Writers Wanted, Part 2

So perhaps I could write about tutoring my kids at home...while they are supposed to be getting educated at the school they are enrolled in.  I had to teach them organization: both class work and for writing essays, stories and reports.  I had (have) to help them learn their math.  I guess I'm not doing so good at that becuz my daughter was a GREAT math student until she hit middle school then something went wrong.  I had to help her with her lessons becuz she didn't understand what the teacher was trying to show them in class.  I would spend about 5 minutes explaining it, I would hear, "OOOHHHH!" and she would whiz through her homework and get an A.  My son did well in math...always, as long as I sat and explained it to him then he was off and running.  Now he is in college and he is majorly struggling with it.  He KNOWS if I sit and show him and work with him a bit he gets it.  Yet, he still resists doing that!  Now he is freaking out becuz he has one more class this summer (algebra II) then Trig in the fall.  I have to figure out how to instil some confidence in him with this math.  He works through it slowly, second and third guessing himself through it all.  I have told him ALL his life, "You are looking for something 10x's harder than it really is!  It is NOT that difficult.  There is a logic and pattern to everything."  If he can sit and use html code to build a web site without the help of web builder programs, then he should be able to do math! 

Parenting takes listening...REALLY listening.  Listen for what they are really trying to tell you between the words coming out of their mouth.  The even more difficult part is listening to what they are trying to tell you when they are saying nothing.  You have to KNOW your kid. 

There have been times when I quit listening to my son.  I said I didn't get him.  I may not always GET him but I know him.  I think what I took as not getting him is really being afraid of what I know.  He is scared, unsure, and any confidence he had in himself has slowly leached from him and down the drain.  It is really tough trying to prop him back up. 

Sometimes they need it.  Most times they need it. 

My daughter doesn't fool me.  She puts on a brave face and acts like she is 'good'...has it figured out OR she can figure it out herself.  But I know what is really there becuz she is me.  I was just like her..still am.  We all need someone to at least be by us as we journey forth, and sometimes clear a path for us once in a while, no matter how old we are.

I get weary myself becuz all my life ppl have stood back and let me do it all myself.  They have ALL thought that I have a plan...I'm determined...I am smart...I know what I want and how to get it...I don't ask for help becuz I don't need it.

Here's a clue:  It's the ones that DON'T ask for help that need someone else to give them a break and start clearing a path for them once in a while.  NO ONE always knows...

And that is why my daughter can count on me to be there to hold her hand or start clearing a path for her once in a while.  She won't ask...but I know she would like to.

My son is trying to be strong and independent.  He is doing the 'guy thing'.  Getting help from mom with his college math makes him feel like a kid...a mama's boy.  I think tomorrow I am going to put a label on my shirt that says, "Math Tutor".  Wonder if that will make him feel any differently?

I guess by the time I am done with my math tutoring of my kids I will have made up my mind if I want that masters in math ed. or not.