The Advanced Integrated Algebra Blues

My poor Kid 1 may have finally hit the math wall. Since 3rd grade, she has somehow been able to overcome the familial math disability. It has never come naturally, that's for sure. She has always had to work hard to do well in math and she accepted this long ago. "How come everything else is so easy and math is haaaarrrd?" she'd whine at age 8. And I'd say "For some kids, it's all hard, so buck up and realize that this is never going to be easy and you're always going to have to work hard and sometimes even harder than your peers who are mostly the offspring of hedge fund managers and corporate lawyers." Or something to that effect.

Somehow against heredity and all other odds, she has been placed in advanced math these past two years. She's taking high school algebra in 8th grade and I'm afraid this may be the end of her run as the family math genius.

Now she has run up against factoring polynomials and "meter stick violations" and she really isn't getting it. Extra help from the teacher, tutoring sessions and help from others isn't helping. She takes notes in class and she thinks she's got it and then she gets home and opens the book and suddenly the notes don't make sense any more. Oh boy, does that sound familiar.....

My poor baby.

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