White Trash Mom Flunks Out
Dear WTMs,
If I had to go back to 7th grade and if I had to take 7th grade math-----I would flunk out. Completely. My 7th grader, at her great new school, gets hellacious math homework. I am not only NOT a HELP to my daughter with her 7th grade math homework questions-----my advice actually caused her to miss several questions on a test.
I am 43...and I can't do 7th grade math. This should not be a surprise since I totally stink at math and if not for Microsoft Excel® and a calculator...I would pretty much be locked out of a job.
But this year, it's not like I can even look up the concept and help her with the problem she's stuck on. Now I look up stuff and I misunderstand it---and I tell her to do it incorrectly. HELP! OMG, I feel so very stupid. I really do.
Last night there was some hellish math AND then some science FORMULAS. By her bedtime, I needed a Tylenol PM. My head was pounding.
Give me your wisdom, WT sisters and brothers. I need to hear some good news. I need to hear that I am not the only one that would actually flunk 7th grade.
posted by queen of wt at 10/11/2006 04:22:00 AM
22 Comments:
I'm a middle school librarian. Kids come to the library to take tests when they've been absent. They ask me questions and I have no idea what they're talking about. I usually have to get them to explain it to me, which answers their question in a roundabout way... All this from someone who is very math proficient - I took AP Calculus in high school. Don't feel bad; do get your daughter a tutor.
When my hubby is OOT, I have to be the math/science helper. Not a pretty picture, believe me. Same story over here, and it only gets worse, I'm afraid. By the time you get caught up on the concepts by reading what they're covering (IF you can even grasp it...), the kid has already figured it out on her own.
Keep on keepin' on. You'll make it. But do brush up on the math. You're going to need it. :)
When my kids wail "why do we need to learn this junk?! We are never going to use it!!" I almost tell them the same reason I learned it - so they can help their kids with their homework. That is the only time I use my rather rusty math skills. My eldest took honors algebra and AP calculus. We had to hire a university student to tutor/help with homework. That stuff just about caused my head to explode. It was worth the money.
Dont feel bad. That happens alot. You have NO use for 7th grade math, so you forget how to do it.
My wife is in the same boat, she cant do math like that well, so it falls on me....
7th grade math?? I'm in the middle of failing 5th grade math!! Thank God my aunt is a retired 5th grade teacher or I'd be shelling out for a tutor too. Gee, I hope she can get us thru high school!
I don't think it's always the homework itself, I think it's the way the teachers assign it. For example, my 7th grader asked me to help her with her social studies last night. I read the chapter, and understood it, and then I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT THE TEACHER WANTED HER TO ANSWER FROM READING THE CHAPTER. His instructions made absolutely no sense. And I graduated from Duke. So, yeah, I'm 43 and I would fail 7th grade, too.
I would flunk 7th grade math, science, english, PE, etc!! I could barely get through roman numerals in 6th grade...thank goodnes sonce you sort of learned them you moved on and didn't have to sue them again. Hubbie will DEFINITELY be heloing daughter with math when she is 12...in 10 yrs. SCARY to me that "I" might have to be responsible for it.
If it weren't for my math whiz hubby, I'd be in the middle of failing 4th grade math. So, take comfort in knowing that you're not alone (besides being more mathematically skilled than me!).
I think it's because of the way math is taught now. It's not just 2+2=4. My kids have to explain in 500 steps including pictures how they came up with the answer.
My oldest keeps asking me geometry questions. Geometry is the one type of math totally over my head. Homework should come with alcohol.
This is why I married a man with an engineering major who's one class away from a Mathematic's degree. I'm so bad at math. I would flunk the 5th grade math tests.
Don't feel bad. I can't do 2nd grade math. The need to do the problem step by step, explain how you did it step by step, then draw a picture of what you did step by step. This as well as reading, spelling, vocabulary, and a journal every night. I always feel bad that with all this homework my kid is basically missing out on being a kid. Get home at 4, homework for an hour, a rushed supper, more homework, and then bed. It's nuts!
Ummm, ok well I would completely flunk 4th grade math - so I hope that makes you feel better. Ouch. It hurts just to say it.
Thank goodness for friends that are far better at it than I am!
It's not just you! I hate all math involving formulas. I made it pretty far in the math sequence, "back in the day", but the whole thing was painful. I know by the time Queen B needs math help, I'll be 20+ years past my last math class, and I'll be no help whatsoever.
I married a man with a Ph.D. in EE and undergraduate degrees in Physics, both math heavy fields. He is my children's math tutor. Not sure I could help them on my own, so all I can do is empathize.
My nephew (6th grade at the time) asked me to help him with his math. I looked at the book and went blind.
OMG I could have written that post. Just this morning my 10 year old wanted help with his math and I was clueless!
HAHAHAHA. I just wrote about the difficulty in helping my daughter with her 6th grade math. YOU MEAN IT GETS HARDER?
Thank you, all you wonderful wt peeps.
I so appreciate the input. I am totally going to have to
a)get a tutor
b)start drinking as homework begins
Nice, huh?
I don't have trouble with the math or the science, but some of those Religion questions, Oh heavens. I do much better with formulas than with morality lessons.
I'm laughing b/c my daughter is also in 7th grade and I think it is soooo cool when I get the same answer she does when we both sit down to do her work. It is really super cool when we check the answer in the back of the book and its the SAME! (Granted, those times are sometimes few and far between.)
I've started (in an effort to hide my ignorance), to have them come home and "teach me" what they did in math today (wink wink). I'm catching on now...
You think that's bad? I teach high school English. Which means I have a college degree involving the teaching of reading and writing. My son's first grade phonics homework is beyond me. They use a scripted program which comes with a parent guide. This means they know parents won't be able to help their 6-year-old kids with their homework without the aid of an answer key! There's something really wrong with that, imho.
It cannot have effect as a matter of fact, that's exactly what I suppose.
pet stores Toronto | London hotel | horny wives
Post a Comment
<< Home