Learning Disabilities and the Math Student

Many of our students who use our math software and tutoring approach us tentatively by saying after the first or second session
with us that they have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability. Some of
them express this to us in a matter-of-fact way and others tell us that -because of their
diagnosis, usually by a physician or a psychologist – they expect us to use tried and true
methods to “reach” them in their disabled state.

Student Becomes Gifted in Math After Working with Our Tutors and Products!

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Christina Moan is a student who has been using Math Made Easy's math software and online tutoring. Her mother recently contacted Math Made Easy to let us know that because of her testing on the math section of her standardized test Chrstina has been selected to attend a school for the intellectually gifted in Montreal next year. She started out using tutoring with Math Made Easy because of low math grades just a few months ago.  

We are very proud of her!

The Adult Student Returning to School and the Math Hurdle

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 More adults than ever before are returning to formal education. Some want to learn what
they have failed to learn in high school. Some have made the momentous decision to
earn a high school diploma or to go to college for the first – or second or third – time.
And some, particularly those in mid-life, want additional education in order to recharge a
stalled career or start and entirely new one.

The growth of adult literacy programs, whether it be  community-based, math software, or other online mediums, has made it
even more possible than ever for adults who want to learn to do so in the comfort of their
own homes and communities. The decision to return to an educational environment
brings with it expectations and fears, both real and imagined.

One of the more prevalent fears is math phobia.

The Math Made Easy Approach to Tutoring

Your Choice of Technology:

Math Made Easy uses a unique math software package to tutor point-to-point. Whiteboard
technology and our complimentary headsets allows our students to communicate in
writing, orally and visually with our tutors. Webcams at our tutoring site enable the
student to view the tutor. Students have the choice of using a webcam to enable the tutor
to see the student and/or diagrams in print. Math help is available at the student’s choice
when the student wants it.

Your Choice of Time:

Schedule your algebra, arithmetic, calculus, statistics, geometry and trigonometry
tutoring session online using our virtual scheduling system at any time. View all tutoring
sessions available through our web site and make your appointment in seconds at any
time, day or night.

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER PART 2 – DO’S AND DON’TS

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 Here are a few practical pointers for getting teachers to listen and respond to your requests:

DO's

· Always use emotionally neutral language. Avoid words like “should,” “must,” and anything threatening.

· Let the words speak for themselves.

· Ask specific questions which may be answered in a few words.

· E-mail is faster, easier and more readily accessible than paper notes.

· Specify your preferred method of verbal communication. If you need a phone call, ask the teacher to call you at a time when you know you will be able to take the call without having the teacher leave a message Be sure to include your telephone number in the message.

DONT's

·  Avoid leaving telephone messages at a school. School offices are often manned by student monitors and messages may not reach the teacher's mailbox.

·  Don't use confrontational language or threats. That approach may not only be counterproductive but it may also be illegal.

·  Remember that your communication skills reflect on and ultimately influence your child's method of communication.

·  If you’ve tried to contact a teacher and received no response after the second attempt, try calling a guidance counselor and explaining why you need to speak with the teacher. Counselors are more accustomed to working with parents and may be able to pass your message along.

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER PART 1 – MAKING CONTACT

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Parents often find it alarmingly difficult to make contact with teachers. Many are amazed to
discover that telephone messages they leave at the school go unanswered, and often assume (not unreasonably!) that the teacher is simply ignoring their requests. Not surprisingly, parental anger at this state of affairs tends to grow by the day.

Formulas, Felines and Flash Cards

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When I was in school, one of my favorite professors, after rattling off a long and complex formula, looked at the blank faces in front of him and said, “Well, if you can't remember how we got the formula, just write it on a piece of paper and pin it on your cat so you'll see it every time the cat goes by.” (Or you can just look it up in our math software programs)

Were the Founding Fathers Math Geniuses?

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America’s Founding Fathers – notably George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander
Hamilton and James Madison – were mathematically literate people before math software was invented. They skillfully used their knowledge to solve difficult problems central to the well-being of our new government and our strength as a people.

Consider the debate about how to fairly apportion members of congress to each state.

The Hamilton/Vinton method of apportionment divides each state’s population by the total
population per elected seat, which inevitably results in fractional numbers of representatives. It took the Founding Fathers many pages of formulae and calculations to work out a solution that avoided that outcome – a complex challenge, but the Founding Fathers were up to it! Without having to call on a commission of experts, they worked their way through the thicket of mathematical issues and came up with an elegant solution that combined elements of direct and proportional democracy.

Our early Presidents were equipped to apply their scientific knowledge to the application of democratic ideas as they conceived them.

Preparing for College Standardized Testing

Welcome to the wonderful world of standardized college testing! Fasten your seatbelt!
You have entered a world of fast-flying acronyms, subtle distinctions, scoring rules that
would boggle the mind of any sports statistics historian, and would require a math software program to keep track of it all!
 It seems that confusion reigns supreme in this specialized world which
resembles nothing you have ever seen before.

Math Tips for Teens and Parents of Teens

Many students report trouble studying for a math exam. Studying math is a little different from studying history or a foreign language. All of your subjects are developmental. That means that concepts build in complexity and they refer back to previous concepts. If you do not understand and apply the earlier concepts, you are likely to have a harder time with the concepts introduced later. It is very helpful to have  step-by-step math software to help students internalize concepts.

It’s Not All About Numbers: Why Children Do Poorly in Math

Parents often ask us why their children are doing poorly in math, particularly in grades 2-6. For young children, abstract quantities can be daunting, especially when taught in the context of skill drills. Many children do not find immediate meaning in numbers as symbols, although that is what we hope to convey to them.

Applied Geometry

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Geometry weaves a tangled web. Math Made Easy has the solution to help the geometry student navigate it and succeed in geometry.

Student Now Getting 98 Average in Math! Satisfied Mother Writes In

Parents are constantly writing in to let us know about the improvements their children have made since using the Math Made Easy math software DVDs and online tutoring. Here is an email we received from a very happy mother just last week:

Hi Anne,

I just wanted to let you know how well our daughter is doing in math and all her subjects.

She ranges from 85 to 95 in all her classes, but her math average is now a 98! Can you believe that? This is the same girl who could not do division when we first started with MathMadeEasy.com!

She is doing wonderful in high school and I just wanted to share the wonderful news with you. We are very proud of her!

Thank You,

M.S.

Learning About Symmetry In Everyday Life

Did you know that starfish and humans start out life with the same type of structure? While starfish grow into five-pointed organisms and humans are close to mirror image in form, they both start out as bilateral (mirror image) as embryos.

Math Fun on the Road

For many families, the holiday season involves long car trips on boring roads.  License plate games are wonderful ways to strengthen numeracy skills while passing the time. Here are a couple of examples:

• For younger children, just memorizing the alphanumeric codes can be very helpful in nurturing their emerging abilities to make sense out of numbers (and letters too!).  
• Older children often enjoy the challenge of working out possible combinations on license plates.  For example, there could be as many as 17,576,000 different number/letter combinations on license plates containing three numbers and three letters!!! (26 x 26 x 26 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 17,576,000).
  

Please share your family's favorite license plate games! 

And check out our math software which is filled with real life math!

Enrichment

Even though you may secretly fear that you lack the proficiency to involve your children in math-based activities, your role in enrichment is key – and you can do it! Aside for buying them math software or other learning gadgets, you should involve them in real life math activities.

Fall Tips to Help Your Child Succeed in Math

As a parent, you are in a unique position to help set your child on a course toward math success. Here are four things you can do now that will make a difference all year long:

Welcome to the Math Made Easy Blog!

Welcome to the MathMadeEasy.com blog page! Math Made Easy uses online interactive tutoring and math software dvds to help you or your child succeed at math. This blog is a place for our students and parents to come together as a math learning community. The latest news from Math Made Easy will be found here, as well as upcoming sales, events person testimonials and interesting math articles. We invite you to join in on the conversation and share your thoughts and experiences with us. And for all of you new to Math Made Easy, we offer a 30-day FREE trial! We look forward to getting to know you and helping you- or your child- succeed at math!