I am a pre-menopausal mother of five... two teenaged daughters, and three older sons, one of whom just completed his second tour in Iraq. I have literally changed thousands of diapers in my years as a mother and more recently as a grandmother. I dream... nay, I live for the day when the proverbial reversal of roles kick in and my kids have the pleasure of changing my diapers.
The ‘A’ word
I took Beginning Algebra in my Junior year. I got my lowest grade in high school, a D, in that class. I cried for weeks. My children all took Algebra in Elementary school. By the 6th grade they had already surpassed me in what little mathematics skills I had accumulated in my lifetime.
Rocky came home one day and declared that she needed help with her homework. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA and was ranked 78 in a class of more than 300, so I put on my ‘My Mommy is smarter than your Mommy’ hat and took the paper my daughter was waving in the air.
‘What the….?’
‘It’s Algebra.’ Rocky announced proudly.
‘Watch your language young lady!’ I scolded.
‘No, really, it’s math.’
‘No it isn’t. Math is numbers. This has letters, and squiggly things.’ I pointed out, passing the paper back to my daughter.
‘I thought you said you knew Algebra.’ Rocky accused. I got a scrap piece of paper and wrote down the only Algebraic equation I knew the answer to then held it out to her. My daughter rolled her eyes at me and grabbed her pencil from my unresisting fingers.
‘I’ll ask Zack’, she said and disappeared down the hall.
What can I say? I grew up in an age when you counted with numbers and spelled with letters. Nobody took Algebra seriously because there was no use for it. It was an elective for crying out loud! Now days they’re teaching the kids to count with letters, to ‘estimate’ rather than figure out the exact answer, and by the way, did you know that Pluto is no longer a planet? What’s up with that!
Perhaps getting a ‘No Parent Left Behind’ program going wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Then maybe old school parents like myself could actually be of some assistance to our children when they bring home the daily stack of homework assignments that take up most of what little Quality Family Time there is between the time the last school bell rings and bed time.
And yes, to my dismay, Rocky kept my little equation and shared it with her Algebra teacher. Fortunately he had a sense of humor. I think after having all 5 of my children in his class over the years he had finally given up on me.
My nephew is now in the 6th Grade and is studying Algebra. One day not long ago he started to mention his homework to me but my kids cut him off.
“Don’t use the ‘A’ word around her, she goes a little cuckoo!”
I dread the day when the math homework becomes too complicated for me, and it will probably like in the next two years. I was terrible at it. TERRIBLE. When I was subbing, I remember teaching a 5th grade class and having a panic attack over the math lesson!
Comment by Hillary — December 7, 2008 @ 11:48 amNO PARENT LEFT BEHIND! BAH-HA! Sign me up for THAT government program…
Comment by Janalee — December 9, 2008 @ 12:25 pmHA!! My son also brings home school-work that I haven’t thought about in 20 years, without a BOOK, and expects me to come up with an answer immediately. Thank God for the Internet (and a bathroom excuse)!!! One thing my son doesn’t notice is frantic typing…
Comment by Dani — December 12, 2008 @ 9:22 pm