention is greater than or equal to a pound of cure.
Lacie Taylor is Founder and Owner of Math For Keeps, a tutoring business in Austin, TX. She teaches her students how practice math (much like you’d practice piano or basketball). With this approach, her students develop a fluency in math as a language that changes the whole game for them, and that’s very empowering. Learn more about the Math For Keeps practice-to-mastery method here: www.mathforkeeps.com
This is a common question for home-school parents, and it comes with a whole slew of related questions: Does a little struggle here and there necessitate getting outside help? Isn’t struggle just part of learning? Do we really need to hire a tutor or outside teacher, or shouldn’t my learner be able to get what he or she needs from the resources already available to them?
On the one hand, these questions beg a much bigger discussion and can quickly get controversial and unwieldy. And with home-schooling, we are faced with both the blessing and the curse of freedom. If things aren’t working, it’s easy to question the curriculum or the approach, and it can get complicated and time-consuming to experiment and change courses. On the other hand, with math, you might argue that it’s very simple. With math, you can’t afford to take the gamble. A little struggle can avalanche into a huge and insurmountable struggle quickly. If there is a question, get help sooner rather than later.
There are two main reasons for this:
One: Because of the linear, or sequential, nature of math, once you get behind, it can be very difficult to catch up. It can actually become impossible without some intervention. The self-pace that home-schooling affords goes a long way in alleviating this, but it’s still an issue. When you’re at a level that assumes solid and lasting mastery of skills that you don’t yet have, you can honestly be giving it your all, and you simply don’t have the foundation required to grasp the new skills you’re being expected to learn.
Two: It is possible to pass the chapter tests and assessments without getting LASTING mastery of the skill. This means that a student can often “get by” for years with a weak foundation before it really starts affecting their ability to progress. So by the time there is evident struggle, they really may be in over their heads and legitimately need more help than you can realistically and sustainably give.
Bottom line: even before there is evident struggle, have your learner’s math skills objectively assessed, and get help early. Mathematically speaking, an ounce of prevention is greater than or equal to a pound of cure.
Lacie Taylor is Founder and Owner of Math For Keeps, a tutoring business in Austin, TX. She teaches her students how practice math (much like you’d practice piano or basketball). With this approach, her students develop a fluency in math as a language that changes the whole game for them, and that’s very empowering. Learn more about the Math For Keeps practice-to-mastery method here: www.mathforkeeps.com
