I used to fear math, and I worried my attitude would affect my daughter's outlook toward learning numbers. This was a needless worry, because today Cora is a math tutor to older teens. Cora and I overcame many negative attitudes about math by writing this column, because we focus on new topics each week, and we search for answers to questions we might not have asked otherwise. However, I also believe our leap into investing also helped establish many positive attitudes toward quantitative literacy.

Literacy is the ability to read and write, and - as U. S. citizens - we are provided with opportunities to learn both language and math skills. Quantitative literacy is essential for us to understand everyday issues that involve mathematical ideas or numbers, or quantitative information. The process of interpreting this information is called quantitative reasoning, and this is where many of us fail to grasp concepts. Why? Most of us seem to have a natural affinity for math reasoning when we're children. We love puzzles and we take pride in learning how to count. How do we become teens and adults who fear math? Can we recognize a time in our lives when math became a burden, rather than a joy?

I know where my problem began. My fifth-grade algebra teacher had a voice that hurt my ears. No one believed me when I explained that this person's voice grated on my nerves (and I now wonder if it was the voice or the information the voice was delivering), so I failed that course because I shut the teacher out. Unfortunately, I had to repeat the same course the following year under the same instructor. From that moment, I refused to take math seriously. I was going to be an artist, and artists don't need to understand numerical riddles. This is a fine example of a lack of quantitative reasoning, because I had no clue how often artists use math in their work.

Misconceptions, fears, and negative attitudes about math can take many forms, but they all have the same results?in the end, we don't trust our own abilities, and this math-negative attitude creates barriers to positive life experiences. On February 9, 1990 The Wall Street Journal published "Education: The Knowledge Gap," a supplement that displayed skill-level requirements for various employment. A laundry worker, for instance, is required to understand no more than level "1" capabilities in language or math level skills. This lowest language level represents a person who recognizes about 2,500 two- or three-syllable words, reads at a rate of 95-120 words per minutes, and writes and speaks simple sentences. At this lowest math level, a person adds or subtracts two-digit numbers, and can conduct simple calculations with money, volume, length, and weight.

On the other hand, biochemists, computer engineers, and mathematicians are all required to master the highest levels of both language and math skills. This level "6" person reads (and comprehends) literature, reviews, scientific and technical journals, financial reports, legal documents, and can write editorials, speeches, and critiques. Mathematically, this person works comfortably with advanced calculus, statistics, modern algebra, and econometrics (the application of statistical methods to the study of economic data and problems).

Granted, most of our children will fall somewhere between the laundry worker and the biochemist (although if they want to be laundry workers, that's fine - as long as they are happy and they understand they will never make as much money as a biochemist). Perhaps they want to be a retail store manager, or a management trainee, or an athlete's agent. These folks are required to attain a level "4" in language and math. Language skills at this level include the ability to read novels, poems, newspapers, and manuals. They can prepare business letters, summaries, and reports, and they are capable of participating in debate and panel discussions. Mathematically, they understand basic geometry and algebra and can calculate discounts, interest rates, profit and loss, markup, and commissions. However, they also understand true quantitative reasoning, along with logic, problem solving, ideas of statistics and probability and modeling.

These comparisons are helpful, but they might seem intimidating to the person who truly fears numbers. It helps to remember that, in spite of the right brain/left brain theory, people who are "better" at the arts can become excellent mathematicians if they practice math. Most people are capable of understanding enough about math to develop informed and reasoned opinions, too. Math does not make us less sensitive to the romantic or aesthetic aspects of life - in fact, the use of quantitative reasoning is creative by its very nature. The further we delve into mathematical probabilities, the less we can be sure of an answer. However, in spite of this uncertainty in both ourselves and the quantitative problems in life, math is totally relevant to everything we do.

We can help the children and teens in our lives to continue their enjoyment of math when we invite them into our lives outside the classroom. For example, we can help them achieve a level "3" in math capabilities just by building a portfolio. Through investments, our children learn about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They also learn about graphs and units of measure. They begin to understand how to compute ratios, rates, and percentages. Interest, discounts, profit and loss, markups and commissions are also part and parcel of a personal finance education.

Additionally, our children also begin to learn language skills when we involve them with the stock market. When they become interested in a company and its equities, they learn to read and comprehend financial reports, newspaper and journal articles, and how to tackle legal documents. Before we know it, our children could actually become self-confident math tutors. The added bonus is that we - as parents - might develop a positive attitude about math, too.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin