Math and Me: A Love Story without the Love

When I was in 1st grade and saw a minus sign for the first time, I immediately changed it to a plus sign, because, REALLY, I already knew math.  Some kid in my class "told" on me, and I blushed so hard when I realized this was "new" (ie: other than addition) math, that the shameful feelings continued on through the rest of school. 

 My "It's time for math" face.

 Math and I were never close from that day forward.  I think maybe I blamed math on making me feel stupid... which it continued to do over the years simply because I could never see the point to it.

My father-in-law (math teacher) and husband (physics major) would say you learn it so you can do even MORE math.  Or Physics!  Whoopee!

Fast forward 20 years... I picked up an algebra book at our local library book sale.  Why?  I don't know, other than I was looking for a challenge, and dog-gone if I didn't work myself through the whole book.  I made sense now... maybe it needed 20 years to percolate, maybe the shame I had felt about it was gone, and being relaxed about it, and not being graded for it... maybe all those things led to the perfect storm for me.

Fast forward another 3 years, and I find myself teaching math to my children.  (And reading, but that's a different story.) For some reason, Perimeter and Area are the bane of my children's existence.  If someone can teach it to them in a way they can remember it for more than 3 seconds, I won't even be jealous.  Even Grandpa tried to teach them.  He walked away thinking he'd got it in their heads... not so, not so.  I've had them on their hands and knees measuring carpets, up on the table measuring the table top, and measuring the windows for curtains.  I've drawn examples on graph paper about 50,000,000 times. (See how comfortable I am with math now?)

The impetus for this post was the argument I had TWICE today with Habtamu about Area. I admit that I get hot under the collar when I am unable to explain something that is so clear to me to someone who SEEMS to be not understanding ON PURPOSE.  Yeah, I know it's not on purpose, but A=b x h is really about as straight forward as you can get.  A kinder, gentler math, if you will.  Habtamu's math teacher told me today that soon they will be dealing with 3 dimensions instead of 2. Oy.

All that is to say is that 'Ignorance IS Bliss' because if I were still ignorant of the ways of math, I could shrug and say "Huh.  I dunno.  Ask your father."   Just like I do with Science...

(Liberal) Arts Education

So the other day, I'm in the car with Yordanos and "Don't bring me down" by ELO comes on the radio. After a lengthy discussion about how a "snake in the grass" is an idiom and not to be taken literally, the song ends and the DJ says, "That song came out in 1979!"
So of course I mumble something about how I was 7 years old at the time. Yo looks at me and says, "It's hard to believe you were ever a kid," to which I respond, "Yeah, sometimes I can hardly remember it myself."

Half a mile later I look over at her and say, "You do know that I did used to be a kid. You've seen pictures, right?" She looks back and says, "Yes dad. You looked like the party rockin' guy."

Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with the Party Rockin Anthem by LMFAO, being compared to that is kind of a compliment wrapped in an insult and then smothered in another compliment. It's flattering because who wouldn't want to be the Party Rockin' Guy, right? If you haven't seen the video, it's amusing. Youtube it. Only seen through the blissfully naive eyes of an adoring daughter could I ever be construed as the Party Rockin' Guy, especially back in the 80's. Of those three words, 'guy' is probably the only one that might have been used to describe me. And since I was in middle school, even that is iffy.

So the bad news is that the party rockin' guy looks like this:Aaaand the good news is that this look is somehow cool again. So it is sort of a twisted compliment.

For the record, this is me in '85

And this is Katy Perry NOW trying to be as awesome as I was 25 years ago.

Here's a pro tip from someone who was there, Katy... kids with braces didn't smile openly in pictures. Ever. See my picture above. That's me with braces, I think. We went years without showing our teeth. Headgear or otherwise, you kept your lips clamped shut. And if your lenses weren't thick enough to warp the size of your face by about a factor of 6, then clearly your vision is fine and you would have squinted through high school with the rest of the jocks.

So after doing the mental loop-the-loop about my daughter's not-so-backhanded compliment, I looked over and said, "You know... looking like that wasn't 'cool' back then."

"Really? Huh." she replied genuinely.

Being cool before its cool isn't nearly as cool as I thought it would be.

Arts Education

So when you talk to my daughter and find that she prefers Freddie Mercury to Ke$ha, you'll know why.

It's no accident.

Cool Dad Raising Daughter On Media That Will Put Her Entirely Out Of Touch With Her Generation (CLICK HERE)

Equal Face Time

Looking through the recent posts... realized they've been all texty or Yo-centric.  So, let's talk about the boy.  Er... man?   Young man-person.  Habtamu got back from his week away and is a) taller, b) taller, c) taller, and d) more confident/mature/man-ish.  I'm so confused.

I mean really.  It's only been 3 years.

How does that happen?  Shaking head in wonder.

Anyway, I'm so proud of him.  He is working very hard in school, and becoming a person of character.  (Also, he's quite a character.)

I'm more than a little disconcerted to have to look up to talk to him.

Wait! What time is it ?!?!?!

I usually go to meet Yordanos part way home after school each day.  I carry her bag and lunch box and we talk about her day.  A friend of hers had just called the house, so I told Yo about it.  We got home and the phone rang, and...

Yordanos picked up the phone, and without breaking stride, took the phone into a different room and closed the door. 

And I stood in the hall, mouth open in astonishment.  And wonder.  And fear.  And deja vu.  And I continued to stand there, looking foolish, just not believing that it's here already... that thing we girls do (or did, anyway).

The conversation sounded like this, "Hee hee hee.  Yes.  No WAY!  Ok."  And ended with, "Hey Mom, can I go to a dance?" 

Lord.  Have.  Mercy.

Don't get any ideas, princess...

We went to a wedding as a family this past weekend and that may have been an expensive decision on our part.  Judging by this picture, I believe someone's expectations are soaring. 
No, we didn't get to ride in it, which was good because I don't think we would have gotten her out.

Flown the coop

This morning we all got up and out at 6am to see Habtamu off for Outdoor Ed. He'll be gone for a week in Missouri with the rest of his 8th grade class, which will mark the longest period the children have been separated since we've known them. Yo says longest time ever because, "they never took trips in Africa." Chris and I both got hand shakes before he got in the van. Apparently, the seasoned parents who got hugs from their children told us the trick is to threaten them beforehand that you will find ways to be far more embarrassing if you don't get a hug. Now we know. It'll be interesting to see if we're met with open arms when he comes home.
I suspect H will be just fine although I don't expect we won't hear much, if anything, from him until they get back. I think the only thing that would "send him over" would be being alone, and I doubt that's going to be an issue with a cabin full of boys and solid adult supervision.

Yordanos has been prancing around and singing all day. She's enjoying the attention of being the only child, though when asked directly, she says she misses her brother already. We'll see how long she appreciates being the center of attention. Knowing her though, she'll eat it up all week.

Sleeping Arrangements

The week before school started, Habtamu asked to rotate his bed so that his window and fan were at the head of his bed. On the surface this isn't much of an adjustment, but what's interesting is that H no longer has direct line of site of his sister's bed. For 3 years the kids have slept with their doors open and their beds situated so that they could see each other. Neither of them like to sleep upstairs alone when the other one is out at a slumber party or whatever. But I guess we've finally hit the point where they don't need to see each other to fall asleep.

I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but I thought it was noteworthy.

The System welcomes you

So something that we haven't discussed on the blog yet is the fact that the kids started school outside the home this fall. It's true. Thank the stars that the kids can now get socialized! (If you've been following my writings you'll know that's sarcasm.) Anyway, it was pretty much a unanimous family decision and everyone was ready for a change of pace.
We enrolled Habtamu in 8th grade at a local private Christian school with the hopes that the small class and steady routine (the whole class stays together for every subject) would help him adapt quickly. Yordanos is now a 5th grader at the public school across the street from Habtamu's.
Chris is looking forward to having time to work on house projects that have been forgone for 3 years and is trying to figure out where all the time goes even with the kids out of the house.
We're 5 days in and almost every afternoon H comes home frustrated and worried. He's never had to write down his assignments, or remember homework sheets, or remember to bring home the right books so he can do his homework. All that used to literally be arms length away. So there's been a learning curve, but he's catching on quickly. He wants to succeed. He wants to be at the level of the other kids. He wants to have it all figured out already. That's a lot of pressure.
Yordanos is reading and writing like a champ, and is certainly enjoying the social aspect of school. Math will be her struggling point, but that's no surprise.

So the adventure begins!

I am right, amn't I?

This week on "English is just stupid" I would like to make the motion that "Ratio" and "Patio" should rhyme. I don't care if it's RAH-tee-Oh or Pay-shEE-Oh, one of them has to change.

Over, Cover, Clover, Hover. Yeah, I'm coming for you next.

On a separate topic, Chris noticed the kids using "amn't I?" instead of "aren't I?" and reluctantly corrected them. Not because they're are wrong, but because English is just stupid. If one of you educated types has a better answer, we'd love to know what goofball verb disagreement rule causes that one.

Of course, maybe I are wrong.