How to teach math to a kid who doesn't want to learn?
My daughter is 11 and will soon be 12. She is now in the 6th grade. She has had the same problem. She made B's and C's in the 3rd grade but when it came to the 4th, she suddenly "forgot" everything. In my state, all children leaving the 4th grade have to take a "leap test." They must pass this test to pass to the 5th grade. I was so worried about her not passing the test, but she had a remarkable teacher and she was able to pass the leap test with a basic score. Not below average, but average. Last year in the 5th grade, she was having the same problem. She did not have to take the leap test last year to pass. She passed, but barely. She also did not have a teacher that cared and I think the teacher just gave her passing grades to get her out of 6th grade. Again, same thing this year. She still does not know her time tables as well as she should despite me going over them with her every day for the past 3 years. We even went so far as to have her write them 10 times each everyday then did flash cards with her. She just can't grasp the concept of math. I have talked to her principal and vice principal about this and they tell me that because she makes A's and B's in all her other classes and she was doing average in math, to just continue to work with her and hope she "gets it." To me this is unacceptable and she should "get it" before moving on. But they just don't care anymore. They move on whether they get it or not. If you find a solution to your problem, please share it with me so I can help me daughter as well. My email address is dollfacedbaby1@yahoo.com. I don't understand it because I always made A's and B's in math. Good luck.
Why do I get so fustrated when I am helping my son with his 2nd grade homework??
First, congradulations for being caring and concerned after an obviously long day as a single parent. It sounds like you have already tried and are "textbook" in the great ways you have tried breaking a task down. My experience in teaching tells me that there is quite possible something more going on with your child's inablilty to grasp a concept. Children of this age are still very naturally inquisitive and really, really desiring to learn and to please their teachers and parents. So, the next step I would explore if I were in your situation, would be to talk to the counsler at your child's school and ask if they could help you and perhaps do some preliminary testing with your child to rule out a learning disablity. Remember, a child can be extremely intelligent and still have an area that they struggle with. In fact, the higher the IQ , the more likely it is that their extra abilities will mask and compensate for a disablity. Now, we are able to really pinpoint areas of differences in learning and help a child with some very minor or moderate adjustments in the classroom that could help not only a particular child, but many others in the classroom as well. By taking the initiative to explore different possiblitities and to be your child's advocate, you will send a strong and never-to-be-forgotton message of support and love to your child that you will be there to champion them through not only successes but also their struggles as well. I can tell from your question that you are a caring parent that wants your child to succeed and are doing and have done as much as a parent can do to help. Just as you said, you are a single mom and cannot and should not have to do this alone. Use your energy to seek out resources and help and do it now! Your child cannot do this for themselves at this age and therefore needs you to call out the forces to rally around him/her that have the resources to get to the issues affecting them and holding he or she back. Stay strong in your resolve and dedication and get some reinforcements not only for your child, but for yourself too!
I addressed my own issues and stopped listening to people who invade into my and my child ‘personal space’. I stopped giving these people a benefit of a doubt. I accepted the fact that there was something very wrong about things I was taught to pay my attention to, and dealt with it.I believe in him at all costs and do not presuppose his failures and inabilities. It is not for me to judge - he was even given the name to constantly remind me about it.I stand tall for my child. I do not allow negative judgement into his life. He needs a positive direction. It does not matter who they are - they cannot possibly know better how I or my son should do things if they haven’t lived our lives. I stopped spending my energy on these pieces of advice. I am thankful for any advice given, but do not allow them to interfere with our lives. I accepted the fact that no matter how hard I would try I cannot design something in my child that he was not meant to be.I consistently temper his independent thinking and his lifestyle. I teach him about healthy rest, healthy entertainment, healthy nutrition, healthy activity, healthy schedule. I step back if he resists - he will be making mistakes and he will learn from them. I bring his attention to the consequences of his mistakes and to what went well nevertheless, not to the mistakes themselves. Then we move on.My child comes first no matter how it affects me. I will suffer for him. I will strain myself. He just needs some space to grow up a balanced individual with his own choices, his own interests, his own vision. Productivity is given when he has freedom of choice, allowed to take responsibility for his actions and always has my guidance when he needs it.Thank you for A2A Justin Dobbs!
How do you keep from getting frustrated when you help your child with homework?
Throw out the homework and go to the zoo. Seriously. I too home school my child, so I will confidently advise you to take your child from the group and run. Now. While home schooling styles vary from family to family and child to child, the reason for doing it should always be to teach the child in a way that works best for him or her. The group you described sounds incredibly stifling and really no better than public school. What's the point of making your daughter do addition drills if she's not ready for or interested in them? You're getting frustrated, she isn't learning... it's a lose - lose. Try something different tomorrow, which may be easier said than done. Ask her if she would like to do some addition - in her own way. If she does, great. If she doesn't, that's also fine. Spend the day - the week - hell, the rest of the month - deschooling your daughter. Make no deadlines or mandatory work. Instead, let her follow her own interests. Read loads of books, make regular trips to the library, go to museums and zoos, draw, paint, and just play. That's how children learn best, after all. If, after you've taken a good break from the math drills, you would like to try lessons again, reintroduce them gradually and gently. Be sure to let your daughter have a say in what she learns and how she learns it. And do remember to be flexible. There is nothing wrong with taking a break from lessons or stopping in the middle to completely change a plan that just isn't working. Look, I know it's difficult to scrap every idea of what education "should" be when you're a former traditional schooler. It's really difficult and terribly frightening at first to imagine an education without grades, curriculum goals, and standardized tests. I assure you that your daughter will be just fine, though, and will most likely do far better in a relaxed environment tailored to meet her needs than if she were in public school. All the best to you. *ETA* I thought I'd throw in this link: http://www.unpluggedmom.com/blog/a-word-...
Poll! What do you hate the most about school?
1) I hate how early school is, I have lived and been raised by third shifters my whole life. 2) I hate how a lot of my time in school is wasted. 3) I hate how many productive things I miss out on because I'm at school (work, exercise, volunteer, read, learn about things I actually like, going out with friends, meeting other people that are not in high school, party, etc.) 4) I hate school lunch. It's not healthy or fulfilling. And it's expensive. 5) I hate how even in school, being rich gives you more of an opportunity. Why do wealthier people get into better colleges? Because they could afford a private teacher to help them prep for their ACT. That's just one of the many examples 6) I hate the stupid rules. You have to ask to go to to bathroom, use a pass, can't turn in stuff late, you get suspended if you miss too many days, a nail clipper is a weapon... What are we, five years old? 7) I hate how many students are complete idiots. 8) I hate life enough during adolescence and school just makes it worse. That's why high school is the time people start getting in to drugs. 9) I hate our parking lots. Too many young licenses in such a close vicinity, it's a hot mess. 10) I hate drama. Seeing everyone you talk to in one place makes everything spread ten times faster than it actually does in real life; drama is inevitable. 11) No matter what they say, it is really hard to graduate. You have to have enough time to do projects, essays, homework, and a good support system at home. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't have that. 12) I hate how restricted my mind is in school. I can't think outside the box or even doodle in class for that matter. It's my senior year and I feel like I should have been done four years ago.
The easiest solution I see to this is to train your mind.Let's understand this, all our actions, activities, suggestions, opinions are derived from our past experiences.Our mind attaches PLEASURE or PAIN to every task /activity we perform. When we do the same activity next time, our mind quickly reacted to it to make us feel the pleasure or pain in doing a task we plan have to do.We need to change or fix this in our mind and it happens slowly but mind can be trained slowly.Lets start it this way, What needs to be done is, think about the activity let's say homework .Think about all the pain that you have to go through immediately and in near future if don't do it.Then think about all the pleasures and benefits you have in not doing it.Take a paper and just think and writeExample: if I won't do homework it's gone look bad in class… bad image of me… this becomes a habit….. will lag behind in class and studies…. Bad in exam…. Etc etc….Benefit: the time you will save from not doing it will mostly probably be killed or will be spent in wasting time…What I am trying to say is, attach pain to not doing it as much possible with all the pains you will have in future as well. Same time try not to attach any pleasure to it, attach a pleasure which is actually a long term pain.Once this task is complete ask few questions to your mind and answer them as well. LikeWhy am I avoiding itWhat will happen if I won't do notHow will it feel and what all I have to go through if I won't do itWhat all will happen if I do itHow much time will it take to fiNish itThe time I will save from not doing it, what will I do with that timeThe time I will do instead , how will it benefit it.Will it benefit me or harm meEtc….Try these and lets see :)All the best :)
When did you know that homeschooling was the right choice for your family?
When my child had been in public school for several years, still wasn't reading, and was falling further behind in all subject areas (the Matthew Effect), I figured I couldn't do ANY WORSE than the public school. Much to my shock, surprise, and delight, my child made four grade levels of academic progress in each year of homeschooling, and is now far AHEAD of grade-level. The point I KNEW homeschooling was the RIGHT decision was after our first year and we did our standardized testing. The results were more awesome than I had ever dreamed they would be!! Even parents with NO teaching experience can help their child out pace children taught by teachers with Master's degrees in a typical classroom environment. In the study, children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were studied in the public school setting (taught by teachers with Master's Degrees) and homeschool settings (taught by parents with High School Diplomas). The study results showed the “homeschool students were academically engaged about two times as often as public school students and experienced more reading and math gains” (Delquadri, Duval, & Ward, 2004, p. 140). While the students in the homeschool setting out-paced their public school counterparts, the study observes “the low student-teacher ratio in homeschools, and not specialized training, apparently enabled parents to create effective instructional environments” (Delquadri et al., 2004, p. 153). This observation indicates parents who are actively involved in their child's education can help their child learn more simply because of the one-on-one teaching, regardless of the parents' lack of a formal teaching certificate!
It depends on the age. For me, I think the “Sweet spot” for math is 5th grade - 7th grade. Before that you are still just getting familiarized with math. 8th grade through the end of high school is were every on starts to get stressed out about math.Your grades in math actually become important, especially for those who take Algebra 1 in 8th grade. Things like GPA and the standardized test become very crucial that you get high scores on them.I myself get a two part homework and quiz every day in Algebra 1. I’ve gotten used to it now, but the transition from 7th grade to 9th grade math was hard at first. The first test of Algebra was extremely hard. Most people failed. I barely passed with a 70. I now know it is called a “Weed out test.” It was very hard to make that the people that just did Algebra in 8th just because their friends were doing it, didn’t mess up their GPA. After the first test, the other test were fairly easy. As long as you don’t give up after the first test you’ll be fine.