I was ambushed by algebra when I walked in the door.
“Hi Mom,” my oldest said. “Can you help me with this?”
She had to identify the variables and write the equation. When was the last time I did this? It wasn’t remarkably difficult and she got it with a little prompting. I said,
“That was kinda fun. It was like a puzzle.”
Eye roll
It occurs to me that I am reaching the ceiling of helping my kids with math. I never took anything higher than Algebra 1 and Geometry. A few years ago when I was at my sister’s, her daughter asked if I could help with a math problem.
“Sure!” I responded enthusiastically, flattered that she asked.
That pride quickly deflated when she showed me the problem. Synthetic division. Was this the polyester/rayon version of the denim algebra I was familiar with? I read back through the section. whoa. I was further behind than I realized. I could not help her in the time I had. I would need to take a class first.
I pointed out her options:
Take a stab at it and be sure to ask the teacher tomorrow
Phone a friend
Call Grandpa
Calling Grandpa is a desperate measure, although I’m sure he knows synthetic division – and not just that it needs to be tumble-dried on a low temperature setting.
My niece chose option number one.
I went home and remember to shift the laundry.
Big Changes
7 years ago
10 comments:
Just wait till your child comes back with her answer marked wrong.
I had that happen a few years ago. We worked on a similar problem then had my son work on the actual problem. I even made sure he plugged in some real numbers to make sure the equations actually worked.
The reason it was marked wrong is the method I taught my son was not the method she wanted used.
WHAT?
That right, we had the right answer but it was counted wrong because we hadn't used her method.
As someone who uses math quite extensively in my daily business, you can probably imagine how I was a touch perturbed.
TAG
I am about to reach my ceiling too - altho I did take Algebra 2, I don't remember any of it. I am fortunate to be married to a "math-head," who had no trouble helping J, our neighbor down the street, when he had trouble w/geometry last year. Our daughter seems to have inherited the math gene - got Bs in Algebra last year w/o much effort. (Imagine if she'd given it some!)
And a comment to TAG - yes, this is the new thing, they want the kids to only do problems a certain way. I was reading something just yesterday about how the current method of teaching math stifles those students who are able to "think outside the box" in problem-solving.
Thank goodness my husband is the math guy in the family, I can wade my way through to a certain level, then it's a foreign language. I did take and pass a year of college calculus, don't speak that any more.
What continuously astonishes me is the number of cashiers who can add when their registers go down.
Oye, MATH. I don't have the math gene. Thankfully my kids do and maybe one day they can support me in my old age.
And teachers are unfortuantely wanting their method used. I don't agree with it either.
I reached the Math ceiling when my oldest was in third grade.
Don't forget to add the Downy. You get points off if you don't.
I am so thankful to see some of these comments. I am struggling to help my 8th grader. I thought I had just not retained ANYTHING that I had learned in school, and math was my favorite subject. So it is nice to see that I am not the only one having issues keeping up with this.
What I don't understand is, what was wrong with the way WE learned math? The answer is the same in the end.
Oh wow. Now I feel like I am becoming my mother.....
I remember her saying....Back in the day...
Oh no!! :-)
We had math meltdown this week. Scientific notation. I knew how to figure out the answers...just not the way that the teacher did...and they had to show their work. Turns out that noone else understood either and it all ended well ....but not before there were many tears before going to bed.
Whose tears?
No one likes being forced into a box; apparently not even some numbers.
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