Math Woes

Anybody like Math? Any good at it?
I know a few people that could use your help...
and I am one!!

Just proof that even those who seem to have all the answers, or the right questions to ask...
even those who tend to get good grades, can pass tests with ease...
the ones who can research any topic given them, who can meet writing deadlines...
the tutors, the second-time-around students...
the ones who have been in school longer than some of us have been school-age.
We all need a little help once in a while.

I want to let my readers know, that just because I started this blog to help out fellow students, doesn't mean I have all the answers. That is why I started the Feature-A-Writer "program". This blog will serve me as well as my readers, and I think that's what life-time education is all about. I'm on a constant look out for writers with a unique voice, wisdom, or different perspective; who can add some flavor to the monotonous, bland, tired out, 30 pages on a Google search - stuff that is out there. The voices you read here are (will be) different than those you have to dig through to get to.

But you know? One person doing this all on their own is a large feat. One that I'm sure is possible, but not plausible for someone so early in the game. That means I need some help from my readers. I need questions, ideas, tips you've gathered along the way, resources available for online students, a piece of writing to add, or an online published article to refer. Please let me know about it. Drop an email or comment on a post. One way or another, let your voice be heard:).

Now back to the math.....

The class I'm taking right now is called A Survey of Mathematical Methods. Now, I've never been that good at math. I did pretty well up until high school. About that time, I became interested in early childhood education and passionate about writing. I excelled in literature, history, language, and writing. It's almost as if my numbers fell away from my alphabet...sorry, after 9 of years of everyday conversation consisting of a 20-something and a 2-6 year old, I sometimes forget which one I am...and a brick wall went up between them. Now, when I see so many letters and numbers, and added symbols and expressions, I get completely confused.

The other day, I was reading about Venn Diagrams. When I started the chapter, I was like, "OK, easy enough. I remember how to use these, I just taught Lexa about these a few months ago, and I think Allen is starting to get the concept. This oughta be a breeze. I love the text I have, because it has a bot of that history I love, and a touch of the literature that fuels my inspiration. It was interesting enough to keep my mind active. That usually helps a visual/kinesthetic learner. I can see the "lessons" more clearly when my mind is also busy enough to keep me going.

Everything went smoothly. I did the little exercises and got most of them right. I thought I'd zoom through a few pages, and head straight for the review/practice section. I tried a few...
and then checked my answers, because I knew something wasn't right. So, I went back and looked at the sections with the concept...and ended up more confused than when I started. So I tried to redo a couple, and thought I had it. SO I went on to the next few...and checked the answers again... Not only did I get a couple of the new ones wrong, but there were some of the first wrongs, still!

Needless to say that I was frustrated. To make matters worse, I was at work. That's not that big a deal, since work is my friend's house. I watch her two girls. One is 10 and the other is 1. I sit and work on my school work when the baby is napping, playing happily with her toys, or while we are eating lunch or breakfast. The 10 year old is usually working on schoolwork at the same time. Each day, I bring one of my kids with me, so they will be playing with the baby, working on their "school work", or playing with their friend. That means that half of my study time is shared with my tutor/teacher time. So, when I'm frustrated with my work, I have to let it rest. After about 3 or 4 attempts at getting this stuff, over a 5 hour time period, I decided to skip this chapter and go on. If this concept wasn't in the next chapter, I could work n it later.

Sure enough! When I got to work the next day, it just hit me. I spent a couple minutes looking over the explanation section, then hit the review. I tried a couple, and checked 'em. Then I went on to do some more...checked 'em..and moved on. I'm not saying I've got it down, I still had a few errors. But it pretty much makes sense now. I somehow missed the step where you write out the list for each circle and the universal set. Once I had all of the numbers in the right sets, and had it right there to look at, the rest just fell into place.

So, today it happened gain. This time with these truth tables. If I said I was frustrated a couple days ago...I would be understating it today. I'm completely lost! Thankfully the instructor was helpful in providing a little extra guidance for the project we have to complete. Unfortunately, I must have a brick head, because it still doesn't make much sense. What makes which one true, and how do you know if it's false? And what's that sign mean now that it is on that side of the number, or outside the parenthesis? Who slipped that sign in when I wasn't looking, and why is it laughing at me? hehehe

Maybe after some rest tonight, it will just light up like a light bulb....or, one of our readers will leave some helpful advice...who knows???

Until next time....