How do I help my kid with math if I don't understand it?

missbee23

missbee23

Legacy Member
This is a new one for me. I cannot help my kids with their homework because the teacher is using some different technique. I try to show them how to come up with the answer the way I was taught, and they say "we can't do it that way, we have to do it the way the teacher taught us or we will get it wrong". I don't know how to work with this.
 
Yes, missbee23, you can work with it. It won't be easy though because it is a whole new way of teaching in school today. Just take some time by yourself and study the material that your children are bringing home before you sit down with them. Being a grandparent, it was very frustrating not to understand the new teaching methods because I was always stuck on the way 'we' were taught in school. Those days are now over. Once you overcome that it gets easier. Like I said, "You can work with it."
 
They really do teach kids new techniques of solving problems nowadays. It's up to us parents to learn the material for ourselves so we can teach our kids. Better yet, hire a tutor that is knowledgable on that subject. I, for one, don't love math so I doubt I can grasp concepts easily. You can also try searching for online resources about the said technique and try learning it from there. There are tons of online math resources you can use nowadays. There are even videos available. So good luck and keep learning!
 
Hi missbee23! :-) I also have the same frustration because aside from me already forgetting the things that I have learned in my Math subjects when I was still a student, I'm also not a very big fan of the subject. lol Anyway, they do have a different way of teaching Math and other subjects nowadays that we parents sometimes get lost in the process. Good thing there are tons of online resources that we can easily access and review so we can effectively help our kids with their school work. It's also my source of help whenever I need one. I know you can do it too, with patience and determination you can catch up with the latest trend in teaching. Good luck! :-)
 
While I've not yet been in that situation (and I say yet because as teaching develops I've no doubt it will happen at some point in the future) the first thing I would do is speak to the teacher that's set the homework in the first place. I think a lot of parents won't want to do that as they might find it a touch embarrassing, as I myself would, but at the end of the day the most important thing is to make sure that you ARE able to help your child as and when they need you, so asking a teacher to explain how they do things, and in effect teach you as well would benefit everyone, and especially the child, and that's the most important thing.
 
If you go through the technique that the teacher is using I'm sure you will pick it up quickly and that way you can use it to help your kids.
 
If you cannot help him then you just cannot. All I'd recommend you to do is to hire a private tutor in order to teach the kid everything he may need to learn because you'd only be making it more difficult for the kid to learn if you don't really understand what you're trying to 'learn'. Good luck.
 
Alumno said:
If you cannot help him then you just cannot. All I'd recommend you to do is to hire a private tutor in order to teach the kid everything he may need to learn because you'd only be making it more difficult for the kid to learn if you don't really understand what you're trying to 'learn'. Good luck.
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The problem is the method that they are being taught in school is different. A tutor is a good idea though as they will be teach in the same method the kids are learning in school.
 
Sounds like the teachers are trying to make it difficult for no relevant reason. The answer is the answer, so if you can teach them how to come up with the correct answer then you are doing nothing wrong. I have no problem with confronting that teacher about that if I'm understanding you correctly.

I have noticed that they do that at times for no reason with my nephews work assignments.
 
Its not hard, you just need to use technology. There are websites which address mathematical problems and different approaches to tackle them. An example is Mathway.com which gives faster results. I believe there are myriads of other free sites where one can submit a question and they deliver the answer with timeliness.
 
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