Pham Dinh Vien

August 27, 2008

Taking algebra? If you’re confused, an algebra tutor is the remedy!

With the advent of the new math methodology, learning math was no longer in most parent’s homework help skill set. Essentially, most parents found they had to learn math all over again before they could help their kids! Unless your parent is young enough to have learned algebra using the new math methods, you’re well advised to find an algebra tutor who is skilled in the new way of working algebra problems. Your math teacher can provide help on concepts, but if you need extensive help, ask your teacher to give you some leads on a good algebra tutor. Your tutor will likely be a former student who’s a whiz with algebra and can quickly get you up to speed.

Sure, your parents want to help, but I can tell you from personal experience, everyone’s better off with an algebra tutor of the current school of thought.

I’m a Mom who knew algebra inside and out, but I knew nothing about the new math. My daughter needed help with her algebra class, so I eagerly set about to teach her. I looked through her math book and saw that I still remembered how to solve these algebra problems. I also noticed that her algebra textbook used twice as many steps as were necessary to solve the problem. I thought that surely this was the source of her confusion. Cut out these unnecessary steps and it would be as clear as glass. I got to spend additional time with my daughter, as her personal algebra tutor. How wrong I was!

After spending many hours over the semester showing her these shortcuts and explaining the logic, she came to me one day and said, “Mom, I know you want to help me, but actually I’m more confused than ever! You get the answers right, but in class I can’t do it their way!” My poor little sweetie had been reluctant to hurt my feelings. I was clueless that this was the effect of my teaching efforts. Instead of helping, I’d only made things worse.

I made an appointment to speak with her math teacher and see what could be done to provide some real help. This teacher was very generous with his time and more than willing to go the extra mile with any of his students to get them on track. He offered to serve as her algebra tutor, indicating that he also knew other former students who would be happy to help. We set up a schedule of after class algebra sessions.

Although it was already well into the semester, with a qualified algebra tutor, she ended up with an A! It’s easy to see the moral of this story. If you need help, find a tutor who knows their new math stuff and you’ll succeed.

 Mail this post

Popularity: 40% [?]

Technorati Tags: , ,

Continuing Adult Education

Filed under: Education — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:21 pm

You may think that once you have gone through high school, or even college, that your education is over. You may think you are too old to learn when you enter your thirties or forties, or that it really wouldn’t make any difference. What you don’t know, in that case, is that you are never too old to learn something new, and it can make a huge difference in your life. You may get a new career out of it, or you may just find satisfaction in something that furthers your current career. Even the act of learning new things - just to learn them - can be wonderful when you pursue adult education.

When you think of adult education, you may think of college, but that is not all there can be to it. If you did not finish high school, or went for your GED, you may want to do more. There are a lot of great programs out there for this type of adult education. Some programs can be done right at home, and others can be done on a campus. Some are offered by colleges, and some are sanctioned by your local community, and may be funded. That could mean you could get these courses for little or no cost in some cases.

If your idea of adult education is going back to college, you should never let your age stop you. Even when you are in your fifties and sixties, you may be surprised to see that you are not the only one going back for some higher learning. Many do it for the fun of it, or because they feel that they did not do enough with their life. Others want new information to go with what they learned many years ago, or they may just want to learn more about something that has been a life-long passion for them.

You can also find adult education that can help you in your day to day life. You can find shorter courses that offer things you may be interested in pursuing for your own personal reasons. You can find adult education courses that include cooking, baking, photography, dance, all types of art, and many other things that people like to do in their spare time. You can find these in your local community (ask at your local community college), and you may even find courses online that you can do in your own home at your own pace.

 Mail this post

Popularity: 39% [?]

Technorati Tags: , ,

Powered by WordPress