(I'm telling myself over and over that these nightly math homework freakouts are a good thing in the long run. Sense of perspective! Please! Now!)
One thing that sometimes helps with this in my DD is if she and I approach some things
competitively. Her computational speed isn't that far off of mine. It's good for her to see that I make almost as many stupid errors as she does if I'm doing mental math or rushing, too.
Not allowing a calculator really
really evens the playing field.
DD is in AP physics this year and it is
kicking her hiney (well, okay-- this is what it FEELS like to DD to not know everything without having to actually, you know, learn it from the class... LOL). She had a major freak-out yesterday over experimental uncertainty (which hasn't really been specifically addressed in previous coursework, so she was mixing up absolute undertainty with percent uncertainty, and wasn't sure how to work calculations while accounting for either one). Basically, she was certain that if the first week is this hard, she's way out of her league (yeah, okay... um... kinda crazy, but from her previous experience, I suppose...)
So I sympathize completely. I'm actually HAPPY about this, though, which is ticking my adolescent DD off a bit.
She beat me yesterday in a study game on unit conversions, though she
did have to cheat to do it. LOL. All in good fun, though. It snapped her out of the "I cannnnnn't" mindset, at least. I think it also provided her with a reality check. I mean, I have a PhD in this area and have spent many, many years teaching this subjecct to college students... so. The fact that she has to actually (gasp) 'work' at this... is okay. Everyone has to work at it at least a little.
