The Blessing of the Challenge….
“I HATE math!” Michelle shrieked out this morning. Of course, a great sense of compassion welled up in my soul. Math has absolutely brought me to tears….just about a month ago, while trying to help Ben with a math problem, I spent well over an hour struggling and finally ending up near tears!
When the kids get hung up on their assignments it is usually in my best interest to send them to “The Mathmagician”. Yes, that is how I refer to Mark. He hasn’t done anything extraordinary to deserve this name….he *merely* understands math! And, he is a hard-nosed when it comes to th kids understanding it as well!
Last year, all of Michelle’s friends declared they were “finished” with math and taking “Consumer Math” as their last year’s coursework. Feeling no love for math and certainly wanting to make Michelle happy, I was willing to go along the path of lesser resistance!
When Michelle proposed her idea to Mr. Mathmagician, he gave her a resounding “NO!”. I felt so sorry for poor sweet little Michelle. How could he, after all, expose our little daughter to the (shudder) nightmare that is called “Precalculus”?
Just a short time ago, Michelle called out that she COULD do her math! She was so excited and I suddenly came to a new revelation….Even as Michelle is exposed to the “bear” of mathematics, she is learning such a valuable lesson in real life. She is not only learning to solve what seem meaninglessly extreme math problems, she is learning to resolve real life problems. Her ability to seek information to help her solve math will help hone her skills to be able to solve life situations when they confront her!
Wow….and I thought an old dog could never learn new tricks! Here I am….Michelle’s mom….and my eyes were opened today! Perhaps I should take a math course?
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I’ve always liked maths (note the anglicisation) and, for a long time, couldn’t understand how there could be folk who didn’t like or understand it.
I had a starting point and a finishing point and only had to logically work out the path between them.
Then I met up with those who could leap from start to finish without quite being aware of how they did it (intuition).
It takes all sorts.
Erin is a mathmagician. I was watching her take her standardized test the other day and was baffled at how she arrived at the correct answer many times. She has a keen understanding of math concepts that eluded me until I was in high school. She frequently frustrate both Kyle and Sarah by answering problems that I pose to them that cause them to have to think. While they are thinking, she is answering. Nothing like being show up by little sister!
I was OK at maths, but if I didn’t get anything my dad was definitely the mathmagician. He was also the physicsmagician (I definitely *wasn’t* OK at physics, that’s for sure!) – able to explain it in a way that made sense, which was more than the teacher seemed to manage!
Consumer math for me! That’s probably why I like cashiering though. I can make change in my sleep! Often I’ll quiz Mikey in the strore as to how much change we have coming back. He’s “getting” it *big smile* but he’s into his 9th grade math.. intermediate algebra. You start mixing my letters and number and forget it! My letters belong in my English class! LOL
I was never able to grasp the concept of letters in there. Sherm on the other hand will sit and do math for fun. I once came across a sheet of paper where he had done … I think the volume of air.. He took up almost the whole paper and he just wanted to do it… no reason for it. But I can still make change faster than him
Well, as a person who helps teachers teach math better this is very interesting to me! I had not idea math was a problem for you! Consumer math is OK for those students where it is the best option BUT it is so nice for you daughter to really understand math then be able to make a real decision not just avoiding something!
hehehe, Bill….the first time I saw the anglicized word “maths”, I thught perhaps the writer had accidentally added the “s’! Maths? How many? I mulled this one for a great long time, coming to the conclusion the pluralization MUST refer to the several disciplines of “math”. Goodness, we all speak English, and yet, so differently!
I have always been of the mindset that math(s) come(s) more easily to males than females. I know that many would like to claim there is little difference in male/female thinking. I am convinced, however, that men think more with their heads, while women think with their hearts. I know there are exceptions, but God created hunters/gatherers and nurturers. Men just seem to understand concepts that the average woman might find a little “different”. However, having said that, I do amaze Mark when he is explaining how things might “fit together”. Having sewn for many years, I can follow right along. This amazes him. Unfortunately for me, I have a very “artsy” bent, meaning that logic generally goes out the window. Not so great for debating! (or downright arguing!!!)
Carly, Ben is very math-inclined, although he thinks he *should* hate math. Last night, I was helping him out and he needed to reduce a fraction. I used the calculator and before I was finished, he had the answer of “17″, which was correct…..
Terri, see second paragraph above! I remember taking algebra in 8th grade and it totally threw me over the edge. The teacher made me come in for help and once he explained, one on one, the lightbulb suddenly went off! THEN and only then did letters make sense in math statements!
BTW, I can often get the correct (notice I did NOT say “right”?) answer for a math question. I can sometimes do this by using my own concepts and ideas. They are never quite the techniques advocated…..I am somewhat sure this might be related to my left-handedness, which I am also certain plays a major part in my math-anxieties!!!!!!
Oh, Frances, as I was writing my (rather verbose) reply above, I suddenly saw your comment after hitting the “submit” button! Yes, math is my downfall….I never quite understood the concepts, although I manage fairly well. Ben is currently doing a lot of factoriztion and that, I love! It is fun reducing numbers to their primes. Yeah, I know, that is about third grade level math!!!! hahaha