Americans now compete for jobs with people from around the world. In fifteen years or so, when your K-3 kiddie is entering the workforce as a young adult, will he or she have the educational tools to thrive in a world that will be even more competitive than it is now?


Let's take a look at how American 4th grade math students compare to 4th graders from abroad.

Which kids do you suppose will take the future high-paying science, engineering and hi-tech jobs?

In fifteen years, which jobs will your child, as a young adult, be prepared to compete for? High-pay or low-pay?

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American first-graders need to receive a first-class math education in order to be competitive when they enter the job market. And a first-class math education starts with a first-class arithmetic education, a basic arithmetic education. As the chart indicates, the average American child isn't receiving that education.

• The need for a good math education isn't confined to future engineers and physicists. No matter the course of studies, most universities now demand competence in higher math as a prerequisite for admission, with more math to follow before graduation. Whether your child wants to be a poet or lawyer or engineer, a good math education will be required to reach that goal. A good start in math in the early grades can make the difference between a student struggling with math through the college years or being free to focus on career-building studies.

Basic arithmetic requires the student to:

• ...master the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts so that responses come immediately and automatically.
• ...put the facts to work by solving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems quickly and accurately.

If you feel your child's school does not demand that level of competence, you should consider a supplemental tutoring program to boost performance. The Math Path Home Tutoring Program is a good candidate. It gives small children the tools and confidence to succeed on the long educational path that stretches ahead.

How can you determine how your child's school is performing? Try this on your first-grader:

"Hey, Junior! What's 8 + 6?"

If the correct response isn't immediate, if there's any hesitation at all, there may be (pardon the pun) a problem.

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Math Path is a simple program designed for in-home tutoring of basic arithmetic. It takes about 20 minutes a day, 4 or 5 days a week. One-third of each session is spent on computer work, where electronic flash cards (with a built-in timer) drill your child on arithmetic facts. Use of the timer requires that facts be recalled automatically and effortlessly.

The child works on a particular group of 9 facts until those facts are mastered, then moves on to the next group of 9 facts and masters those. A printout of the results of each drill provides a solid paper trail of the child's progress. The progress also is marked on a chart for display in a prominent place in the household.

To see how Math Path organizes the arithmetic facts for easier memorization, go here.

The other two-thirds of the time is spent doing paper and pencil work on computer-generated worksheets. For a child just starting out, the paper and pencil work will involve the same group of nine facts from the computer session. As the arithmetic facts are mastered, the paper and pencil work shifts to real arithmetic problems that increase in difficulty as the child's competence grows. The completed worksheets provide more written evidence of the child's increasing level of competence. Thus, the child receives constant positive feedback on his or her progress.

To see how Math Path kids memorize addition facts, go here,

To repeat, basic arithmetic lays the foundation for all the science and math courses your child will encounter throughout academic life and into the workplace. Most American schools do a poor job of teaching it. If you don't believe that, just Google New Math, New New Math, Chicago Math, Fuzzy Math, Everyday Mathematics,or any of the other programs that promote so-called critical thinking instead of mastery of facts and how to use them.

It is the expectation of success that fuels achievement in higher mathematics (as in most other endeavors). Mastering, really mastering, numbers, facts, and arithmetic operations will foster an expectation of success that will help your child to persevere and succeed in algebra and beyond. You have it in your power to make this happen.

Math Path is structured so that you don't need teaching or tutoring experience. You do have to know how to add and subtract. But you will not have to bother with the concept of place value. Math Path kids work with place value. They swim in it. But nobody gives thought to the concept, because it's not necessary. At this stage of development, kids want to know how, not why. Everyone stays in the comfort zone.

This is a very simple program. It involves only basic arithmetic without distracting embellishments or fruitless search for understanding. Children learn the arithmetic facts, then learn to put those facts to work. That's the way arithmetic was taught until fifty years ago, when teaching methods changed and we began to lose our place in the world.

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A Typical Math Path Session
1. The Math Path computer program drills your child on specific groups of 9 facts. A timer keeps things lively. Printed Results Reports record the events and offer ongoing proof of continuing progress.

2. The computer generates worksheets that cover the same group of facts as the computer drills. Paper and pencil come into play. This is more memorization work disguised as problem-solving. It smoothly moves your child into the formal mathematical environment.

3. As your child approaches mastery of a set of facts (addition facts, for example) the computer generates worksheets of arithmetic problems. Your child now has begun a journey through formal mathematics, a journey that will continue for years. With a Math Path start, the journey can be comfortable and rewarding.

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Just as there is an optimum time to pick up reading skills, there is an optimum time to memorize arithmetic facts. If that time is wasted on other endeavors, then the growing and changing brain will not allocate space for the task. Memorization soon becomes painful and arduous. So start now and let the school take care of embellishments. Math Path is a terrific investment even if used only for mastering addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. That part of the Math Path Home Tutoring Program requires no tutoring skills at all.

Those of you who work with flash cards and children know that it is a one-on-one, labor intensive process in which the parent is in charge and the child is captive. The parent must be present for every moment of the activity. Math Path, in contrast, frees up the parent and empowers the child.

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"But," you say, "my child's school does a first-class job of teaching math. Kids there have got to learn their facts and be able to quickly and accurately solve problems."

Many parents who visit Math Path fall into this category. They send their children to very good schools. The reason they purchase products such as Math Path is because very good schools have competitive environments instead of feel-good environments. These parents look for products that will give their children a competitive edge. Math Path is perfect for that purpose. It allows Mom to smile sweetly when other parents inquire as to the secret of her Junior's success. Why, he's now at the top of his class in math drills!