A shocking statistic flashed on the television screen the other day. It stated that out of all the kids' currently in grade 8 in American schools, about 66% of them could not do adequate math. I had to let this statistic sink in. How could this be possible? Kids spend hours and hours in school every year. Why are they not learning math? It seems that the math comic strips solution is needed now more than ever.
With the turn of the century, we are becoming more and more an international global economy. Kids no longer compete with the kid in the desk next to them, but with the kid in a classroom on the other side of the world. They need to be educated in both reading and yes "math skills", in order to compete and land the great jobs of the future. In South Korea they treat those who educate their kids like "rock stars". We need to place this same level of importance on our educators here in the United States.
Years ago, if children wanted to have fun they had limited choices. They could either play sports, or play games, or read books. Enter into this equation the brave new world of the 21st century. A world full of wonderful advancements like cable television with a "gazillion" stations, video-on-demand, and 24-hour online gaming. Where on the list does homework and schoolwork fall? Sadly, most of the time, off the list...
In this world of constant distraction, the key is to make this homework fun. We need to make the experience of learning exciting and fun if it is ever to compete with everything else that is vying for a child's time. How do we do this? Ah, enter the world of the comic book! Comic books have been around for generations, but often they are used for entertainment not to teach kids useful skills like math. This doesn't mean that comics can't be adjusted to meet this lofty goal in the future.
The web site " math comic strips " proposes a solution to the problem. The key is developing a line of comic books with a superhero theme. In reality, this guy is a mere mortal, but he is able to solve some fantastic problems and crimes via his extraordinary math skills. Now how did he come across this stunning math ability? He did his homework, that's how. The hope and desire is that kids of all ages will be inspired to follow his example...
With the turn of the century, we are becoming more and more an international global economy. Kids no longer compete with the kid in the desk next to them, but with the kid in a classroom on the other side of the world. They need to be educated in both reading and yes "math skills", in order to compete and land the great jobs of the future. In South Korea they treat those who educate their kids like "rock stars". We need to place this same level of importance on our educators here in the United States.
Years ago, if children wanted to have fun they had limited choices. They could either play sports, or play games, or read books. Enter into this equation the brave new world of the 21st century. A world full of wonderful advancements like cable television with a "gazillion" stations, video-on-demand, and 24-hour online gaming. Where on the list does homework and schoolwork fall? Sadly, most of the time, off the list...
In this world of constant distraction, the key is to make this homework fun. We need to make the experience of learning exciting and fun if it is ever to compete with everything else that is vying for a child's time. How do we do this? Ah, enter the world of the comic book! Comic books have been around for generations, but often they are used for entertainment not to teach kids useful skills like math. This doesn't mean that comics can't be adjusted to meet this lofty goal in the future.
The web site " math comic strips " proposes a solution to the problem. The key is developing a line of comic books with a superhero theme. In reality, this guy is a mere mortal, but he is able to solve some fantastic problems and crimes via his extraordinary math skills. Now how did he come across this stunning math ability? He did his homework, that's how. The hope and desire is that kids of all ages will be inspired to follow his example...
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