In some way, I see her as suggesting that “partial credit” should not be given.
I agree with “That which is wrong must remain wrong.” However, the way my 13yos has been able to “start with new hope,” is directly related to the fact that I helped him to recognize that his math grades weren’t a reflection of his ability at this point, but an evaluation of is honesty. That may sound shocking to many of you. Let me explain.
We’ve added an extra resource to our Bible Study time. While directed at younger students for the most part, I chose to add God’s Armor to our GOAL Bible Study.
https://www.queenshomeschooling.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53_54&products_id=269&zenid=eb4c77dfec45705bfea43930e4cb2abf
Our study of The Belt of Truth revealed several areas that we each needed to work on that were never acknowledged as an issue of honesty. Math studies were one of these areas. This is not spelled out in the resource, it was just a revelation during our study. I began reminding our children to be honest students. This especially helped our youngest son in math and our youngest daughter with her handwriting. ;0) Little things like this are a blessing from God! Honesty (at our house) is now carefully tied to CM’s idea of the Habit of Attention. If we’re HONEST, attention is directly related to honesty. Am I able to learn this? Yes! If so, am I able to get the correct answer? Yes!
In less than two weeks, with a diligent review of math facts and careful review of mistakes (checking for honest answers, not correct math,) his grades have gone from the middle C range to high As! This would not have happened without going back over answers marked wrong. Let me explain why I think this is true.
In the beginning, we discussed which types of problems he was missing on a daily basis. His errors mainly fell into two categories. The most were errors of attention (honesty, am I capable of doing this and in a timely manner?). The remainder were errors based on inaccurate calculations due to sloppy work, or forgotten facts. So, he has been rapidly reviewing his multiplication facts and working on attention/dawdling/execution issues. Being honest about his ability to learn and memorize facts bolstered his confidence and gave him this hope CM suggests is so important. Working on accuracy and neatness proved that he knows what he’s doing, he can do it well, and caused him to set huge goals for himself in the area of math. I did very little to cause this change in attitude. Let me share what I did do.
I sat by him after marking his assignment. I had him talk me through the problems that weren’t correct. I did not change his grade! He was able to find most errors from the beginning of this process. That proved to him that his focus was of most importance. He then recognized that his sloppiness was a serious issue. Because he was doing a dishonest job of writing problems down neatly, errors were made that would have been avoided otherwise. Again, an issue of honesty. When he spotted that some multiplication and division problems (long, long) were based on forgotten, or never learned facts, he was more than willing to again review facts….though he had been very opposed to it for several weeks….defiant dishonesty. We had an honest discussion about his capabilities, how he could improve just by being honest, and prayed for a change of heart.
The change has been miraculous! His hopes for math success are quite solid now. He realizes that his capabilities are directly related to being honest with himself and not based on some sort of mental skill he may, or may not already have been given. Pursuit of math success is now an honest possibility for him. He’s set goals for completion of pre-algebra by his own deadline. He has looked out farther down the math road and is no longer afraid. Once he recognized the source of his errors, he was able to “turn the car around” and head in the right direction.
Here’s where Miss Mason’s Motto comes into play more than this quote IMO.
“I am. I can. I ought. I will!” BTW, his ability to complete word problems successfully has dramatically increased in the same short amount of time. This is directly related to honesty and Richelle’s suggestion to keep CM’s reading and narration suggestions in mind. Being focused on what is being read and narrating back the problem has meant extremely rare mistakes for him now. In fact, I don’t think he’s missed a word problem in close to two weeks!
“The wise teacher will see that he does (get the next sum right).” I feel like this can be done much earlier than I have with this particular child. This is how he’s overcome his struggle recently. But, our youngest daughter (7yo) is making just as many strides now as her older brother because we are “keeping our belts on,” so to speak, during our studies… She’s needed to be honest about her handwriting…In math, that looks like….”Are you being honest about your math studies this morning?” (Looks at paper.) “Yes, look at my 8’s!” BIG SMILE! Or, “Just a minute…” (erases 8 and rewrites it neatly.) “Yes, now I am!”
Just how we’re learning at our house now. Of special note…being honest has greatly reduced dawdling and the length of time it takes for lessons to be completed. Short lessons! Happy relationships! Atomsphere, Discipline, Life! Breathe in, breathe out. ;0)
