Did You Know Making Mistakes in Math is Actually a Good Thing?
Published:
July 26, 2019
Contributor:
Jeannette Tuionetoa
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Have you ever thought that when kids make mistakes in math, it can actually be a good thing? Math is just tough for some kids. Math woes can begin at an early age if we don’t know how to deal with the struggles. If there is something that we can start doing to combat math struggles is realizing that making mistakes in math is a good thing.
We want our children to truly understand math problems and concepts. The pressure of that, along with not really knowing how to teach math can lead to lots of frustration and a feeling of failure. We need to remember what mistakes actually did for us in school.
This didn’t really happen to me in public school, but in college I “got it”. In public school, it is a learn-and-dump type of relationship with lessons. In college, since I was actually paying for classes that I could NOT fail, I realized that attempting to complete a math problem and getting it wrong created an opportunity to learn.
This article made me remember this. With every mistake is an opportunity to correct a misunderstanding, to erase the wrong, to learn something new, and to practice doing something right.
Besides this being a great thing to learn for math, it is also a great thing to teach your kids about life. We may not get math problems worked out perfectly, much like we may not work things out perfectly in life. However, mistakes can sometimes be our greatest lessons.
Need a math resource to help your kids in their journey?
