Hey, Mom! I'm learning Algebra!

How many of you were good at math in school? I was. I was great at math in elementary school. We had this individualized math program when I was at this one school and you'd just go to the "Lab" and get a packet of worksheets and do them and then when you passed you'd get some more.  Then, when I went to another school after we moved, I finished the 6th grade math book about half way through the year and the teacher didn't really know what to do with me so, being the good student that I was, I'd just sit and write stories during math time.  Anyhow, I did well in math until I hit high school and was confronted with Algebra and then.... it was just bad. I didn't get it. And then I didn't get geometry. And then I got to Algebra II and it was a horror story. Oh, I got good grades (except Algebra II and I barely passed with a "C"). Probably A's and B's, but that's only because I memorized everything pretty well, but I didn't understand a thing.  Part of the problem is the methodology of teaching math. The teacher just gets up there and starts writing algorithms on the chalk board and expects the class to follow along. The problem with this is.... the teacher was no doubt good at math in school, which is why he majored in math in college and decided to teach math to high schoolers. The problem is.... he "got" math.  And it was inconceivable that others shouldn't "get it", too. Now, I'm not denigrating math teachers. It is hard for anyone who naturally understands something to not understand why others don't understand it just as easily.  Anyhow, so, I just figured I was bad at math, struggled through it and never took a math class again after Algebra II in high school. I don't understand how I got through college without taking math, especially my chemistry classes, but whatever.  So, that's me and math. However, I am finding out that maybe I'm not as bad at math as I thought. I just wasn't taught it correctly.  I found, through my sister-in-law, this supplementary math curriculum for Bubba.

He does a page (front and back) every week. And it's just puzzles. But, it's not. It's algebra. It's algebra with shapes and not numbers. And when I correct his work, I don't look at the answers in the back. I try to figure out the problems myself. And it makes sense to me. There are no algorithms, no rules, they don't tell you anything. They just show you two pictures that are true, and then you have to choose three more pictures that are true, based on the first two you looked at.

And from the far reaches of my brain, some of the things I learned in algebra are coming back. But now it makes sense to me. Why are shapes so much less intimidating than numbers? I love what Malcolm Gladwell says in his most excellent book, "Outliers". He says, "We sometimes think of being good at mathematics as an innate ability.  You either have 'it' or you don't. But to Schoenfeld (this guy who did some research on learning math), it's not so much ability as attitude.  You master mathematics if you are willing to try.  .....  Success is a function of persistence and doggedness ...."  And so, I would recommend this series of books to everyone with children, whether you homeschool or public school or private school. The puzzles are fun, but they build an excellent foundation for learning algebra. And I would encourage you, too. Do these puzzles yourself. Especially if you were like I was and just felt that higher level math was beyond you. You may be pleasantly surprised. I was.