From: Barbara Martindale <ceti7@aol.com>
To: Teacher2Teacher Service
Date: Nov 13, 1998 at 16:30:35
Subject: Math Comprehension

I Have been homeschooling my 2 boys ages 13 and 11 for the past 8 years. My
13 year old is a whiz. He understands it better than I do. However the 11
year old just doesn't get it. So my question is, in an age of calculators how
much math is really necessary? Obviously he would not be going into a field
that required more than day-to-day math.

Let me give you an example: This week we have been working on dividing large
numbers: 54733/64. After going over and over these problems all week, he has
no idea what to do. 

We have been struggling with different mathematical concepts from the
beginning (for years he thought 1+1=11). So, back to the original question:
How much math is really necessary? (And how many people really work out long
division problems without a calculator?)

I really hope you can help me with this.
Thanks,
B.Martindale

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