Browsing posts in the ‘All in a Day’s Work’ category

Math Troubles

1
All in a Day's Work, The Day Events

I was tutoring a student and she’s in AlgebraII/Trig Honors. Her book is like 100 years old and has limited easy examples and gradually hard questions to a point where there is no example that could aid in figuring a hard question out. One of those old books where they didn’t really care about the student trying to do their homework alone at home. Anyhow, this was bugging me. I’m trying to get the same base so I can just create an equation using the exponents, but the 63 is throwing me off. Am I not looking at this question the right way?

Gum

All in a Day's Work, The Day Events

Students are not allowed to chew gum…

even though they still do. They sneak it into their mouths, and teachers just tell them to spit it out. No big deal.

Today, right after the bell rang, a student asked

“Miss Thelnie, would you like a piece of gum?”

Me: (is this a trick question??)

Good thing this is an easy answer for me

Me: Oh! No, thank you!

~*~*~*~

It’s an easy answer for me, because I don’t like gum! I owe it all to Mrs. Mieres of eight grade Social Science. She told the class that gum is bad for you because when you are chewing, it tricks your body to think that you are eating so your stomach gets its acids ready…with nothing to digest. So it’s supposed to be bad for you. I never really liked chewing gum anyway, because you are chewing your own spit, but that did it for me. No more gum unless my breath really stinks.

I hope I didn’t offend the girl. I was almost tempted to accept the gum, out of courtesy…but then I thought…well…I still am in the school setting, and I probably shouldn’t be chewing gum anyway, and maybe this will serve as a good example? She probably doesn’t even care and I’m thinking too much. And I’m using run-on sentences.

Warmness

All in a Day's Work, The Day Events

I’ve been getting little gifts and cards from classes of students…it’s really nice and thoughtful. The best is all the cards they write. It’s a little sad, though, because of my new quarter class schedule, I won’t be able to teach a few of the schools and some of the kids in there are my favorite. For instance, the CSI Miami girl.

So some of the cards say that I’ve raised their Math grade from Cs to Bs…which are really nice. I’m not sure if it’s true……but if it is, that’s pretty awesome that I only have to help them with two problems a day, and they learn from other kid’s questions, and that can make a big difference. Sometimes, I’ll review them core concepts that trick people even now. Such as:

X^5 * X^8 is not the same as (X^5)^8. The first one is actually X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X and the second one is X^5 times itself eight times….so you add the exponents on the first one, but you multiply the exponents on the second one. Breaking down the reasoning behind the shortcuts is what I usually do to get kids to understand stuff like this. And this is stuff people forget even in AP Calc….well they don’t forget, but they have to think about it for a second.

Anyhow, I was talking to CSI girl, and I told her that I wouldn’t be coming on Thursdays anymore and she seemed kind of bummed….and I was thumbing through all the holiday cards they wrote…and she said:

“It’s weird…most kids drew holiday christmas stuff…but….. I drew flames <smile>”

hahahhaa…..

Did I tell you she came in with these scabbed up circled scars on her hand, the size of dimes…and when her friend asked her how it happened…she casually said,

“Oh, I was working on my dirtbike this morning, and the battery acid dripped on my hand. It kind of stings, but it’s okay”

<: D

My kind of girl!

Oh wait, I was talking about holiday stuff, but I went on a tangent. Anyhow, it’s all very touching and I enjoy it lots. Even for the problem kids that are a little hard to get to concentrate, I can totally see that they are all good kids inside and just need a little push and encouragement. I love seeing the progression of a kid who didn’t really try, but after I write a few words of encouragement on their paper, their next paper becomes a huge improvement.

And the best kids are the ones who try the work, and actually ASK questions.

and P.S. I saw about three “Your the best”. @_____________@. I’m going to have to get on that quickly. And sometimes, I type that wrong too, but it’s because sometimes my fingers type things I don’t mean to type…like they have a mind of their own. Does anyone else get that?

Asian Magnetism

1
All in a Day's Work, The Day Events

So I’m at a middle school, and there is a break before the class starts, so I bust out my strawberry yogurt nutrigrain bar and head outside to eat it on the ramp (it’s a portable classroom). A few seconds into chomping down on it, greeting students coming in, I sudden notice a little asian kid looking at me.

Asian kid: Hi!

Me: Hi!

Asian kid: What are….<pointing at the classroom>

Me: Oh! I’m part of this class. ……… Are you in this class? (thinking he just added the class or something)

Asian kid: oh! no…no….

Me: Okay!….<nodding and eating….trying to avoid eye contact because the kid is still staring>

Asian kid: Are you….Japanese…..Chinese…..

Me: I’m actually Taiwanese…..yup…mmhm….

Asian kid: ooooh okay….so do you speak Chinese?

Me: Yeah, I can speak Manderin. ^_^. <slowly walking up the ramp to the front of the door and I stop in front of the trash can>

Asian kid: Ni tsai tse su muh? (What are you eating?)

Me: Oh, a bar.

Asian kid: Ahh! So you cannot speak Chinese!

Me: No no, I can

Asian kid: Then why don’t you speak it? Is your Chinese poor?

Me: No, I just choose not to.

Asian Kid: Why?

Me: It’s…..just…..weird….here….

Asian Kid: Ahhhhh! <shaking his head, as if offended, and walks away in a huff>

Me: <I turn around and my co-tutor is like @_@>

Too funny. I hope he’s okay.

But seriously, what is up with that? It’s like he was walking to class, and suddenly sees an asian person and he just had to see if it was someone he could speak Chinese to? It was really uncomfortable. You’re a kid! Go make friends!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7