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    by Mike McHugh

Math Problems and T-shirts
Date Posted: May 31, 2007

In addition to all those radio and cell phone signals, the air is filled these days with acronyms describing the myriad subtle variations of learning problems. They include LD (learning disabled), ADD (attention deficit disorder), ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder), and others. They should probably add TMS (tired mom syndrome). Is that faint applause I hear out there?

Of course, labeling an apparent learning problem does not accomplish much toward its remediation. One must take concrete steps to alter the learning environment and/or the attitude of the learner, in order to achieve more effective learning. The purpose of this brief article is to give you a very simple tool to address a common obstacle to learning.

Perhaps you know of a child who, when presented with a page or more of math problems, just can’t seem to get going. He huffs, pants, and sighs, but the page remains untouched. While it is possible that the student just hasn’t grasped the glamour that is math, or is watching other children risk life and limb on the trampoline outside, there may be something else going on. Mom, do you have days when there is a rather long list of things to do, like ironing the bedsheets, (which you haven’t even had time to write down let alone prioritize) and you just can’t seem to pick one thing to start on, and at the end of that day virtually nothing got crossed off your list?

It may very well be that Mom and Johnny (or Susie) have the same problem—failure to organize and prioritize. In Mom’s case, she needs to take a few moments (by force, if necessary—in a locked bathroom if the situation is desperate) to think, make a list, and prioritize it. Upon exiting the bathroom, she is focused to work the plan. Those few moments of breaking that monumental day down into discrete and manageable tasks is well worth her effort. Mom may not get it all done, but she will get more done than she would have without a plan.

Now back to your student and the math pages—OK, grammar if you like. It doesn’t matter. Johnny is overwhelmed by the sheer bulk of what he has been asked to do.

How many pages?!
That must be a gazillion problems!
Where do I start?

He cannot focus on the simplicity of a single problem because he can’t get the enormity of the entire task out of his mind. Mom, this is where you come in. Make a mask out of cardboard or even vellum (construction paper to those from Rio Linda). Use the mask to block out all problems except the one Johnny is working on. It is a very simple way to reduce the task to a manageable size and eliminate distractions. It is also a method Johnny can eventually handle himself.

While the mask idea really works, there is something you can do even before you begin a single lesson. Mom, when you are shopping for textbooks, and you already know you have a student who has difficulty focusing, look for texts that offer fewer problems and more “white space” on each page. Some publishers, supposedly in order to give you more for the money, cram as many problems on a page as they can. Frankly that may be working against your student. None of us, me included, like to read a page of solid print with no obvious paragraph breaks and no margins. While we adults could suffer through it, it can be a real obstacle to learning for some children. Layout is important. Choose your textbooks with care.

Students who are set free to focus and prioritize their tasks will not only be more productive, they will be far less frustrated. They will have time to concentrate on other questions, like, “Mom, did you wash my T-shirts?” Mothers who stay focused will cheerily respond, “Yes, they were third on my prioritized list!”

Copyright 2007 Mark Beuligmann

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

Psalms 91:11

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Biography Information:
This column is written by the staff at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Illinois. As a pioneer in the homeschool movement, Christian Liberty ministries has been operating a full service, K-12 home school program for over thirty years and a Christian textbook ministry (Christian Liberty Press), since 1985. The mission of Christian Liberty is to provide parents with quality, affordable educational products and services that will enable them to teach their children in the home and to train their children to serve Christ in every area of life. A more extensive explanation of the CLASS home school program can be obtained at www.homeschools.org.
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