Remember when you hated math class in school? Have you seen people tremble and cry in exasperation when it comes to math?
According to most peoples’ perceptions, math is all about complicated formulas and calculations which are almost never used in their day-to-day. But math is actually a universal language that is applied in almost every aspect of life.
One of Scott Flansburg’s personal missions is to use education to elevate math confidence and self-esteem in adults and children. In this episode, we talk about Scott’s coaching practice, unlocking the secret to numbers to improve mental calculation skills, and inspiring kids to learn this original way to think about math.
A bit about Scott:
Since about 1990, Scott Flansburg has regularly given lectures and presentations at schools. He has been a presenter at organizations such as NASA, IBM, The Smithsonian Institution, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the Mental Calculation World Cup. The latter described Flansburg as “more an auditory than a visual [mental] calculator”.
One of Flansburg’s “personal missions” is to use education to elevate math confidence and self-esteem in adults and children. “Why has it become so socially acceptable to be bad at math?”, he’s stated. “If you were illiterate, you wouldn’t say that on TV, but you can say that you are bad at math. We have to change the attitude.” He believes students should become proficient with calculation methods rather than relying on table memorization.
Scott is the creator of The Counting Bee™, an annual STEM competition open for K-12 students at all public, private, charter, and home schools. Its inaugural competition was held on November 8, 2018, in Arizona.
Where you can find them:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thehumancalculator/
Website: https://scottflansburg.com/
Where you can listen to this episode:
iTunes
Stitcher
Spotify
YouTube