The Future is in Your Homeschool

Homeschooler, Jason Scoggins, scored a perfect 800 in math on the SAT college admission test last year and made the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Jason’s success was another in a long line of success stories that have made colleges, the media and the educational community sit up and take notice of homeschoolers — except in one area — mathematics. Homeschoolers have bettered the national average on the ACT for the past three years, scoring an average of 22.7 compared to an average of 21 from their traditionally schooled peers, but scored BELOW the national average in math.

Homeschoolers’ below average performance in math was also mentioned by Dr. William Bennett, former U.S Secretary of Education, in a recent interview with Homeschool.com: “Homeschoolers have done a good job, but they can do a better job, especially in some subjects where their performance isn’t as good as it should be. Mathematics, for one, is an area where homeschoolers aren’t knocking the ball out of the park.”

The importance of “knocking the ball out of the park” or achieving above average test scores pale in comparison to the most important reason children must master math. The world has entered the Information Age, where individual mastering of mathematics is a critical skill that will be required to insure the prosperity of each child and our nation’s future as well.

The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching in the 21st Century, released a very alarming report last September, titled “Before It’s Too Late.” Referring to children in the United States, the report stated: “It is abundantly clear from the evidence already at hand that we are not doing the job that we should do–or can do–in teaching our children to understand and use ideas from mathematics. Our children are falling behind; they are simply not ‘world-class learners’ when it comes to mathematics. ‘Globalization’ has occurred. In the new global economy, will our children be able to compete?”

The new global economy where our children will live, work, and create is a world that we have never seen before. The economic theories of a few years ago have become realities. Goods, services, ideas, communication, businesses, industries, finance, investment, and jobs (the good jobs) are increasingly the competitive currency of the inter-national marketplace. Individuals that don’t have a strong foundation in math will struggle to compete. The next generation of innovators, producers, and workers will need to call upon a core knowledge of mathematics to solve the unforeseen problems and dream the dreams that will define the future.

You must look beyond test scores, college requirements and your personal math phobias. Focus on helping your children understand, master and apply mathematics to their everyday lives. You have taken responsibility for your children’s education, and as a result, have the incredible opportunity to be innovative and find new ways to encourage their academic success.

Homeschoolers can succeed in math! Help your children overcome the obstacles that have held back high math performance. Encourage their math accomplishments and know, with confidence, that you have prepared them to seize opportunities that will inspire them and fulfill their dreams.

SOURCE: http://www.homeschool.com