Advice For Parents

• Mathematics is a difficult subject for many students. John Louis Von Neumann has said "If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is". Children struggle with math because they don't enjoy it or they don't see how it is relevant to their future.
• I think we are creating negative attitudes towards math at an early stage. Through monitoring brains of infants, researchers confirmed that infants as early as 6- months in age can detect mathematical errors. Read the story here.
• I have seen many people who proudly say "I hate math". When hearing this, young children also think it is some thing great if they do bad in math. So unknowingly they begin to hate math. So, don't tell your child "math is hard" because they will believe you. Instead of that inspire confidence in them.
• As a parent, you should encourage your child to spend time learning mathematics and pointing out how you use math in your everyday life - at home or at work. Even though math is difficult and requires a good deal of study time, parents should maintain a high level of expectations for their children to ensure success. Studies have shown that children perform better in subjects that interest them.
• Encourage your child to be creative when solving problems. There is always more than one way to skin a cat and math isn't that different. Let your child explore alternative viewpoints - the teacher's way is not the only way.

Why do we need homework?

1. Homework has been a part of students' life from the beginning of formal school.
2. However, the practice has sometimes been accepted and other times rejected, both by educators and parents. This has happened because homework can have both positive and negative effects on children's learning and attitudes towards school.
3. Some educationists of the view that homework should not be given to students. Giving homework means creating in the child school mania in the home also.
4. Others are of the view that five hours in the school is in sufficient and it must be supplemented by some work at home. It is not the homework that is objectionable, but its nature and amount which invites criticism.
   
5. But the importance and need of homework cannot be minimized, if it is of a right nature. It utilizes the leisure time of the children, which otherwise would have been wasted. It may establish the habit of working hard and that too regularly.
   
6. We know that good assignments, completed successfully, can help children develop wholesome habits and attitudes.
7. Homework can help parents learn about their children's education and communicate both with their children and the schools. And it can encourage a lifelong love of learning. Homework can have many benefits for young children.
   
8. It can improve remembering and understanding of schoolwork. Homework can help students develop study skills that will be of value even after they leave school. It can teach them that learning takes place anywhere, not just in the classroom.
   
9. Homework can benefit children in more general ways as well. It can foster positive character traits such as independence and responsibility.
   
10. Homework can teach children how to manage time.

Pythagorean identities