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October 29, 2007
Connor Math Work 2007/10/29
We've continued to review topics like cancellation, factoring, least common denominator, precedence and other basic topics for working with expressions. I'm giving Connor review for today, all problems taken from the last several home work assignments that he was having problems with. I suspect he'll get them all now, which would allow us to then move on to ... equations.
One thing I've noticed is that it is very difficult to do these three things at once: get inside a child's head on what they know (as opposed to what they think they know), ensure that they are getting the right amount of work in the right balance to both gain confidence on existing skills and acquire new skills (or apply their existing skills to more challenging problems), and not get bogged down in trivial bits or digressions. Yet doing those three things at once is exactly what is necessary to provide a good understanding of a subject. Sometimes, it's difficult to remember that just because 25+ years of practice at a concept have made it blindingly obvious to you, does not mean that it is blindingly obvious to a pre-teen. The cool thing about teaching kids is that you learn about them, and yourself, in ways you would otherwise never be exposed to. In other words, this is fun.
Posted by jeff at October 29, 2007 8:27 PM
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Comments
Duh. Why do you think I do this, instead of, say, getting a job? :)
Posted by: Stephanie at October 30, 2007 8:25 AM