I did very well in my Maths GCSE back in the nineties if I say so myself - I got an A*, which was one of only a few in my year. Maths didn't come easily to me, but I'm good at memorising things so I was able to remember equations and processes without necessarily understanding exactly how the maths behind them was working. I definitely peaked at GCSE level, I couldn't have coped with taking it any further!
Harry has an instinctive understanding of maths, and he also loves reading around the subject. I've never had to give him any help with his maths homework, and when I caught a glimpse of it the other day I had no idea what it was about. Mia on the other hand is just like me. She is capable of doing the maths and she's in the top set, but it doesn't come naturally and she needs to put in the work.
Recently I was called upon to help her with her homework on quadratic sequences. Some elements were vaguely familiar but most of it was long lost to time. But the big difference between now and then is the fantastic access to resources that the online world has brought us. The homework is completed online, and there were links to videos explaining how to do each step of the process. A quick Google brought back loads more information, with different websites explaining the concept in different ways so that you could find the one that made the most sense to you.
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| Photo credit Antoine Dautry via Unsplash |
I must admit that the last and most difficult questions did defeat us, so I'm hoping that her teacher can work on them with her. I find that my brain just doesn't seem to work the way that it used to, I'm so out of practice and I just can't muster up enough interest in it to make myself focus!
Oh wow! An A* is an amazing result!
ReplyDeleteI remember trying to help my girls with their maths homework when they were at secondary school and I didn't have a clue! I am sure they've changed how they do the workings out from when I was at school. I had to turn to Google for help! x