Focus, foundation, follow-through, finish, and face!

One thing I don’t like to hear students say to me is, “I’m not like you; I hate math. You can’t expect me to understand it like you understand it.” To that I say something like, “Don’t use my success as a reason for your failure. Be patient and don’t give up.”

The two hardest lessons that I’ve learned as a teacher is that 1) you can’t help them all, and 2)  you have to remember that you (the teacher) know and (hopefully) like your subject matter, and although you may be teaching it for the thousandth time, this is probably the very FIRST time your students are hearing it. I have to remind myself daily that what seems so obvious to me can utterly obfuscate a person who’s never heard what I’m talking about. Now I know that many of my students have HEARD it before from another teacher, but they were not LISTENING, so it’s just like new material to them.

So it is with our own children…many times they have to repeat a lesson because they fall short with whatever instructions we have given them. And so it is with us…many of us have to retake life tests (I’m speaking figuratively) because we, ourselves, are slow learners sometimes! But we can’t give up! We can’t say, “Well so and so has good credit, and I have bad credit, so I’ll never be able to buy a house.” Bad credit is something that can be fixed. We can’t say, “Well so and so can afford a trainer, but I can’t afford a trainer, so I’ll never lose weight.” Being overweight is something that can be fixed. We can’t say, “I live in the hood, so I can’t buy fruits and vegetables.” We find a way to get everything else we want…find a way to make good food choices. We can’t say, “Well you’re good in math, and I’m bad in math, so I’ll never pass this class.” Math-phobia is something that can be overcome.

When I hear, “I’m not good in math,” I tell them…1) focus on the problem at hand, 2) use what you DO know to frame up a foundation for the solution, 3) follow through with logical steps, so you can 4) finish the challenge in order to 5) face the next challenge. We would all be wise to do this when we feel defeated. I know it helps me. What say you?