How to Help Your Child Excel in Math Many American students have a fear of math. Most students who decide to go to college major in liberal arts. Majoring in the sciences simply isn't on the agenda for many college students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics ten percent of all first university science degrees awarded in the United States in 1999 were in mathematics and statistics-the lowest percentage of the five countries reporting data. (Italy (22 percent), Germany (17 percent), Canada (12 percent), and the United Kingdom (11 percent.) The reason for this fear is probably due to not learning the basics of math during the K-8 years. What are the basics?:

a) the multiplication tables 1 - 12
b) knowing how to divide (which you can't do if you don't know how to multiply)
c) changing a fraction to a decimal to a percent and vice versa
d) place value - trillions to the billionths
e) basic algebra

Not learning the basics of math can have wide implications later in life. With the outsourcing of jobs to countries like India and China predicted to increase in the coming years, today's students must have advanced technical skills. Many of the good paying careers of the future will require a science or math background. After a while liberal arts degrees may become a liability. In addition, being able to compute math problems in your mind will become a daily routine.

In order to be competitive America's students will have to have the necessary math and science skills to meet the challenges of tomorrow's careers. Since a child gets his or her academic foundation when they are young, working with them in the early years is imperative.

Here are some suggestions.

1) Test your child on their multiplications tables (1-12) until they have it memorized.

2) Examine your youngster frequently on division, place value, changing a fraction to a decimal, a decimal to a percent, a percent to a fraction and vice versa

3) Refrain from buying your child a calculator


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