April 13, 2007
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Algebra Agony
My son struggles with algebra. Eventually he gets it, but it takes time to work through the mistakes.
When I was a student, math was an easy chew and swallow which tasted delicious. The music-math connection helped, but I just adored the order and tidiness of equal signs. So now, when my student has muffed a problem, I have the capacity to whiz through it on the board and get to the answer in double quick time. This does not impress him. It presses him down.
The frustration level got so high a year ago February that I decided to change from 1 lesson of algebra/day to 1 hour/day. By eliminating the “rush” factor, we could concentrate on comprehension. It was a good temporary tactic which I, by default, gave permanent status. We are back to a lesson/day with a goal of mastery and completion by the end of June.
Effective teaching must be geared towards the student.As rudimentary as that is, I have missed the mark. Self-centered thoughts intrude: “Oh, I can do this; why can’t he?” I want to eradicate the little girl with her hand waving in the air, Miss Smarty Pants, wanting recognition and validation. Grow up. It’s not about me.
What does it take to be a good teacher? It takes patient observation, careful analysis, and well-devised corrective measures; it requires focus on the the student’s progress and improvement. A good pitching coach doesn’t have to throw 90 mph fastballs: he must be a good diagnostician. My son and I are working together to improve his work. As his scores and speed improve, confidence will propel attitude. He has read this post and permitted me to discuss it publicly. Thanks, dude!
Finally, here are two things I learned about teaching math in 1994, my first year of home schooling.
1. Do math early in the day.
2. Immediate feedback is essential.
Comments (11)
Well, I didnt think you were goofing off, but now I know for sure that you arent eating bonbons and watching Dr. Phil.
Blessings on the math lessons.
Dana in GA
Math is one of the first subjects we tackle each day–and you are right it does help! Gracen has taken easily to multiplication and division but subtraction stumps her still. Any suggestions?
Early and thorough (meaning immediate feedback). Worked in our case!
So THIS is where I left my mirror!
You know, I had a really hard time in math too. It was really the way my mind worked. For some reason the way it was explained to me just didn’t make sense. So, my suggestion is to wrack your brain and explain it more concretely and in different ways until he gets it. The challenge is actually fun at times. Another thing that really helped me was when a math major sat down with me and I got to really ask my questions. And my main quesitons were ‘why’ and ‘how’. Why/how does this work? He actually had to go to some of his calculus theorums to answer my questions but once I could see why and where it was going I could do the problems.
Just some thoughts from a slow math learner.
Hi Carol–you don’t know me, but i’m a friend of Melanie’s– What a gift you’re giving your son to work so diligently to help him NOT feel stupid because he doesn’t get math easily! Melanie can tell you about my son and math, she used to try to help him with his algebra. i’ve always been much more a word person rather than numbers–to me there is nothing neat and tidy about a number or an equal sign! i understand how those things are supposed to be finite and perfect and logical, but– So i know what a gift it is to take the time and expectation pressure off of your student, and make the learning the priority. You have a very fortunate son that you “get” that idea…
(This is regarding the subtraction, NOT the algebra.) For what it’s worth, one of the things that helped my kids was explaining the meanings of words. “Subtraction” sub- under; traction is from “traho” (where we get ‘tractor’ from) and it means “to drag”. So the idea is to “drag under” the part from the whole.
Carol, it was delightful to spend some time with you this weekend.
Oh yes, one more thought on the subtraction. Spend more time on addition. If the subtracting isn’t making sense, then get more familiar with the adding. 6 + 4= 10; 6 plus what equals 10? It is the principle of being able to go from the “known” to the “unknown”, from the familiar to the unfamiliar.
Just learning how to becoming a good teacher seems to win half of the battle for the students! I often struggle with “I get this, why don’t you!” Music and math often relate that way, particularly in regards to theory.
Oh, Carol, we share this struggle. I love math and my biggest frustation in homeschooling has been my inability to pass that love along to either of my children. In fact, they both struggle much more with math than anything else. Luke finally “got it” with math in college this fall when he HAD to perservere until he had a breakthrough. I fear that I have always done too much for them, to avoid their frustration (and I must admit, my own!) Cassie gets the rudiments but when we try to put them together she has a hard time knowing where to start. As we did a last-minute review last week before she took the ACT on Saturday, I was discouraged to realize how often she still struggled with knowing where to begin to solve a problem. Oy vey!
Ah, the memories of gnashing teeth and sweaty palms… my four resemble your son…Saxon Algebra killed all math interest… until I gave one the permission to concentrate on his SAT prep math. That was all the math he did. To the others, after suitable (read bare minimum here) scores were achieved, we concentrated on personal finances. I have two college grads, one college grad wannabe, and one who seems to manage her money well.
Being a good teacher also means knowing when to say,”That’s enough of that. There is some reading to do!”