One of these days I will get back to posting pictures. For some reason the smart phone has redirected my picture taking and I can't quite get them on the computer. Not that I don't know how I just don't. I think that is why I have not blogged, guilt for no pictures. Hopefully I will do better this year. I like the blogging it is a good journaling outlet about some of the small and simple things that seem to fill life with real memories.
So why is this post labeled 'Math"? Math seems to be filling a great part of each day at the farm. Michael is preparing for the GRE and he and Nelson study math almost every morning for an hour to an hour and a half. We also start our first semester of math with our Pathway mission next week. Our first assignment is to have our math facts memorized in addition/subtraction 1-15 and our multiplication facts from 1-15.
Back in my day fifth grade was the year your memorized you multiplication tables. Timed tests were given everyday and after a week or so if you didn't pass the timed test you started to miss recess. I missed a lot of recess and still don't remember some of my facts. When I saw the word memorize and timed test for this first class my mind went into panic mode. Well last night I took the two TIMED tests that our student will take on Thursday. Scary, I noticed my stomach was in a knot and I was nervous. I had to remind myself. I would not miss recess if I did not finish the tests in the allotted time, nor was my worth as a human being being judged on how quickly I can take a timed test. Nelson reminds me that on a ship it is the compass not the clock that is most important. That doesn't seem to be the case in school, even at the university level. But this is not meant to be a soapbox on our educational system.
Over the years I have allowed myself to develop a mental block against memorizing. I just haven't been able to find a system that works for me. Over the last few months I have read a couple of books on memorizing. For names the methods work pretty good but not so for my multiplication facts. So going to one of my favorite haunts (the library) I checked out a mental math program. Fabulous!!! Instead of memorizing my math facts they gave me some nifty tricks. Instead of a whole slew of multiplication facts I just have to remember the trick. Fabulous!!!!!!!! I find myself laying in bed giving my self multiplication problems to figure out in my head. Sick I know. But I have developed a whole new level of confidence to ask questions and not care that it's a question instead of an answer. While David and Sherrie were here I had David try to explain probability to me. I don't have the whole concept down, but I understand the first part of the equation. David was a patient teacher. A 59 year old should already know this stuff. But hey, it's the compass not the clock that is most important on a ship, right?
2 comments:
Holy cow we are related. I remember those wretched timed tests in MPS. I hated memorzing my Bulgarian mission disscussions as well -- so much so, when I took Bulgarian at BYU, I totally refused to memorize Bulgarian poetry. The TA kept telling me Iwas going to fail. I didn't care.
Dropbox is a much easier way to get pictures from your phone to your computer. You download the app and sync your pictures to it and after that it does it by itself. Then you download dropbox on your computer, log in and all those pictures are right there.
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