Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Mike Pound: ‘My dad stabbed my homework’ Me: Who are you?
Again, I joke. When Emma came to me asking for help with her math, I did what any guy would do: I told her to go ask her mom for help. Emma told me she couldn’t go ask her mom for help. I asked her why she couldn’t ask her mom for help. “Because she’s at a meeting,” Emma said. In retrospect, I probably should have known that, but I’m not one to rue the past. Instead, what I did was turn off the TV and took a stab at Emma’s homework. Seriously, I grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Emma’s homework. But then, I pictured Emma having to tell her teacher that, “My dad stabbed my homework,” so I put the knife away. The reason I mention all of this is because I just read a story in The New York Times (Motto: Oh Sarah, why do you hate us so?) that says this country is not doing a very good job of developing math skills in our kids. The story, based on a new study published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, says that girls in particular are not being encouraged enough to take high-level math courses. When I first read The New York Times story, a couple of thoughts occurred to me. Thought No. 1: I need to renew my subscription to Notices of the American Mathematical Society. Thought No. B: Do I have to show my work on a separate sheet of paper? The story went on to say that, in this country, we don’t seem to value math skills as much as we value, say, football-throwing skills or cheerleading skills. I found that contention sort of insulting. I know that I, at least, value 3-point-shooting skills much more than I value football-throwing skills. Besides, I think the recent events on Wall Street are causing all Americans to brush up on at least one math skill. Unfortunately, that math skill is subtraction, but that’s not my point. My point is, my daughter, right now, has an “A” in math and I have been absolutely no help to her. And I’m 112-percent OK with that. 
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