Math's Sanctifying Properties

When I first started homeschooling more than ten years ago, I heard that math is frequently the weakest area in home educated students. Oh, my shameful pride! I thought that wouldn't be the weak area in our program (I was sure it would be science).

You see, math was pretty easy for me. I actually liked it. But being a good student of math is not the same as being a good TEACHER of math.

This week, math has been demonstrating its sanctifying properties in *my* heart. It is teaching me patience, humility, and attempting to teach me self-control (we won't talk about the torn magazine cover).

I actually think factoring polynomials is fun. It's a fun challenge: Solve 21w(squared, don't know how to make that) - 41w + 10 = 0. So you list the factors of 21 (21 and 1, 7 and 3) along with the factors of 10 (1 and 10, 2 and 5) and you determine which combination will give you a -41 in the middle. There's something crazy in the way my brain works--I just see it.

(It's rather like the bizarre way my brain works when I play Bunco with friends. Bunco, you may already know, is a totally mindless and mind-numbing game in which you roll three dice and try to get a certain number. The first round you and your partner try to get more ones than the other pair, the second round you try to get more twos, etc. It's really about getting together with friends, eating yummy food, and leaving the kiddos home with daddy for a night. But sometimes I roll the dice and I see that even though we're on round five and I got a two, a three and a one--so my turn should be over--well, I could add the two and three and multiply by one and THAT would be a five! Or I could multiply the two and three and subtract one and THAT would be a five! And one of these days I am going to find someone to play it with me this way just once. If you get the number by manipulating the numbers on the dice you roll and use all three dice, now THAT should be a Bunco and worth 21 points. But I digress. . .)

I wonder now if it's about the way my brain works, or if I just had better teachers than my son has had. Because he doesn't see it. (and in case you missed it, *I* am his teacher. sigh)

Now, admittedly he used to be very good at math. I actually think this is part of his problem. Math has always been easy for him and he has never had to work at it. And I've let him be lazy. I always thought it was dumb to have to show all my work when I did half of it in my head anyway, so I didn't make him show all those steps. Now he needs to work at it, and he needs to show his steps and he doesn't want to do either. Yes, math has sanctifying properties for both of us.

He started Algebra in Math U See last year and got through lesson 21 of 35. It was a struggle, but he got a low B. I wanted him to have a strong foundation in Algebra and regretted letting him take it at the age of 13, so I decided this year he would do Algebra in a different curriculum and we chose the Life of Fred. Ironically, we started factoring polynomials this week, which was lesson 21 of MUS. And we're butting heads again.

I'm glad it's Friday and we don't have to do math again for a couple days. But what should we do as we approach a "second semester"? Should we go back to MUS and finish *that* curriculum, starting back with factoring polynomials (because MUS actually does a better job explaining why you do what you do and has video instruction)?? Or should we continue on with Life of Fred?

Or maybe I should order Saxon and a Dive cd. . .or Teaching Textbooks. . .or hire a tutor. . .