When to Offer Just Math Skills

When to Offer Just Math SkillsMy son is entering his freshman year of high school and his teachers have not yet scheduled just math tutoring. Although they are interested in his strengths, they believe that he is at a developmental disadvantage, as he has not yet mastered even the most basic arithmetic skills. He is well below grade level in reading and his spelling is poor.So it does not seem like a viable option for them to offer just math skills and take the extra time to help him with reading and writing. They think it will be far more beneficial to plan early to make sure they are equipped to meet his needs as a student.Fortunately, the plan I put together for him last week consists of learning just math skills and then working closely with him to create a curriculum that integrates reading and writing into his learning experience. It also involves an intensive parent training session where we discuss our expectations for our child and how those expectations fit into his life, a nd what lessons we want to teach him. I also included a visit to his math class so that we can discuss my concerns in a more informal setting.First, it is important to start early and offer our son the benefits of the most basic math skills and then develop further skills along the way. He must be taught the difference between fractions and decimals and basic addition and subtraction. He also needs to learn the difference between buying time and buying a ticket. This has to come from the beginning, not by a teacher having to redo the lesson over again.Next, we have plans for him to begin learning basic addition and subtraction skills with just math skills by focusing on the basics every day. We are not going to offer just math skills at this point but instead we will use the moment-to-moment teaching skills to introduce addition and subtraction as needed to develop an understanding of how these two skills work. It will also give him an opportunity to see that just math skills are no t enough. He has to learn more than just multiplication. We want to reinforce his reading skills and reinforce his learning in math.By making these additions early, he will begin to learn the important things that are learned through the year, and it will also teach him to develop the skills needed to build a good education. As a result, he will be better prepared to meet the challenges of high school.Whether you decide to offer just math skills or planning early development is important. If you decide to offer just math skills, you must build early a curriculum that will help your child move through the year without any stumbling blocks.