On A Happier Note

I recently received this from one of my ex pupils. She had been writing an essay on her Mathematical Journey for her Uni course....

"Through high school my anxieties developed into panic as my school placed an enormous emphasis on high level maths. Late in year nine a maths teacher started to understand that my abilities were limited due to the constant fear of failure and she took it upon herself to help me in any way she could. She began to tutor me every Tuesday after school for a couple of hours, working through the class work again and helping me with my homework. It was this teacher’s kindness, skill and patience that ensured my success with mathematics and I will forever be grateful to her. "

Nawwwwwwww. Well, at least I saved one starfish!

As My Ratings Plummet I Am Encouraged That Some People Love Me

I was somewhat freaked out by my recent Sitemeter statistics. In the past, my view ratings have remained fairly constant despite my flagging post numbers. Today however I noticed an unprecedented 30% drop in page views, a staggering body blow to the authorial ego. Upon checking my last post I noted that it has been 24 days since my last effort so really, I've gotta say...fair do-s guys. I actually need to lift my game.

I blame Small Boy of course. I pretty much blame him for everything nowadays. He has been back at his mum's for 5 weeks and I have noted a measurable drop in blood pressure and cursing. From me that is. Himself continues unabated.

I suppose I shouldn't be facetious. Life has been testing of late and that, I suppose, is the main reason I haven't been writing. Or taking pictures.

I did take this one the other day as I sat waiting for Al to turn up (or not) for his tutoring session.

I had warned him that he would need to go back to basics and we certainly have. I have challenged him, and his male African pride, in a biiiiiig way but I've got to say he has generally hung in there. I keep reminding him that if he did the on-line homework I set him he might progress faster; but he is a 21 year old, good looking, socially and financially pre-occupied young man and if that wasn't enough he has recently enrolled in uni! Half the time I think he would be just as happy to sit and chat as do any maths (now there's a surprise).  In the last few weeks he has cancelled once and let me down once. I sensed that he was becoming despondent as we ploughed over the same ground plus I knew he was going to be pretty fully occupied by his Uni course (he tells me it is a 'Creative Writing' course but after hearing his subjects yesterday I would say its probably some sort of Social Communications degree).

Stressed to the max by endless meetings and the in-school challenge of getting an autistic child to do anything resembling learning at all (see below*), I texted him yesterday to ask whether we were meeting. Previously I have made myself unconditionally available in an effort to reassure him that he could depend on me. This time, after a few hours of no response I suggested we could give it a miss. Just when I thought I was off the hook I got a text:
"Is everything okay?"
Of course I sucked it up and went in to meet with him.

Later when we discussed it he expressed concern for me but said " Mrs A, if you had just left it at the first text I would have been happy to have another night off. But because you sent me the second text I thought maybe you really wanted to come after all? My friend said I should just check you were ok and so I did."

My exceptionally tired brain didn't really deal with all this at the time but afterwards I thought about it and was stunned by his lack of comprehension of social cues. My first text had been clear: 'Are we meeting tonight. Don't mind if you need a break. Just let me know.'
His response to that was to think, 'oh, we aren't meeting tonight'...but no text to confirm. When I sent the second text 'I haven't heard from you but life is super crazy at the moment so if I don't hear anything from you I'll give it a miss tonight', he interpreted this as me wanting to come, rather than me trying to get off the hook!

This interests me because of the recently identified overlap between early neglect and abuse and autism. The autistic person, so much as they are able to reason, will surmise that since you said "are we meeting tonight?" and their answer was no, that you would automatically know this. Hence there is no need to text and confirm.  Now Al is definitely not autistic; a more forthcoming and people oriented person you could not find, but his early years spent in a refugee camp and his childhood of neglect and horror has definitely left a scar. In this misunderstanding he clearly exhibited some of the key signs of the disability incurred by his early childhood trauma. What concerns me is that if he makes these kind of mistakes with employers, he will have no idea why he has been sacked.

Anyway, the session was worth the effort because I think he saw some progress in himself last night. We are working at such a low level: two times tables; the relationship between fractions, decimals and percentage; word problems. Many times it is the words that trip him up. Last night he tackled some basic word problems around multiplication and division relatively confidently.
Of course when I threw in an addition and subtraction problem he was lost again but that is neither here nor there :-D  There was a brief lightbulb moment when he saw that 50/200 is the same as 25/100  and another when he was able to relate hundredths to tenths. It was one of those 'quick jump' nights when the last few have been plateaus.

At school I have had some moderate successes with an Asperger's student*; I'm going to call him Raymond. Raymond is a classic sensory seeker. He sniffs things, loves the sensation of a weighted cushion on his knees, leans into you for a cuddle and loves to have his back rubbed. If we don't do these things he lies on the floor and rolls around getting the sensation from there. He hates playdoh unless he is wearing gloves and is mortally afraid of making a mistake. Recently we have included him in a spelling group which has been an amazing blessing. Another group may have been incredibly disrupted but this little trio is phenomenally tolerant and have enabled him to feel somewhat normal by joining in with their activities. Yay!! (subdued celebration...just in case)

Finally, I sent an email out to staff a few nights ago, reminding them of a number of children in their classes with learning difficulties. I invited them to contact me if they had any problems or questions but to my surprise I got this:

1) Hi Arizaphale,

I just want to let you know that I think you are a truly remarkable woman. These emails that you regularly send out, your diligence and persistence in seeing needs met and gaps closed, and your gentle encouragement prompting teachers to keep on top of these issues, are all incredibly valuable and rare qualities that are so desperately needed.

I don’t ever want you to feel like you are not listened to, or that your work is in vain. As a mum of a child with Aspergers, and having had to witness his growing frustration and sadness in a school where he is not listened to, understood, or recognized, I felt it was important to tell you that what you are doing here is SO important. We are lucky to have you.

2) Love your work Arizaphale.   It is even helpful for Admin to have some idea – it just helps.

They are all very lucky to have you on their “team” A.

Xooxoxoxoxoxo   Bless the work of your hands abundantly! 

 

3) Thanks for all the care and  work you put into our kids Arizaphale.

We can’t always see what we reap but I think our kids lives reflect the love and consideration the Rainbow Rooms puts into these kids.

I was not expecting such a generous outpouring of thankfulness! It just served to remind me that the quiet beavering we do is actually bearing fruit. Tomorrow I have two important meetings, a transition meeting with another young African man in Year 12 and a Personal Learning Plan meeting with one of our indigenous pupils. Both are new ideas which I have not tackled previously so I am praying that I have the sensitivity and expertise to ensure that they are worthwhile and productive meetings.

Meanwhile in a frenzy bordering on ecstasy I have booked my tickets for my trip to the UK this Christmas. I cannot tell you how excited I am!!!!

Well Done Good and Faithful Servant

Thank you God for this, my favourite Christmas present, received as a message on Facebook this morning:

Hey mrs a
just thought id say goodbye since i didnt get to at presentation night because i didnt go...
Thanks for everything youve done for me and my maths class. I know it wouldve been hard to persist and i admire your patience and commitment. You are the most committed teacher i had this year and now that i think of it, youre one of the most committed teachers ive had at any highschool.
Thank you for your guidance, teaching, committment, patience, helpfulness and the passion and willingness to help us all.
All though a lot of the students in the class didnt recognise and appreciate what youve done this year, i do, and i thank you immensley for your help and teaching...i actually did well this year!
Maths is the subject i struggle most with and usually give up on easily but you helped me and taught me in a way i could understand and when i didnt (understand) you explained it further til i did.
You will be greatly missed next year and i hope you are given the respect you diserve where ever you go next year because i know you didnt get it from everyone this year.
So thank you goodbye and goodluck!:):):)
xoxo

Confused?

Scene: Maths room at lunchtime, trying to finish off overdue projects for Year10 Numeracy so that they won't have to do Maths next year. The BA is sitting in the background having finished an exam and caught the train over to my school.

Me: So if she gets $30,000 a year, how much will that be a month?

Year 10 Girl: Ummmmm. I don't know (sweet vacant smile)

Me: Come on, you can do this...what operation do we need to use to find out?

Y10G: (looking desperately at my face for clues) Addition? No. Subtraction?No...division?

Me: Yes, well done (relieved smile from her). Now, what are you going to divide by?

Y10G: ummmmmmmm?

Me: here is a year (indicates with outstretched arms) and the $30,000 is spread all the way over that year. Now I need to cut that up into little month sized pieces. What do I divide by?

Y10G: 4...no? .....5?.....no........I'm not very good with months.......

Later the BA (who had been looking over the girl's head, rolling her eyes at me) shook her head in disbelief.
"Was she putting it on mum? And where did the FIVE come from????"
I dunno BA. Random neuron firing I think. I am so looking forward to my new job next year. Mind you, as I'm still working with Special Needs I am sure I will still have plenty of blog fodder!
Trouble is, the guys I'm working with now are not officially Special Needs.
Sadly.

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Don't you Ever get Sick of Maths Miss?

"No, I just get sick of kids.."
"Ah, but you love us deep down don't you miss?"
"Yes. That is my curse."

(Conversation in Y9 Maths today)

Year 10 Commence Mensuration. Yes You Read That Right.

"And so, to find the area of the sector, we need to use the angle as a fraction of the total number of degrees in the circle, and thus find the fraction of the circumference indicated by the arc L."

The stunned silence which greeted my statement was punctuated only by the hum of the climate control fan.

Alicia suddenly slumped back in her chair and announced loudly and with no hint of sarcasm whatsoever,
"Is it just me, or is this REEEAAAALLY boring?"


I dunno. I think I might be with you Alicia.

The Evolution of Maths Teaching

Maths Question 1970

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.00. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

Maths Question 1980

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.00. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80.00. What is his profit?

Maths Question 1990

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.00. His cost of production is $80.00. Did he make a profit?

Maths Question 2000

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.00. His cost of production is $80.00 and his profit is $20.00. Your assignment: underline the number 20.

Maths Question 2009

A logger cuts down a beautiful tree because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our planet. He does this so that he can make $20.00. Do you think this is any way to make a living? Topic for class discussion after answering the question: How did the birds and animals feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers).
************************************************************************************



*Thanks Mum for sending me that one!!

I Despair of The Younger Generation

Exhibit A: found on an assignment I was marking today. An assignment mind you! Not a test. Not something undertaken under pressure. No, an assignment given with two in class lessons for working on it and more than a week's worth of homework time allocated.


So what happened to phoning a friend? Asking a parent? Asking a teacher at lunchtime or during the lesson even? Looking in your text book for similar problems? Even looking on the internet?


What is going to happen to this world when this lot are running the joint? I ask you!!!!!!

Hallelujah! A Classroom Miracle

I had a good lesson with Year 10.

This is itself is a miracle but add into the mix the fact that it was a Monday AFTERNOON lesson and the ridiculously unlikely nature of the event becomes more apparent.

Further add the fact that the topic was Trigonometry and that one week ago I knew next to nothing about the subject and it becomes obvious that there has been Divine Intervention.

Oh, and I made them follow a seating plan.

Actually, maybe that was the key?

Many of you who know me in real life will recall that of all my academic strengths, Maths was actually the most problematic. Well, maybe it was Physics...although it was Chemistry that I bombed out in at the exams....

Whatever.

That fact is that I was a 'problem maths student' all the way through school and only focused on the sciences at matric at the suggestion/insistence of my father. I drove my maths teacher mad. I asked questions ALL the time. "What do you mean imaginary numbers?"I exclaimed," we don't have enough numbers already but you go and have to make some more up?????"
She called me 'PigPen' because she said I spread my mess all around me. When I didn't understand, I doodled. Eyes mostly. With long lashes. I still have the folders with the evidence.
Every time I look at those folders and think..."they've got to go"......I look inside at the pages and pages of equations which, in 2009, mean absolutely. nothing. to. me. and I can't bear to throw them out. I mean, I used to know that stuff! Look at that clever stuff I did!!!!

That was 30 years ago. This year, teaching mainstream Y10 maths for the first time, I knew Trig was coming up and only vaguely remembered the words sin, cos and tan. "But it will come back to me," I thought, "after all, algebra did." Last Sunday night however, I experienced severe panic as I read through the next chapter of the text book and realised that I had no clue on earth what the authors were talking about. Himself thought it was hilarious.

But never fear, oh ye of little faith! I did do this stuff once and I'm sure all I need do is ask my Maths teacher guru boss when I get in to school. Just give me a brief history of Trig please mate......

Are you beginning to see why Monday afternoon was such a miracle?

So why, I hear you ask, is such an incompetent being allowed to teach maths to our preshus chiddlers?????? Well that's easy. No one else wants to take the bottom classes.

However I am happy to report that it is all coming back to me, thankfully at a slightly faster rate than it is coming to my class. We must be doing ok because Monday afternoon was a remarkable work-fest with minimal incidence of arguing, ipod fiddling or 'what do we need this for'ness. I do have to admit though, that two of my main protagonists were away :-(

Wish me luck for tomorrow. With a bit of luck they'll all bring a scientific calculator.
*cynical grimace*



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Merry Christmas Year 10

My babies left me today.

My little band of lovable, incompetent, trying teens completed their last assignment and are on their way to year 11 and five different mainstream teachers. But that is another story. Tonight I want to talk about today.

At the end of last semester, I accosted our Principal on the futility of making these kids sit exams. Being the wise man he is, he agreed to let me organise something else for them and so it was that I found myself meeting the gang at the appointed time today, to head off for our 'practical maths' assignment/exam.

The idea was this. Visit the local Foodland with a 'task' to replace the exam, have a coffee together at the local cafe and head back to school in time for the final assembly. They were all delighted with the idea of forgoing a formal exam, but of course during the lead up to the week they all informed me that they just wouldn't bother coming in for the final excursion! I worked really hard to convince them to come and finish the term off in a positive way. I was delighted today when 7 out of 8 met me at the office after recess (the 8th was on her way to Tasmania and so could be forgiven :-)

Of course, only two had organised themselves well enough to have their signed permission notes with them!

After 20 minutes of phoning parents to get oral permission for the excursion (made all the more entertaining by the non-english speaking nature of most of the parents!) and another 5 minutes of bickering because, well...because they do that, we were off. We missed the bus of course so we hoofed it 15 minutes down the road to the local supermarket and gathered out the front to announce the task.

In pairs, they were required to 'purchase' a list of 5 items and have the total come out as close to $50.00 as possible. The items were generic and sometimes specified a size/amount and sometimes didn't, which gave a bit of flexibility. Each pair had a different list, which meant they couldn't simply copy and of course I supplied calculators.

We entered the store.

I wish I could have taken photos and put them up here today folks. Not in the least because they're all pretty good lookin' kids! But seriously, they were so funny. And so serious. And so wonderful. They took to the task with gusto. Two worked alone, there was one pair and a particularly dysfunctional trio but they all hooked into it. They were in the meat department counting sausages, in the milk cabinet comparing the cost of 2 x 2 litres or one 4 litre container, incompetently of course but they were doing it!

But you're wondering about the beans. Up the top there. Had you forgotten them?
Let me tell you about the beans.

The dysfunctional trio had to 'buy' 3 kg of green beans. Now the idea was that they might compare the price of frozen versus fresh, prepacked versus loose etc and of course the magic '3 kg' meant there would have to be some multiplication. You would think.

I came upon the 'gang' as they were hefting an overly stuffed plastic bag full of green beans onto the fruit and veg dept scales.

Me: What are you doing?
Them: We're finding 3kg of beans.
Me; Uh-huh, why don't you just look at the price and...
Them: no hush, hush Mrs A, we are in control. We know what we're doing...

Therein followed much umming and ahhing (in the text books they call this 'discussion' and claim it to be a valid teaching tool. I hope they're right) as they discovered that they had 6kg of beans and had to start tipping them back onto the display. :-) *sigh* At least they had a valid lesson in 'weights and measures'!

Finally they had 3kg of beans in the scale.
Me: So, well done for measuring out 3kg of beans how much will these beans cost?

silence.....as they realise the scales do not give them a price........

Them : (suddenly cheerful again.) Don't worry Mrs A, it's ok. We can just multiply! How much
for one kilo?

If it wasn't me in stitches it was the rest of the bemused customers in the f&v section!

All in all though they did really well. One got within 4c of the $50.00 and the worst result was 99c over...so not too bad really! But it was fascinating to realise what they didn't know. They didn't know what 'margarine' was. They didn't know how to find the 'size' of an object ie they didn't recognise the significance of kg and gs on packaging. As usual they had trouble filling in the worksheet and keeping a running total.

We followed it all up with lunch at the cafe across the road ( we'd taken longer than I'd thought to do the task of course). It cost me a fortune but it was worth it. After initial bickering they all sat begrudgingly at the same table, they all had a soft drink and some chips or wedges and they all chatted amicably for about half an hour. Remarkable.

I found out more about some of the kids and heard a little more of their amazing stories. One lad, from Liberia, was telling me how his parents were 'lost' on the Ivory Coast. Of 4 siblings, he and his sister escaped to Australia and members of the family have been joining them here, as they have been found, ever since. His mother was located this year and has rejoined the family out here (tricky after 5 years...) but dad is still missing.

As I said goodbye to them at the end of the day, they thanked me, genuinely, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

"Be the Best you can be," I urged them, "Don't let anyone take you down the wrong road. I have great faith in you all!"

They laughed and waved cheerfully at me as they went off to assembly.

"Sure thing Mrs A, Merry Christmas"

Merry Christmas indeed Year 10. Thank you for one of the most entertaining and frustrating years of my life.



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No Woman Is an Island....Although Some Of Us Regularly Experience Shipwrecks.

So don't laugh at my island drawing. It's tricky to get worksheets of this nature and it's sometimes easier just to throw one together.

Now, apart from the obvious lack of style, talent and CAD software, my Year 10s took to this quite well considering they had struggled significantly with the original task.

The questions asked them to summarise a trip around the island keeping a running total of the distance travelled. After a few more factual questions they were presented with the last, somewhat creative exercise.

"If you were planning to build a road on the island, where would you build it"

This sent several of the pupils in the group into a state of near tail spin but it is only my favourite response that we shall examine here.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

M: Mrs A Mrs A, I don't know what to do here.

Me: Have you read the instructions?

M: No

Me: (sighs) well, lets read.

"Where would you build a road on the island?"

M: What do you mean by 'build a' road?

Me: On your map. Draw where you think a road would go.

(panic sets in)

M: (quivering hysterically, voice rising to a shriek) But I don't KNOW where the road would go.

Mrs A: Hush, its not that hard. You could put a shortcut in or you could look and see where there are no roads.

M :(finding and indicating an area on the map.)

Mrs A: Well done.

M: but what do I WRITE???????????

Mrs A: Let's draw the road in first and then it's easier to write about whatever you do.

At this point M picked up her pencil and drew this.

One of the other pupils was walking past at this point and upon seeing the road he burst into hysterical laughter and hooted,
"Girl! What kind of a lame road is THAT?????"


Me: (attempting to stifle more hysterical laughter) M, it is customary for a road to start somewhere and go somewhere else.

She did see the funny side in the end but really, I ask you!? We make a lot of assumptions about our pupil's knowledge don't we?

The End of a Long Week

Well thanks for the maths ideas folks and keep 'em coming. I'm still considering a prize for an idea I end up using and whilst I have a few ideas for the ladies, I am a little more stuck if any of you scientific type gentlemen come up with a winning project. I don't suppose you fancy a stylish knitted cushion cover do you? Naaaah. But don't despair! I will come up with something!!

I am happy to report that we have made it through the first week and my new classroom is almost feeling like home now. As is to be expected, the usual suspects of a 'room move' have gone missing: my set of scissors, a DVD, my set of glue sticks. Do you realise that glue sticks are like currency in the school setting? I had a boss in the UK who used to bribe us with glue sticks. I'm not kidding.
"Anyone who volunteers for this extra duty gets a free gluestick!" (hands fly up all over the room)

There have been no major meltdowns amongst the kids unless you count the VIQ (Vocational interest Questionnaire) which was an adventure in itself. Basically the kids have to fill in an online questionnaire which endeavours, through tricky questionnaire-type techniques like asking you the same thing twice, to determine which career interests you. Now this exercise sounds relatively simple but is, in reality, fraught with skill levels to challenge even a native english speaker of tender years. For example, how would your 15 year old self respond to the idea of

"consulting, analysing, planning and implementing strategy for the introduction and marketing of innovative products with production clients and prospective retailers."
Very appealing/ Like/Indifferent or Dislike?

Where was the button for 'Fail to Comprehend'?

There were many traps for young players, especially those with english as a second language and limited comprehension at the best of times. Consider for example, this question:

"Maintain and care for laboratory animals in a research facility."

Now most of the kids immediately saw the word 'animals', thought "I like animals" and hit the Very Appealing button. Another example was

"Organise finance and administration for sports and the arts."

You guessed it. Every prospective football or soccer player saw 'sports' and hit the Very Appealing button. As a result of this I spent a double lesson going through the quiz, question by question, trying to explain what each item was really about. There were 140 questions.

Any of you who are familiar with my Year 10s and their inability to follow directions will understand how harrowing a task this was. Firstly, some of them resented the suggestion that they didn't understand the questions so they were resistant to the whole exercise. Then came the inevitable chorus of 'where are we up to?' and 'I LIKE that one/That's ME /NO WAY that job SUCKS' which followed every explanation and which required precious seconds to settle before we continued on. Of course from time to time I would look across to one of the girls to see that she had replaced her questionnaire screen with MSN or a picture gallery of some rapper.....but apparently that was alright because she was 'ahead of us'. *sigh*

By the end of the lesson I was hoarse from explaining financial management and engineering 40 times and customer service and the printing industry 35 times. Hopefully, there is enough relevant detail in their answers to help the careers counsellor point them towards the right subjects next year. That's what the whole thing is actually about.


To celebrate surviving the first week back, Himself and I attended the Roosters' Gala Ball on Friday night where we had this rather nice (I think) picture taken. My husband actually brushes up ok in a suit I think!

(warning: girl's paragraph)
Unfortunately I am forced to report that I no longer fit into my ball gown. Well, I do fit but it is not a good look. As a result I wore the black baby doll we bought at Harbour Town Mum but because I am self conscious about my footballer's shoulders I also wore a jacket. Himself convinced me to take it off while we were dancing (yes, I actually got him onto the dance floor) and of course told me I was 'the most beautiful girl there' which was kind on one count and a downright lie on the other and I will leave you to figure out which is which! :-D

Finally, because we have been a bit short on pictures of the Baby Angel lately, here she is with both cats, yes, you read right, BOTH cats in the same room. And although Morticia seems relatively calm and ready for a cuddle here, I can assure you that she has once again simply taken the highest ground and is eye-ing Pippin off, awaiting her opportunity to attack.


Hasn't she grown though?













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Give It Me Baby...ah huh huh...

The brilliant Elisa with her comments about Maths Projects from days gone by has made me think. I have a huge on-line resource with you guys right here at 'The Flaming Sword'. So come on. What Math projects do YOU remember as being interesting and engaging? Don't worry about ability levels because I can always modify the content if I get a killer idea!

Perhaps I should turn this into a contest? Give me great Maths ideas from your youth and I will organise a give away of some sort. Let's both get thinking on that................

Powerful Stuff

One of the things I love about holidays is the opportunity to do some of the things I don't have time for during term time.

In the first week of my holiday I have encountered two things which have touched me deeply. This post is about the first: a movie called 'The Freedom Writers'.

For those unfamiliar with the film, it is the true story of a 'first year out' high school teacher in 1994 California post Rodney King and the ensuing race riots. Hilary Swank plays the idealistic Erin Gruwell who is faced daily with a class of 14-15 year olds who have been labelled 'at risk' and 'unteachable' by the rest of the academic staff.

For these kids, school was irrelevant. They lived with the constant spectre of gang warfare and racial violence. They came from homes where domestic violence and poverty were common place and where high school graduation was akin to flying pigs. Everyone had written them off.

Of course, as you can imagine, Erin Gruwell managed to turn it all around and, after working for four years with the class, most graduated and some went on to college. They published a book called 'The Freedom Writers' Diary' in deference to the sixties civil rights movement 'The Freedom Riders' and eventually formed a foundation to promote the use of innovative teaching methods in schools throughout the USA. Again, as I'm sure most of you can imagine, this film strikes many chords for me: disinterested, unteachable pupils, a teacher who makes a difference. Except that currently of course, I have not made a difference.

So, what did this film say to me?

Firstly, and rather uncharitably, I felt pretty damn snitchy because Erin Gruwell is an English teacher and my mean and bitter soul says, 'oh yea, well it's easy for an English teacher to be relevant. Try touching their souls with Maths!!!!', and to some degree this is justified. However, it is also a cop-out. What Erin did was meet the kids 'where they were'. She validated their experiences and created a supportive classroom environment where they felt accepted and safe. She gave them voices and she provided opportunities for relevant curriculum.
I wonder whether I do this.

The other aspect of the film which really had an impact upon me was the attitude of the other members of staff at the school. Erin Gruwell had to use her own money to buy books for her class because her Dept Head would not allow her to waste 'valuable' school texts on her bunch of miscreants. The rationale was that the books would be 'too hard' and that the kids would destroy them with graffiti etc anyway. When she asked for funding to take them on excursions she was told it was a waste of time and money. As a result she funded the first excursions herself and the kids raised the money for others. They also raised money to bring people like Miep Gies to the school, from Europe!!! When, after two years, Erin asked to take the class through into their final years of high school she met with massive resistance from senior staff. She was told she didn't have the seniority or the right to teach senior grades. She was told that if these students went on and failed in other teachers' classes, it was HER fault, not theirs. She was told that her methods were impractical and inefficient and did not meet the needs of the majority of students. Far from being impressed at her achievements with the pupils, the management were resentful!
Fortunately the local Board of Education disagreed with them and the rest is history.

All of this forces me to reflect upon my own attitudes, pride and, dare I say it, prejudice as a teacher. Whom do I align myself with here? When I think of all the whinging I've been doing of late, with respect to my classes, I feel ashamed. Am I like the teacher who thinks everything is 'too hard' for my class and in the process dumbs it down so much that they become disengaged? Do I want to 'blame the kids' for their inability to learn rather than taking on board my own pedagogical weaknesses?

I don't have any answers yet. I am still wrestling with the issues this film 'brought up' for me. Recently, people I love have been suggesting that I should 'give up' teaching the Special Ed kids. 'What do you get out of it?' I have been asked. 'You don't seem to get any satisfaction.'
Sadly, this is true. But is it necessary for me to get satisfaction out of this job? Is that what I'm there for? When I think about why I do it, the answer that pops into my head is that it's like a puzzle I need to solve.

I want to find a way to make numeracy relevant to these kids. I want to do this because I know it will eventually empower them. Sure, modern society provides a myriad of scaffolds and support structures which mean we don't have to be able to add up, read an analog gauge, count back change; but this is illusory. To get stuff done in life you have to have a concept of number, space and measurement: to figure out the best value credit card, to choose the phone plan best suited to your needs, to enlarge a pattern because you've put on weight, to figure out how much fertilizer to mix with water in the watering can.....to get a job which pays above the minimum wage.

Right now I feel like Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker. I can teach the kids to parrot methods but there is no generalisation. There is no connection between the process they use and the real life situation it applies to. Like Annie Sullivan I am waiting for the moment when the pupils one by one put their metaphorical hands under the water pump and make the connection.

"Oh Mrs A, is that why we've been doing x?"
"That's like when we did y!"
"Mrs A, Mrs A, this tape measure is just full of decimals and fractions!"

There are many differences between the situation of Erin Gruwell and that of my classes. Notably, the Freedom Writers were not specifically kids with Special Needs, apart from their social and emotional needs and a lifetime of avoiding study. My kids do not get shot at on a daily basis. My management team are supportive and flexible and they respect my opinion! Oh and did I mention that she teaches ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!?? :-D

But I have been challenged to put aside my stereotypes. To try and find ways to meet these kids 'where they are'. To stop whinging and get on with the job of finding ways to engage them.

I made a step today but I'll tell you about that later. For now, go and watch the movie which is a truly inspirational experience and then keep me in your prayers!

Edited: Headbang said this

"But is it necessary for me to get satisfaction out of this job?"

That's Al-anonic thinking at work. Doing good and making yourself miserable need not go hand in hand. I'm not a trained teacher, but my understanding is that the emotional environment of the classroom is as important as the structure of the materials when it comes to engaging students. If you feel no satisfaction, it may, indeed, show up in the class results. More important, perhaps, than any clever new pedagogical sleight of hand.

I feel the need to clarify. When I say I am not getting 'satisfaction' out of the job, I don't really mean that I resent being there or dislike the pupils. I am really rather fond of all of them. What I mean is that I am trying all sorts of things to get concepts 'through' to them and so far nothing is working. This leaves me feeling frustrated but not about to 'give up'. I mean headbang, do you give up on the Cryptic Crossword just because it is a tough one this week?
[ btw: whether or not headbang actually does the Cryptic Crossword I neither know nor care, it is a metaphor! and that was an exclamation mark. because I'm like that]
I suspect however that you may be right in that my own frustration is a clear message to the kids that they are, once more, 'not getting it'. This reinforces their belief in themselves as failures and so the cycle continues. Mind you, I do plenty of affirming and encouraging but I guess that sounds lame against the emotional gutscape of simmering frustration.What is needed is a change of attitude! As well as curriculum. More on this later. Meanwhile, here are the fraction bridges I promised (still awaiting the last one......) and here is my display board. As of the second to last week of term I have had to move rooms to make way for a new computer lab so I will have to spend some time this holiday 'doing up' the new space. Actually, that move could have contributed to the stress of the final two weeks of school now I think of it............

What Am I Teaching Them??????

Dateline: Friday 6th June 2008

Do you see this?

Do you SEE this?

This is the end result of my year 10 Maths lesson on fractions.

This is what happens when you ask Year 10 to cut 60cm lengths of streamer, create fractions of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/3, 1/6, 1/12, sort them into graduated lengths and stick them onto A3 paper. One out of 10 managed it and she had only cut the even denominatored fractions!!

I cannot do justice to the chaos which ensued. They lost bits, they randomly chopped bits, they wrote one sixth as 6, they argued, they told me it was a pointless exercise and that they weren't going to use it 'in life'. They dropped bits on the floor. They 'waited for me to help' (aka doing nothing and then letting Mrs A do it all for you).

Part of the problem was the curly nature of streamers or perhaps I am just clutching at straws...or streamers. Part of the problem was that they cannot follow instructions! Even when they are written down on a paper in front of them! Part of the problem was I did not show them 'one I'd completed earlier' first so they didn't have a visual on what they were trying to accomplish. Most of the problem is that they are hugely disorganised, dysfunctional and do not understand fractions.

Me: Watching now, this is the part where I am HELPING you (for those who will protest in 10
minutes that they couldn't do it because I never help them) . First I need to find out what a
third of 60cm is. How can I do that? Anyone? What operation do I use? Anyone? No? OK,
it's division so who can divide 60cm by 3?
(blank looks)
Pupil 1: Why?
Me: So we can find one third. So, 60 divided by 3....anyone?
Pupil 2: 100?
Pupil 3: What are we doing?
Me: We are trying to divide 60 by 3 and no it is not 100.
Pupil 1: Why?
Me: So we can find a third.
Pupil 2: Which streamer are we cutting? (holds up a half)
Me; No, not that one, that is your half. Have you labelled it with 1/2?
Pupil 2: No.
Me: Well do it now. Now, where were we? Oh yes, what is 60 divided by 3?
No-one? Well what is 6 divided by 3?
Pupil 4: 3! Because 3 and 3 is 6.
Me: (giving up) OK well, 6 divided by 3 is 2 so 60 divided by three is 20. So get out your ruler and mark off 20cm. That will be 1/3 of the streamer.
Pupil 1: I don't have a ruler.
Pupil 2: Neither do I.
Pupil 3 : Neither do I...

Need I go on?

Anyway, this tangled mass of lunatics streamers are what was left after the lesson.

Footnote: It is now nearly a week later. I re-did the lesson with stiff cardboard 'streamers'; split up all the kids so that they were working individually; handed out rulers and scissors beforehand; TOLD them what to do step by step (no discovery learning here thanks) and we got most of the fraction construction done. Yesterday I tried to move on to the next stage where they sorted, order and compared the fractions. Once more it was an unmitigtaed disaster. I will not be deterred. Tomorrow we will sort and compare the fractions again and this time it will WORK.

Stay tuned. Oh and for those of you who, with Year 10 say, "what is the point of this activity?", it is to give them hands on experience in proportional thinking. It is also good for practising how to measure 5.6cm using a ruler marked only in mm...or even one marked in cm with no intermediate markings :-(. It is also good for learning how to follow instructions and for getting a sense of having achieved something by finishing it. Eventually I will display their fraction bridges on the wall and then I will take a photo to show you how it all turned out.

Right before having myself committed.

Success!

Oh my!! I had a GOOD lesson with Year 10 this morning. This is so rare that I feel compelled to blog about it!!!!!

We went through multiplying by two digit numbers

M: But Miss, I KNOW how to do this, I just don't bother putting the zero there......

Finding fractions of a quantity

L: Eh Miss, so fractions is just like dividing eh?


Subtracting with regrouping


M: But what do you do when there's no tens in the tens column either? (200-147)
L: Stupid, you go to the hundreds column ...now don't waste our time girl...
(spoken in 'hiphop'ese)


*aaaaaaah* (rapturous sigh)


Now THAT's job satisfaction.


Oh and you know, I've been thinking about this business of not posting kids faces without parental consent etc etc. Well they all have their faces plastered all over My Space and You Tube......... what's the difference? I only ask because Himself has given me a blog sized version of The Movie which I could potentially put up...........

Lightbulb Moments

I have had two revelations this week.

I have become more and more painfully aware that unlike the majority of the female gender, I do not multi task well. On the days that I have a moderately good lesson or two at school, I become acutely attuned to the filthy and unloved state of my house/car/garden. On a day after a house cleaning binge I invariably have dreadful lessons because I have not 'prepped' sufficiently.

On the occasions that I cook dinner we eat at 8.00pm because I have been simultaneously helping the BA with her homework/piano practice/emotional angst or trying to clean the kitchen as I go.

Himself is a wonderful husband because he does not say things to me like
"You never finish anything." or "What are you meant to be doing." or "don't whinge to me about stress when you waste half your life on your blog..." . No, he says nothing like this. Although, occasionally lately he has made pointed comments like "So what time do you think we will be eating?" or "Do you need this mop and bucket anymore?" (finding them in the bathroom after half an hour with nothing mopped yet....).

I think one of my problems is this Asperger's-ish tendency to detail. I start to do something on a big scale and become ensnared by the small scale. I cannot simply wipe the benches, I need to scrub the wall tiles and spray everything with mould killer. I start to sort the washing and when putting some of it away I end up sorting my daughter's drawers. When I am cooking dinner and the BA asks about finding the area of an irregular shape, I cannot simply leave her to it with a brief exhortation to 'look at the example' but must instead drop everything to divide up the shape into rectangles and show her how the geometric laws enable us to deduce the length of the mystery side. Dinner is late again. This may be why Himself does a lot of the cooking :-)

It would be fair to say that it is rather late in my life to be having this revelation.

The second revelation I had this week was about my students.

I attended the second day of a course on Wednesday. It had been a late-ish night I guess and an early morning as I had to get the BA to her bus and then into school to drop off my reliefs before braving the traffic and the storm to get down to Glenelg. I had thoroughly enjoyed the first day of the course and had no reason to believe that I would not similarly reap the benefits of a second day focussed on 'differentiating Maths in the Middle School Curriculum'.

I felt a bit tired on arrival but had a quick coffee and started to 'fire'. The first activity involved the group creating 5 complete squares from a handful of tangram pieces without speaking or indicating. The only thing you were allowed to do was give a piece or pieces away. Four of us quickly completed our squares leaving the unfortunate fifth group member under the full spotlight glare of four pairs of eyes. No pressure there. For some reason she could not arrange the 3 pieces to form a square.

The rest of us of course could see exactly what she needed to do but were unable to help her. One pushed her completed square at our unfortunate colleague who laughed and returned the pieces, seemingly to the amusement of the donating colleague. I think she may have tried again and got a similar response and I remember thinking 'what is she doing? Is she trying to show the other woman how to make the square by showing her pieces???? That doesn't make sense, they are different squares!!!' Silly me.

Eventually after a period of great frustration and a few clues, the confounded colleague reversed two pieces and completed the puzzle. When we were asked to analyse our group interactions, the question arose as to why we had not simply handed the paralysed colleague one of our squares and allowed her to relinquish her pieces in order that we complete the puzzle as a team.

Of course. That was what our friend had tried to do. And we had completely failed to see what she was doing, or think of it ourselves. In fact, all I could think of was "I didn't think we were allowed to do that!!" It was only the beginning of a day full of 'failure to launches' on my part.

On the next activity I missed a vital instruction, and misinterpreted the next. I was lost. I asked my neighbour and thus missed the next instruction. I gave up on the activity. I was angry with myself.

We had been given a series of handouts, unsorted and similar in appearance. When asked to find one, I was confused as to which of two similar front pages was the correct item. "The one without the pictures on the back" came the advice. I flipped both over. Neither had pictures on the back. I turned angrily to my neighbour who patiently took the sheaf of pages and flipped to the last page. One had pictures the other didn't. How could I have made that mistake?

And so it continued all day. I realised at morning tea that I was exhausted and not functioning properly so I had one of my famous catnaps on the floor which did help to some degree. But before lunch we were asked to 'plan a unit of work' and I realised with sickening certainty that I did not even have an idea of unit of work I needed to plan! The problem with special ed is that you are constantly trying to find where the students are 'at' in order to plan for what to teach them. At the moment I do not even know where they're at. :-( More importantly, I don't know where I'm at.

The upshot of all of this was that I was suddenly and sickeningly placed in the position of my students. My own rapid fire explanations and knowledge of my own handouts was laid bare before me. The ease with which a seemingly obvious instruction can be misinterpreted was both frightening and illuminating. Th feeling of inadequacy created such a well of anger in me that I was almost overwhelmed.

I knew exactly how my students felt.

The saving grace for me was that I know I am capable of doing all the maths presented that day and of interpreting all the instructions. I've done it before. I have my Matric in double maths (albeit from 30 years ago). I knew I was tired. I knew I was not operating at full throttle.

But what about my kids? Most of the time they are doing the best they can. Often they are tired or unable to concentrate due to attention deficit difficulties, epilepsy or being 14. They know with the same certainty that I know I can do it, that they cannot do it. They never have. They have always failed in this subject. I gave up after one game. Why am I surprised when they give up before they enter the room?

So with this insight, what do I do? Perhaps just be a little more patient with them? Perhaps make it more fun? More of a game? Perhaps take it less personally when they completely ignore me in the classroom? It is tough but it is something which I have to consider.

On Thursday and Friday I had quite calm and engaging lessons with both Years 9 and 10. I'm not sure what they learned. Perhaps nothing? But at least we weren't battling each other all the way to the bell.

Image credits: Midvale School: Gary Larson
Light bulb: http://gallery.hd.org/_virtual/ByAuthor/AHD/

And the Answer is.....oh I dunno....Maybe Ten?

Yesterday I 'supervised' Year 8 Science and Year 9 Maths. The latter was heartbreaking. In the exam set for the most challenged of the 14 year olds, there was a question which read

x-2=11

A young man called me over. "I don't know how to do this one."
Now what you have to understand is that as a supervisor for kids with Learning Difficulties you have a fine line to walk. Sometimes you are there to ensure that kids show us exactly what they know. They may have lots of skills and knowledge locked up inside their heads and simply be unable to demonstrate that knowledge because they cannot access the questions. In this case, I reread the question, explain words which have slipped out of their often challenged memories, or sometimes simply read the question to them to take the reading load away so they can think about the actual question they are being asked.

Other times you are left to salvage a kid's self respect as they sit an exam which is blatantly out of their skill range. In this instance you mark the paper with 'assistance given' and they receive a modified mark which reflects their skill as marked against a different set of criteria.

This case was the latter.

I rephrased the question. "Think about it like this, what can you take two from and still be left with nine." I drew the familiar primary level empty box that the kids write the 'missing number' in. He remained blank and sputtered out a few unrelated numbers.

"OK," I tried again,"Let's draw the 9." I drew nine 'counters'."Now let's put back the two that we took away." I drew two more....different shapes so as to differentiate them from the nine. "So, if I ended up with 9 (I covered the two), what did I start with(uncovering the two)?"

There was 10-15 seconds of confusion. "Maybe ten?" was his reply.

He is 14 going on 15. In 6 short, summer laden weeks he will commence Year 10 and will be in Maths Applications with a syllabus of buying stocks and shares and doing your own tax. He can't add 9 and 2....with dots to count.

And guess who will be teaching him?

Another student, my nemesis, found herself in floods of hysterical tears. She started flippantly, ignoring all rules and cracking jokes with her next door neighbour, demanding help and whining that the teacher had not listened to her when she didn't understand during the year. (in truth, she was probably in the Focus Room when the lessons were taught). After struggling along for the first 45 minutes, she suddenly dissolved and exposed all the underlying fear and insecurity. She was terrified that if she failed her parents would make her quit her job at 'Hungry Jacks' (Burger King). Would I phone them? Would I tell them that she needed to go down a class? Would I tell them that she had really tried?

As I sat patting her back and feeling her pain (I had huge mental blocks with maths as a kid) I marvelled that this was the same child who had been so openly defiant, rude, indeed personally abusive (you really need a nose job Mrs A...you have a very big nose) and yet had it been appropriate to open my arms I am sure she would have crawled onto my lap. Also aged 14.

I calmed her and she tried a few more questions before the end of the 'road accident' that was this exam. She left saying she wanted to be in my class next year and would I please call her parents and explain?

As I said. This was a heart breaking exam.

Science wasn't quite so bad because when they don't know, they just write any old rubbish and lets face it, they're mostly no wiser! But Maths is the one where you sometimes don't even know where to start. Your inadequacies are laid bare for all to see. You can't cover with lost homework or distraction and attention seeking behaviour.

Better go finish the exam for my babies with this is mind.l

In Which Year 8 Fail To Grasp the Concept of a Test.

I am so OVER Year 8!

Today we had our usual nightmarish last two lessons of the day Maths class. (no one should ever timetable Maths for the last two lessons of ANY day). We like to play cards on Tuesday afternoons because really, we're not up to too much else! Today we had a topic test before playing cards. The deal was simple, finish the test and then we play cards.

Now, with this group I make a practice of explaining the questions as they are the bottom 10% or the year group and several have learning difficulties. Thus if a question says;
Plot and label these coordinates on the same set of axes.....
I will usually be asked, "What does that mean?"
(and yes, of course we've done it before in class......)

So I will say;
"What are axes?"
"Those graphy, liney things with numbers"
"Good. Draw them first. Now, show me the coordinates."
(vague pointing at the sets of points eg (4,-5)...)
"Well done, how do we read those sets of coordinates?"
"Along the corridor and up the stairs."
"Fantastic, so you know which axis you read first. Now what does it mean to plot the coordinates?..."
And so it goes on........

My reasoning behind this labour intensive strategy is that at least I get to see what the kids actually DO know. Often, they are so stumped by the wording of a question ("What does evaluate mean??? I don't know what evaluate 6+4 means!!!") they will not attempt something I believe they can do. If I take away the language barrier to the problem, I hope that they will demonstrate their mathematical knowledge for me.

Today this got past a joke.

Sometimes with these kids I feel I am dealing with leeches or some kind of parasite which sucks and sucks until it kills the host. As you extend a helping hand, they pull on it so hard the arm comes out of its socket. They fail to see the assistance they receive as a blessing and look on it instead as a right which they all demand in ever increasing quantities. At least one girl had the grace to say laughingly, "Why can't you just do the test for us Miss?" which just about summed the situation up.

After a reasonable start they began putting their hands up and as I was helping one, the others started chatting amongst themselves!
Me: Hang on, this is a test, what is all this chatting about?
Them: We're waiting for you to help us!
Me: But you don't talk in a test. What could you do if you don't understand a question?
Them: Wait for you?
Me: NO, move on to the next question. Ask yourself, what does this question want me to do? Try and think of questions we've done like this in class.
Them: (blank looks) But we need help!!!!

At one point, one of the more obnoxious girls, who had received help and then immediately put her hand up again, said when challenged:
"But I'm waiting for you! I really want to pass this test and you won't tell me what to do!!!!"

At that point I 'spat the dummy' and told them there would be no more 'help' and they could work on for the last 5 minutes alone and in silence!!! I was met with calls of 'unfair' and at least one child who kept coming up to my desk for directions even after I had repeated that I was not giving any more HELP. (*pant, pant, pant*)

Need I remind you folks that this is a TEST!!!!!!???????????

Suffice to say the results of said test would be about as reliable 'evidence of learning', as a 2 year old's estimate of the amount of money in a jar full of 10c pieces!!!!!! (Do you have that kind of competition where you are?)

I am now off to further my journey towards slashing my wrists, by marking the accursed things.

Wish me luck.

Decimals and Fractions and Ratios, Oh My!!! Part 1

I have spent the last two days on a course for teaching the tricky subjects of Decimals and Fractions (which are really one in the same as we learned because decimals are of course another way of writing fractions). It was FANTASTIC!!!!! I came home on Thursday night and said to the Baby Angel, "I am lovin this course," to which she replied that I needed to get a life but, seriously, it was fantastic.

She may be right of course; after all I do have a slight streak of Asperger'siness about me. This is evidenced by, for example, my preference for reading every plaque at the museum or historic site. I LOVE those interpretive plaques which show you the same view of a site taken 100 years ago and the like. I spend ages standing and comparing the two versions, noting the differences, wondering when this new building was built or when an extra story had been added to that other one. I love to see the difference in the trees and think about the fact that they have witnessed so much go by.

As I dropped the BA off for her sleepover at her best friend's last night, I noticed a table full of bakelite telephones. On enquiring of her Dad what they were, I was treated to a 30 minute tour of his collection of antique phones, many in working order. I learned all about the 400 series and the differences between the 400 and the 401 which I think involved numbers around the dial as opposed to under the finger holes. But I could be mistaken. I learned about the phones with ringers in a wooden box on the wall and the first models to include the bells in the phone. I learned about pyramid phones, wall phones and French parlour phones and I observed the instructions on the dial of a 1930s phone.
"Place finger in the hole. Pull around until it stops. Let go."
Most exciting was the upright style candlestick phone; the earliest kind, as seen in silent movies. I had to lift the small but incredibly heavy brass receiver and put it to my ear.

We ended up out in his shed as he showed me army field telephones, 'pilot to bombardier' microphones and an assortment of other collected communication devices, neatly stored in shelves or lining the workbenches in what appeared to be breeding pairs.

Aspergers.
But I was fascinated!!! I also love Trivial Pursuits and line up my coffee cups in the cupboard according to styles. Aspergers! ( Or I suppose you could argue Obsessive Compulsive...but if you've seen my desk you'd probably rethink that one.)

However, I digress. My point is, to really love a two day intensive workshop on Fractions and Decimals you have got to have something a bit screwy going on in the social and emotional development department. Something loopy in your 'priorities perspective'. Some sort of strange code in your 'sense of enjoyment' program.


Or maybe, just maybe Baby Angel, I just love learning!

Whatever the motivation, I had a thoroughly engrossing, enlightening and yes, slightly challenging two days. Now this harks back to my youth and my own experiences with mathematics.

When I was 6 and a half we spent 6 months in the north of England, where I was born, and 6 months in Connecticut where Dad was doing research at Yale. Before we left Australia I had just started tens and units at school, having spent (according to my father) an inordinate amount of time on Venn Diagrams and the idea of intersections of sets. In the UK at the time, the money system was still based on 12s: pounds, shillings and pence and, thinking it may confuse me since I had only just got tens and units, my mother suggested to the school that I skip it. And so it seems I missed a chunk of maths for that 6 months. When we got to the US, I was suddenly faced with 60 second mentals challenges and 'borrowing and paying back'. My mother recalls me flouncing in after the first day of school and announcing in suitably dramatic style,"Well, I have no idea what they are on about!!"

As a pretty bright kid who had been sailing through school up to that point, I was not used to 'not being able to do what everyone else could'. I reacted predictably. I decided I could not do maths and was not going to try. (thus avoiding further failure...there was logic to it I assure you). My father, a scientist, a lover of learning, 'valuer of education above all things' and high achiever to boot, was horrified. We commenced what was to become about an 8 year battle over maths. He tried to teach me, I refused to cooperate, he became frustrated, I totally refused to cooperate and burst into tears. He bribed me with chocolate and (later) money, I refused to cooperate, became frustrated and burst into tears. He met with the teachers. They all agreed I was a very bright girl who ought to be able to do maths and they tried to help. I refused to cooperate and burst into tears.

It must be said that most of this angst centred around number related maths. I arrived back in Australia at the age of 7 and a half and the class had already started learning their tables. I had no idea what tables were! (and, I must say, no one enlightened me) Number bonds confused me. They did not stay in my head. Mental arithmetic was a mystery to me. Now, if it came to graphs, geometry or measurement, no problem! Later I was to find negative numbers a breeze, the circumference of a circle and pi a marvellous revelation and algebra elegant in its logic and simplicity. But mental arithmetic, number bonds and tables remained elusive and emotive (remember the cycle...me ending in tears).

The introduction of calculators was a Godsend as it completely removed the stress of calculation for me. As a Special Ed teacher we refer to this strategy as 'providing assistive technology'. From that point on, even though maths often challenged me and I ended up with a tutor through Year12, I still achieved an A and a B in the advanced maths class known as Maths I and MathsII in my Matriculation. Not bad for a kid who 'couldn't do maths'.

To Be Continued.