During my career as a math teacher and principal, and as the Numeracy Supervisor, it is clear to me that mathematics is not a favorite subject of many students, teachers, and administrators.
There are many reasons for this view. Probably the most common reason for a poor perspective of math is our experiences in math during our schooling career. When math is treated as an elitist subject, with speed and accuracy being most important, this leaves many students feeling they are not capable of learning math. When teachers focus only on memorization, rules and procedures, math becomes boring and not very creative.
With this in mind, the numeracy priority for our school division wants to change the mindset of students, teachers, and school leaders. The message for students is ALL students can do math.
We also want to stress the creative parts of math when it comes to problem-solving. Students need to know that there are many ways to solve real-life math problems. The mindset also needs to change for computation and mental math. Memorization and procedures are needed to solve number operations up to a certain point, However, a deep understanding of number sense is more vital for our students.