Claiming Mathematics for Our Children ▲ joymath.me

How Families and Communities Can Redefine Math Learning Beyond Institutions

Why Claim Math?

Mathematics has come to feel like something “owned” by schools. Families are often expected to reinforce the school’s mission, practicing math facts, following specific methods, or assisting with homework that can feel like a test for the parent as much as the child. Communication tends to be one-way, with schools essentially saying, “Here’s what you need to do to support our goals.”

But what if families were invited into a deeper, ongoing conversation? “What are your ideas about math, and how can we bring them into the classroom?” Too often, math is framed as a subject of rules and procedures, something confined to textbooks and classrooms. But math has never belonged to schools alone, it belongs to all of us. It’s not just about passing tests or meeting benchmarks; at its core, math is a way of thinking, exploring, and making sense of the world.

At the heart of math is mathematical reasoning, the ability to think critically, identify patterns, and solve problems, yet this is often overlooked. When we focus only on getting the right answers, we miss the bigger picture: math is not just a set of skills to master, but a powerful tool for understanding and navigating our world.

Families and communities have the power to embrace math on their own terms, claiming it as a source of joy, creativity, and connection. That opportunity is within reach for all of us.

The Problem: A One-Way Street

Math education debates often center on questions like, Should schools prioritize procedural fluency or conceptual understanding? These debates dominate policy papers and social media, sidelining the largest stakeholders: families and students. Schools try to address this through “family engagement” initiatives, asking parents to tutor, supervise homework, or implement at-home curricula. While well-intentioned, these approaches cast families in a passive, supportive role, reinforcing institutional goals instead of empowering families to lead their own math experiences.

For many families, this leads to confusion, frustration, and alienation. Phrases like, “That’s not how the teacher wants me to do it” echo in homes. Homework becomes a battleground, and math morphs into something to endure rather than enjoy. This creates a cycle of anxiety and avoidance passed down through generations. But there is a better way. With the right tools, perspective, and support, families can claim math as a meaningful, joyful part of their lives.

The Art Metaphor

In his essay A Mathematician's Lament, Paul Lockhart compares math learning to art. He highlights an important truth: we don’t put expectations on children that they must first be able to use appropriate colors or draw a straight line or be inherently gifted in art before they are allowed to spend time enjoying activities such as drawing, painting, or playing with clay. Anyone can engage with art. Similarly, you don’t need to be a mathematician to puzzle, explore, or play with math. Math is for everyone and anyone can engage in mathematics.

Yet in schools, math is often treated as a rigid, product-oriented process. Standards are designed as a linear progression, with each grade building on the last. The goal is for students to graduate equipped with a uniform set of mathematical tools for further studies. While this structure ensures accountability, it leaves little room for joy, wonder, or curiosity. Far too often, it results in students feeling relieved they will never have to engage with math again, failing to spark a lifelong love of learning. This raises a deeper question: What is school really for?

The Food Metaphor

Too often, math is framed as a subject of rules and procedures, something confined to textbooks and classrooms. But math has never belonged to schools alone, it belongs to all of us. It’s not just about passing tests or meeting benchmarks; at its core, math is a way of thinking, exploring, and making sense of the world.

To illuminate the path forward of claiming mathematics, let me share a metaphor. Imagine math as the food served at a fancy restaurant. A great deal of thought and planning has gone into the menu, but it’s a fixed, set menu, you get what you’re served. You eat it because it’s placed in front of you, and maybe it’s even nutritious, but many children leave the table with bellies full of math they don’t know how to digest. The learning doesn’t sit well with them because each child has unique needs, and the set menu doesn’t account for their individual “diet.”

Families are often left frustrated, either with their child for struggling to “digest” the material or with schools for not offering a buffet of choices to suit everyone’s needs. Meanwhile, public school teachers, faced with diminishing resources and impossible expectations, simply cannot provide a daily buffet of math learning for every student.

So, what’s the solution? A potluck.

This metaphor illustrates how families and communities can take an active role in math learning, not just by contributing, but by engaging in a meaningful partnership with schools.

Families cook up some math first, exploring numbers, patterns, and problem-solving in their daily lives. They measure and compare in the kitchen, analyze household data, play games, and uncover cultural and workplace math. They digest the math, making sense of it in ways that are personal and relevant. Then, they bring their best version of their “math dish” to the school potluck, not just to share, but to contribute to a richer, more collaborative learning experience where ideas, strategies, and perspectives are explored together.

Many parents feel unsure about how to support their child’s math learning beyond schoolwork. But mathematical reasoning like thinking critically, recognizing patterns, and solving problems, isn’t just for classrooms. It happens in the wild: observing the weather, playing strategy games, building a budget, planning family projects, and in everyday conversations.

These experiences are valuable, and when families explore mathematical reasoning together, they aren’t just reinforcing school lessons, they’re expanding what math can be. At school, these homegrown math ideas become more than just artifacts; they serve as tools for comparison, data for analysis, and new strategies for problem-solving. The classroom transforms into a dynamic space where students, teachers, and families collaborate in shaping math learning as a deeply human endeavor, one that is flexible, creative, inclusive, and enriched by our diverse experiences.

Math Belongs to Everybody

For generations, institutions have framed math as a school subject, rigid, intimidating, and disconnected from daily family life. But math has always been so much more. It’s a universal language of patterns, logic, and creativity, with deep roots in family and community life.

Math is the rhythm of a song, the symmetry of a snowflake, the growth of a sunflower, and the ratios in a recipe. It’s the art of problem-solving, the language of patterns, and the key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. Math bridges ideas, helps us make sense of the world, and serves as a creative playground for exploration. Most importantly, math belongs to everyone. Like the architecture Pablo Neruda celebrated in a lemon mathematics is waiting to be discovered and rediscovered by each of us, ready to be applied creatively to our unique challenges.

When you claim math, you’re not just helping your children succeed in school, you’re embracing it for yourself as a tool for curiosity, connection, and empowerment. By creating and modeling positive math experiences (just like modeling reading), you build confidence and joy, opening the door to lifelong learning.

As we transition from the industrial age to the digital information age, this transformation is more important than ever. Math is no longer just about mastering formulas. It is about thinking critically, solving complex problems, and engaging creatively with the world and the people around you. You have the power to redefine what math means, and to make it meaningful for future generations.

The Vision: A New Way Forward

Claiming math is not about abandoning schools. It complements, expands, and responds to what they offer. It is about creating math experiences that are personal, meaningful, and joyful.

Imagine a world where math learning begins at home, shaped by each family’s unique perspectives, knowledge, and skills. Families engage in math-rich activities; solving puzzles, creating art, playing strategy games, applying math to budgets, and venturing out into the wild math of nature.

Children bring this rich foundation to school, where they collaborate with peers, share insights, and work through challenges together. Through discussion and exploration, they build a deep, flexible understanding of math, one that carries them beyond the 2D world of paper into the rhythms of daily, multidimensional life. Math shifts from a distant subject to a living presence, not just something they'll (maybe) use someday, but something they already use every day.

Beyond the classroom, math lives in the community, at the grocery store, in libraries, at farmers’ markets, and even at bus stops. When families and communities claim math, it transforms into a shared journey, woven into daily life and full of possibility.

Success in math isn’t just about mastering algorithms or acing tests, it’s about developing essential skills like:

Critical Thinking: Breaking down complex problems.
Resilience: Embracing challenges as part of learning.
Creativity: Discovering innovative solutions.
Confidence: Trusting in your ability to figure things out.

When families and communities engage as true partners in math learning, with shared ownership of the process, math becomes a powerful tool for understanding and shaping the world, something to celebrate, not just endure. Together, we create a world where math is accessible, engaging, and meaningful for everyone.

Call to Action: Claiming Math Together

I invite you to claim math in your home and spark a new way of thinking about it in your family. Start with small actions that ignite curiosity and connection:

Ask, “Where did you notice math today?”
Explore puzzles or strategy games together.
Reflect on how math shows up in daily life; measuring, planning, or organizing.
Choose a regular object, like a soccerball or a pair of shoes, and ask, “What’s mathematical about this?”

These simple steps breathe life into math. Claiming math is more than helping kids "succeed" in school. It's about igniting the joy, wonder, and creativity math brings to our lives. It's about empowering families and communities to make reasoning and mathematical thinking part of everyday life, not just for today, but as a lasting inheritance.

Claiming Mathematics for Our Children