Culture Post: 1 in 3 Parents ‘Feel Ill’ When Trying to Help Their Kids with Math & Science

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on ScienceDaily.

Generally speaking, parents are supposed to know more than their young children. That isn’t the case when it comes to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) topics, however, according to a new survey. A group of parents with kids between the ages of five and 13 years old took part in this research. Incredibly, a third admit that the very thought of having to answer a STEM-related question for their kids leaves them feeling ill.

Put together by The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London, the survey reports that 48 percent of parents don’t even know what “STEM” stands for. Meanwhile, half the poll say their children know more about science than they do. A similar number of moms and dads say the same regarding technology (44%), engineering (25%), and math (38%) knowledge.

The survey, conducted by OnePoll, also quizzed parents about some common scientific and tech terms, with some telling results. Just under four in five are unfamiliar with the term “Boolean logic,” 46 percent don’t know what binary code is, 68 percent can’t define a hexadecimal, and 64 percent are in the dark about Raspberry Pi technology.

It’s somewhat understandable for parents to be unfamiliar with new, emerging STEM trends and terms, but what about the topics they themselves learned in school? Again, the findings didn’t reflect too kindly on mom and dad. Over half couldn’t remember what photosynthesis is and 68 percent can’t even recall Pythagoras’ theorem. Another 54 percent can’t remember how to solve long division problems.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/parents-kids-math-science/

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