Today, my eldest who is in the 7th Grade, left school with almost 100 mathematics exercises. "I want to start them in the car!" he declared. We both knew that this wasn't a cruel Maths teacher's' doing, but rather a caring one, who knew he would leave school for four days and gave him make up homework for his return.
Somehow, in his 7th grade mentality, he thought he could turn an administrative trip to Switzerland into a fun vacation, by finishing four days worth of studying in an hour of hurried calculations. I begged him to slow down and his father lobbied him about the benefits of maternal tutorials and good mathematical habits. We are now transporting the book with its 100 fraction exercises to Geneva with us.
Who remembers where he or she was when first exposed to fractions?
I was in Seoul, Korea, in March of 1980, thirty one years ago exactly. We were visiting our uncle and two cousins while our aunt was delivering their third child in the USA. Fractions seemed scary and mysterious. My father, in his habitual mathematical manner began by sharpening my pencil, sitting me down and telling me to look at a fraction at a time, a rule at a time, a denominator and multiplication at a time. We solved each problem individually, each exercise attentively and soon enough fractions became games and puzzles rather than intimidating jargon. I mastered these fractions every day of that trip, between visits to volcanoes, temples and palaces.
I think what I remember most about South Korea, besides its Spring blossoms and the bright colors of the kimonos were the fractions. The memory is intact today, as I teach them to my son. Surpassing that mathematical memory is the hospitality of my uncle and of course discovering the bundle that my aunt brought came back from the USA, my cousin who is turning thirty- one this Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Happy birthday to my dear cousin, and happy nowruz to my Iranian and Afghan family!
michael kors outlet
ReplyDeletekobe 11 shoes
coach outlet
replica rolex watches
polo outlet
christian louboutin outlet
rolex submariner price
louis vuitton
coach outlet
louis vuitton outlet stores
cheap jordans
vans outlet
coach factory outlet online
ed hardy outlet
rolex watches for sale
jordans for sale
christian louboutin shoes
kate spade
air jordan shoes
toms outlet
louis vuitton outlet
louis vuitton
kd 7 shoes
kobe 8
adidas superstar
oakley outlet
coach outlet store online
coach outlet store
adidas outlet store
michael kors outlet online
michael kors outlet online
cartier watches outlet
hermes birkin handbags
kevin durant 9 shoes
coach factory outlet online
louboutin shoes
michael kors purses
discount jordans
louis vuitton purses
the north face jackets
20168.5chenjinyan
polo ralph lauren
ReplyDeletemlb jerseys wholesale
michael kors outlet clearance
pandora jewelry
michael kors uk
pandora outlet
oakley sunglasses wholesale
coach outlet
manolo blahnik outlet
coach factory outlet
yaoxuemei20180611