Math at Home
May 3, 2020 16:48:54 #
Diocletian wrote:
But I wonder at that disrupting child's home life. Maybe we should also look at the origination of the problem instead of blaming the child?
Good point. There will always be disruptive students and children with no structure or other home issue, factors which don’t always go hand in hand. Just as with any profession there are teachers who shouldn’t be teachers and there is no viable “one size fits all” method of education. Nothing that impacts the wellbeing of society can be treated as if it exists in a vacuum...it’s all connected. Sometimes we can fix individual problems on a case by case basis and let the ripple effect carry it forward. Of course we can also throw up our hands an say “screw it. I’m good with what I got (sic). Let the rest of them figure it out for themselves.”
Just my opinion, of course.
May 3, 2020 17:28:13 #
AirWalter
Loc: Tipp City, Ohio
jederick wrote:
When I go to bed at night I thank the Lord for another day that I didn't have to use algebra!! 
I had a terrible time with algebra in school. Geometry was all A's and B's. Later in life I was going to a community college in a 2 year program, and we had to take all kinds of subjects to graduate. I was assigned to a young female teacher for algebra, and everyone said, OMG, she is terrible and really hard to deal with. We sure pity you having her. She made algebra so easy to understand that I had straight A's from her. And I got complements from her several times on work we hard to turn in. Subjects like that have an awful lot to do with the Teacher, and the attitude of the student.
May 3, 2020 17:52:03 #
In an ideal teaching situation the teacher would have the ability to identify the learning style of each student and teach to it. This hardly, if ever, happens. The best teachers make attempts but the syllabus, pressure from administrators, etc. often take precedence. Other teachers know only one way to teach and force their students to learn their way.
May 3, 2020 18:03:06 #
Diocletian wrote:
Why not do both?But I wonder at that disrupting child's home life. Maybe we should also look at the origination of the problem instead of blaming the child?
May 3, 2020 18:12:38 #
wrangler5
Loc: Missouri
Good plan but it's not the teacher's job - which is to teach 15-30 (?) kids long division (for example). NOT to fix one kid's home life.
May 3, 2020 18:18:12 #
wrangler5 wrote:
Good plan but it's not the teacher's job - which is to teach 15-30 (?) kids long division (for example). NOT to fix one kid's home life.
You’re right, it’s not the teacher’s job. But the teacher can point out what he/she observes and bring it to the attention of administrators who can work to bring the right person in to see if help can be provided.
May 3, 2020 18:25:54 #
May 4, 2020 00:38:02 #
Dikdik
Loc: Winnipeg, Canada
lamiaceae wrote:
Very, cool, that is what I would expect. Traditional 12th Grade Advanced Algebra or Calculus. 
I was a bit of a math kid... was working in advanced calculus in Grade 10... cut my teeth on non-linear, non-homogeneous differential equations... recently had a question to solve from an engineer in Nepal... had no idea who he was, but his dad worked with one of the best Architects I've worked with on the Kathmandu Airport... he needed to find the equation of the curve for post tensioned cable, knowing three points on the curve... used grade 12 simultaneous equations and came up with a solution for him... didn't even have to look up the method...
Dik
May 4, 2020 00:47:17 #
May 4, 2020 00:51:54 #
wrangler5 wrote:
Good plan but it's not the teacher's job - which is to teach 15-30 (?) kids long division (for example). NOT to fix one kid's home life.
I agree. Teachers are already overworked. But we, as a society, instead of blaming the attitude of the children, need to take a broader approach to the problem of education, rather than dismissing these kids as incorrigible. We keep taking money from education and social programs, and yet always have enough money to buy more weapons to kill people. What the f*(&@# ????
May 4, 2020 07:54:56 #
Diocletian wrote:
I agree. Teachers are already overworked. But we, as a society, instead of blaming the attitude of the children, need to take a broader approach to the problem of education, rather than dismissing these kids as incorrigible. We keep taking money from education and social programs, and yet always have enough money to buy more weapons to kill people. What the f*(&@# ????
👍
May 4, 2020 09:54:18 #
May 4, 2020 18:40:34 #
crushr13
Loc: Sacramento, CA
As a small kid, I was pretty good at math. And then I found BASEBALL!!! That got me to want to calculate batting averages, ERA, and more quickly and in my head, which greatly got me working hard to learn. And Algebra was just an extension of that somehow, and I just learned to love solving problems, which helped me in later life. I hated word problems, until I got late in high school and realized that a word problem was just taking the kinds of problems I liked solving in a way to get it to me and into my head to solve it. But I always loved math.
Now English and History were completely different problems for me (which I turned out to not be so good at). Oh, well.
Now English and History were completely different problems for me (which I turned out to not be so good at). Oh, well.
May 15, 2020 16:16:57 #
May 15, 2020 18:09:57 #
David in Dallas wrote:
Why not do both?
Our experience has been that many teachers are not willing to think how the 'exceptional' student thinks - so some students give up before anyone has time to discover how smart they really are.
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