Ask the Expert: What do I say when my child asks, 'When will I need to know this?'

We spoke to Jayanthi Raghunath,  director and instructor of the Kumon Math and Reading Centers of Spring Valley and New City, to find out more about the roles parents play in motivating kids and helping them understand why school work is a personal investment.

What is your best answer to the age-old question from kids when it comes to schoolwork: When will I ever need to know this? in the real world?

It depends on the child’s age and what [subject] you’re trying to talk about. You explain things according their age and comprehension. It’s very important for teachers to talk to them about it as their going on with their education from grade to grade. I think it’s particularly helpful if teachers are able to correlate things to them.

If its and elementary school child asking “Why am I learning addition?” it’s easy to tell the child that when they go to the store they’ll need to know how much they’re buying items for. They’ll want to know the correct change for the money they’re giving, so they need to know subtraction. 

If we’re talking about middle school work, for an example you’d talk about when they’re older and want to buy a house. They’ll need to price their mortgages and figure out all their monthly costs, they’ll need all of the percentages they’ll be studying in middle school. If they go to buy a car, is it leasing or buying the car that’s the better option? If they finance, what percentage of interest will it add to the cost of the car? 

What if my child is less than enthused about subjects other than math?

History is a subject that actually makes things happen. Why are we in this world of computer-based work now? Where were we 50 years ago? Where were we 20 years ago?  How things are changing, technology—that’s all part of history. We have independence here. Who brought this independence to our country? What wars went on to finally achieve the kind of life children enjoy? These are things that, as they mature, they have to understand. There may not be a practical application in their mind. History may not be their best subject. It may not be their favorite subject to study at this point, but as they grow older their going to be using this kind of knowledge to appreciate what’s going on around them. 

Their English and Language arts are the most important. They need to be able to understand what they are reading. When they are speaking they’ll want to use grammatically correct English, so they need grammar. Their vocabulary has to be very strong; otherwise conversations will become boring with simple words. As they grow older they have to write résumés that are absolutely perfect to give a description of themselves with they apply for jobs. If they’re in a marketing job, communication is all through text. Even if they want something like a TV job—if they’re going to be scriptwriters—they need to have strong language skills.