Math Steps and Military Troop Safety: What they have in Common Should I make my boys show all their work in math? If you have 11-14 year old boys, you know why I am asking. They see no point in doing something, unless that something has a point… …let me tell you a little story… I once had a brilliant student in my 5th grade class. (Back in the days I taught 5th and 6th grade) I mean crazy brilliant. We all knew he would grow up to create Iron Man for real or blow up the moon. This student refused, I mean refused, to write down the steps in math. But we stayed on him. We kept making him and he kept refusing. We were determined to help him learn the discipline of showing his work. **************************************** That was about 10 years ago. This morning I woke up curious, so I decided to ask him. Here is the core of my message: Hi there! I wanted to ask you a homeschooling question, that truthfully, you are the most qualified to answer from personal experience… When you were in 5th/6th grade we used to “make you” write out all the steps in math. We argued that as you got into higher and higher math (and problem solving in general) that this would be necessary. …I’m curious from your perspective as a now extremely successful adult… Were we right? Do you now see the value of writing out the steps logically? Why the heck am I asking you? I am now teaching my own younger boys (4, 6, and 7th grade) and every time I am “making them” write out the steps I think of you and wonder. ~Mrs. Sayler His response made my day… “Well, to be fair I am one of the few people in the world that benefited from it.I went all the way through calculus 3 and ended up becoming a non communication signal intelligence analyst in the Air Force. I use high level electro – magnetic theory on a daily You can let your boys know if they want to break apart the signal of a missile guidance or reverse engineer the jammer blocking out all the GPS systems of our troops on the ground, you are gunna have to show your work because it only gets harder the cooler the stuff is.” **************************************** There you have it. Make ’em show their work, otherwise they will be reverse engineering important things in their heads!!! Related: Math Fact Mastery Kit
I Should Have Quit Homeschool days are NOT all sunshine and rainbows. Some days we’re better off hiding every academic activity and simply be “only” the mom. I should have quit trying to get the kids to do schoolwork when: The ceiling started dripping. I realized the water was coming from the upstairs bathroom. When I called the landlord to tell her that the upstairs bathroom was leaking into the downstairs bathroom. When my 7th grader decided I was “wasting his time by trying to get him to write down a few math steps”. My 7th grader was shaking in frustration, confusion, and rebellion. The plumber came and asked me where the main water turn off was for our new home. My 6the grader decided that 2 hours was an appropriate time limit for a lesson that was begun with the words, “honey, I am letting you do this easy math lesson today so you can practice three things: neatness, discipline, and timing…” I looked at my 6th grader’s paper only to discover he had only neatly written the lesson number after 30 minutes. My 4th grader disappeared from the school area… AGAIN. Ok, I really should have quit when: I realized that one of my kids bit another of my kids. (Really? I have No I kids under the age of 9!!!) The guilty child was just “play biting in order to get his toy back…” (I repeat. My kids are older than 9). The plumber asks, “So… You homeschool?” I reply, “Yes sir. Only today is one of those days that I question homeschooling!” I really, really, really should have quit when: The boys almost hung the dog. Accidentally of course. So, I quit. Just now. I sent the boys to bed until tomorrow. (Or until I cool down, which ever comes first) Do you ever keep going on a day that clearly communicates, “STOP!” Tell me, I’m not the only one!!