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Why the U.S. Can’t Get Over it’s Math Problem
It has more to do with attitude than adding
It’s no secret that we have a math problem in this country. Placing 39th out of 70 nations who participated does not put us near the top. In case you are one of the many citizens of our country suffering from a lack of understanding numbers I will translate. We are in the bottom half of the nations who took the test (for math, we score slightly higher in other subjects). Sure, there may be prettier ways to state the truth, but sometimes the truth needs to sting a little. To wake us up. To get us moving towards change.
We Have the Power to Change This Number
The good news I want to share is this, parents and teachers both have tremendous power to change these numbers. I am going to tell you why I believe this is true, and what it will take from us, ‘the common man’, to effect drastic change.
The other good news is that it does not take generations for a country to dramatically change their scores. The graph of change is quite volatile with countries making both giant leaps and disturbing slides in the span of as little as 10 years. (I would share the graphic, but believe that would infringe on copyright…you can view it in the book The Smartest Kids in the World on page 3.)
