Just last week I spent fifteen minutes explaining to her how to add fractions that don't have a common denominator. She understood, then spent ten minutes questioning the way I'd shown her, assuming she could discover an easier, less complicated way. Once proven to her that there's only one way with those pesky fractions, we tackled reducing our fractional answers (e.g. 3/6 reduces to 1/2). Claire is intelligent and quick with math, so she understood all that I was showing her--but she didn't like it. Reducing the fractions nearly got the better of her: She was so frustrated that the book would list an answer as "1/2" when it made so much more sense to her for the answer to be "3/6," especially since those fractions are equal. Seeing that she was distraught and nearing tears, I reiterated calmly that all fractional answers must be reduced every time, all the time, ending with "don't get hung up on it, Claire. Let it go. It's just the way it is." She sighed, declared the book "so confusing," but we moved on to social studies.
So when Claire brought home the picture below, I had lots of questions: Did all the other kids write these same sentences and draw similar pictures? Did the guidance counselor single Claire out regarding her attitude?
I asked Claire these questions, wanting to know the details of the circumstances. She took one look at the picture, and a sheepish, slightly embarrassed grin came across her face, "Yeah, that's really hard for me."The whole class drew these same pictures, though it was probably most apropos for Claire. She's self-aware enough to know she needs to lighten up sometimes, and I guess that's half the battle. When you're having a rough day, take Claire's advice on number four and adjust your "attatude."
I could just hear Claire! What a timely message from school.
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