Making Math Count
My favorite teacher in 7th grade was Mr. Johnson – he was my math teacher and made math fun so I looked forward to that class every day. Of course, that partially may have been due to the fact that I loved math and it came easily to me. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for many of today’s students – for them, learning the language of math is a struggle and they dread the daily math class. I’ve always thought it was interesting that in our society there’s a stigma to being illiterate but it is okay to be “ilnumerate”.
As a principal, my staff discussed this issue as we looked for ways to emphasize “math across the curriculum" in the same way we looked at writing and reading as an integral part of every subject. One of the simplest ways we determined to do this was to banish the comment, “It’s okay – I wasn’t very good in math myself” coming from mouths of school staff -- a message meant to be understanding, but with the subliminal message that you don’t have to be good in math to be successful.
I wish the new NASSP resource had been around when these discussions were happening at my school. Making the Mathematics Curriculum Count: a Guide for Middle and High School Principals was recently mailed to all principal members of NASSP and I urge you to do more than put it on your bookshelf for future reading. (If you’re not a member and would like a copy, click here for more information).
The guide sets down seven action steps that school leaders can employ to build a culture that not only supports a challenging math curriculum, but also integrates numeracy skills throughout all content areas. Additionally, the book contains examples of how these steps are being implemented at middle schools and high school across the country and gives school leaders tools to initiate conversations regarding numeracy in their own schools.
Proficiency in math is critical and middle level leaders must take the responsibility to help students gain the mathematical skills necessary for success in high school and beyond. Reading this guide and holding these conversations with their staff is an excellent first step.
