I love you Math!
Sometimes I wish i met husband when I was still in school. I know he will be my knight in shining armor on those times when I am having math problems. We are both accountants but I have to admit that he is really gifted in Math word problems.
To test a few of his math prowess I sent him some time ago some math problems that were solved by some math geniuses. The math problem is one of the questions in a college entrance examination. I was in deep thoughts the whole day, thinking on what the answer was. While trying to solve, I am also questioning myself if my attempt was really to solve it or just to stare at it. But I was shocked when husband sent his answer and it was the right one! I have to hug and kiss him right there and then.
I remember when I was in high school when I dread about algebra word problems I rather wish I was swimming somewhere in the middle of the ocean. And I can still recall how much I need all those algebra help from a classmate who was more gifted in math than I do. My problem doesn’t end in algebra 1 though. On the next year I have to face algebra again and need algebra 2 help. I felt all the more hopeless. I don’t really have a good relationship with Math and no matter how much I chase it, math answers me back with a thumbs down.
But I graduated high school and college in a rather honorable way I can possibly imagine. I didn’t cheat math, ever! I have to charge it to sleepless nights of understanding and loving math (no matter how much I resist it!) and to prayers. It did help!
1 comments:
It's funny how much emotion the study of math generates. I deal with questions about math skills most days. On one hand, I run an online educational service and dealing with the kids' math issues is an ongoing battle.
What's more interesting is my own colleagues math issues. There's one lady, mid 30s, who has worked with me for four years. When I hired her, as a member support rep, she was unsure and in particular, would get silly and scared every time we got near a math issue. Ask her to figure out what percent of her calls were about tech issues and she would make jokes and ask if she could just turn in the raw count.
Three years later, she laughs about how she has gotten over her math panic. All we did was try to be patient and persistent and somehow it worked.
I sometimes wonder about creating an adult math course to help people get over their traumas.
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