I was watching the news the other day and the statistic that was flashing on the screen was nothing less than shocking. It said 66% of kids in American grade 8 classes could not do math. 66%! After I let the news "sink in", I started to ask myself questions such as "why is this happening?", then the more powerful question, "what can we possibly do about it?" I've pondered these questions before, but it seems that the solution, one revolving around math comic strips, is more important now than it has ever been.
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.
Math comic strips is dedicated to providing comic books that will help our kids learn math. Our flagship product is a "superhero" comic in which the hero (a mere human really) is able to solve problems and crimes via his superior math skills. Now how did he come across this math ability? He acquired it simply by doing his homework over the years. We are hoping that as kids read of the adventures of this "superhero" they will be inspired to do their homework just like he did...
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.
Math comic strips is dedicated to providing comic books that will help our kids learn math. Our flagship product is a "superhero" comic in which the hero (a mere human really) is able to solve problems and crimes via his superior math skills. Now how did he come across this math ability? He acquired it simply by doing his homework over the years. We are hoping that as kids read of the adventures of this "superhero" they will be inspired to do their homework just like he did...
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Learn more about Math Comic Strips. Stop by Matthew Smith's site where you can find out all about free math comics, and what they can do for you. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
