Urgent Need: Teach Math to Kids!
We are entering the world of a global economy. Unfortunately this brave new world poses a serious and formidable challenge to the United States. The problem is that our children are just not showing much interest or skills in the areas of math, engineering, science, or technology. As the workers of the baby boomer generation start to retire, we not only need to fill these jobs, but prepare our young people to compete for the global jobs of the future. Could the media of the math comic book be part of the solution to the problem?
Around the world, nations realize that in order to compete in this global economy, their citizens will have to be well verses in the maths and sciences. Business and labor statistics tell us that employment in these areas alone will increase about 70% faster than the rates of growth in the other areas. With this tremendous need, it’s a tragedy that American kids are not showing the interest or skills in these areas.
It seems that middle school in particular needs our urgent attention. We need to support and encourage kids in these grades to learn math before peer pressure starts to take hold on them. Unfortunately it’s “not cool” to be good in math at this age, and our nation will pay the price for this outlook in the years to come unless we take steps to rectify the situation immediately.
Boys seem to show more interest in math than girls do. While young women now outnumber men on our college campuses, in far too many engineering disciplines women make up less than 20% of students. Those professions that deal with the maths and sciences need to be more welcoming to women. This will encourage our young girls to embrace maths and sciences at a young age.
As we enter this brave new age, we need new media tools. Not just the internet, but other ways to teach math and science to our children. Children need to be shown that math can be very practical to the hobbies and interests that they have at such a young age. For example, math is very important in calculating the statistics of their favorite sports hero. Math principles are also at heart in the world of music. If our kids learn that math is not only practical, but fun, they will be more likely to choose a profession in it in when they get older.
Is it possible that a math comic could be one of these “new media” tools? It’s true that comics have been around for years and years, but they have mostly been used to entertain. We’ve all read a comic that depicts a super hero, or a talking mouse, or young romance. Why not add a twist to this format and use a comic book to teach skills such as math or science? Hmmmm…. Kids love comics, and if we can utilize this love to teach math and science, they will not only be entertained, but they will learn math and science skills as well. What a great way to equip them with skills that they will be able to utilize in the future.
If you would like to learn more about how to educate our kids via math comic strips, please visit our blog. We explore the history of comic books, how to teach math to children, and offer free stuff such as comics and wallpaper as well.
Want to find out more about Math Comic Strips, then visit Matthew Smith’s site on how to choose the best learning tool for the needs of your child.
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