I loved math, until I didn’t…
I loved math, until I didn’t. Isn’t that the case with everything? I remember sitting in Mrs. Picore’s 6th grade math class working on the math problems for that day. Everything was fine until I got to the story problems. I hated story problems and no one seemed to be able to make sense of them for me. So I sat there for a while before I decided I was stuck enough to get up and ask for help, something I did not like doing. The classroom was quiet except for the scratching noises of everyone’s pencils. I quietly walked up to Mrs. Picore’s desk leaned down and whispered that I needed help solving the story problem. I was stuck and I didn’t know how to solve it. I will never forget her disgust and annoyance. Without quieting her voice she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Why can’t you solve this story problem? Are you stupid or something?” Embarrassed to my core, I muttered, “No,” and fled back to the safety of my seat. That was the end of my math career. That was the last day I asked a question in class because I didn’t understand something. That was the day that shaped my attitude about education and teachers.
I learned I was not good at math that day. I learned that I wasn’t worth the time to teach.
And then I started homeschooling and I had to teach my kids math. It seriously felt like a cruel joke, a weird twist of fate, a disaster waiting to happen. There is nothing like having your kids looking at you like you are a math expert to bring back all the 6th grade feelings of inadequacy. Because I felt completely deficient of skills to impart any math knowledge to my kids I did the only reasonable thing. (haha - It’s going to sound a little strict, but hear me out!)
Math was non-negotiable. There were no stupid questions (like, ever!). We learned concepts. We filled out worksheets. We did speed drills. We took tests. We memorized multiplication tables. We did not skip math. We finished the whole book.
Now before you tell me that math can be learned through play, or by baking, or just ordering a pizza for lunch and rearranging the slices, I agree. Math can be visually taught in a variety of ways. We did all that. We even used legos to teach the concept of borrowing and magnetic money to learn how to count back change. But that doesn’t and shouldn’t keep you from actually doing the calculation of math. There is no substitute for that.
So my perceived failure in math certainly shaped how and how often my kids learned math but I don’t regret instilling the importance of the rigor of math.
Is there a point? Absolutely. I could have let my fear of failing at math keep me from homeschooling my kids. I could have given up when my kids wanted to take higher math and I didn’t have the time (or interest really) to learn it. But homeschooling is beautiful, humbling, forgiving and surprising. My oldest became a math tutor at 15 and has continued to tutor through college. It wasn’t me that taught him all he knows in math. I simply gave him the tools and the resources to succeed.
Don’t let anyone tell you, including yourself, that you can’t homeschool. By all respects I was a failure at math but all my kids are wildly successful.
Don’t be that homeschooler that doesn’t finish math. It’s too important.
Your friend in action and faith,
Karena
P.S. If you need help finding your curriculum style to find your math groove, check out my e-book, Road to Homeschool.
