Argument Rebuttle

Article Rebuttal

I recently read an article by Patrick Welsh (2012), a “member of the USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors” titled Why kids hate math. Although there are some topics that Welsh points out that I agree with, many statements he claims are in my opinion false. Welsh believes that the school system should not put students in upper level math classes unless they have the required skills. I agree with him that students should not be put in a class that they are not prepared for, but I think it goes deeper than that. Students go through all stages of school getting pushed along, not understanding the fundamentals of the course. Once they get into high school, they are so far behind in the foundation of their math skills that they cannot, and do not want, to focus on the class they are currently in.

Math understanding needs to start at lower grade levels. Teachers need to make sure not to get breeze through something. I am not a teacher but I have tutored many students in math. My recent student was eighth grader Ema. She had never been good at math. Her mom had tried to get her into special programs with no help from the school. When she first started with me she had a D. Her biggest complaint about school was that she would try to understand but everyone else in her class understood something and she was the only one that didn’t so her teacher moved on. I think this is a huge problem. Students that are slower at learning, does not mean they can’t eventually understand the material.

I looked up different websites to refresh myself on any new techniques when I first started tutoring. One of the best ones I found was a website by Ontario Ministry of Education (2012). The website completely explains how to help your child, or student in my case, retain mathematical information through fun and hands-on experiences. Sometimes in schools, students cannot connect what is in the book with real life.