The Saddest Math Picture Ever

I literally felt punched in the stomach when this picture came across my news feed. A viral image taken by a professional photographer of her own 2nd grade child who is frustrated beyond belief over their math homework. Kids with high work ethics put so much pressure on themselves for perfection and have meltdowns when mistakes are made.  This was my son ten years ago.

My own son had plenty of moments like this in the 2nd-3rd grade window.  When we moved from Dallas to San Diego last summer we were both reminded of that period of time. The movers pulled back the big TV from the built in cabinet and there were six snapped pencil halves. My now 17 year old son noticed them first and asked why all the broken pencils were back there. I reminded him of all the temper tantrums he used to throw during homework time. He would go from hard worker to pencil snapper in a split second and throw the pencil across the room. Apparently some of those bits got trapped behind the TV.

We laughed it off since almost ten years had passed, but as a parent I remember calming him down, making him walk away for a while to clear his brain, and at times NOT turning in the homework on time as it was such a negative experience and I needed my kid to feel like a kid and be happy.

It was these situations that led me from stay at home mom to earning my teaching credentials, becoming an elementary school teacher, math curriculum writer, and ultimately an administrator responsible for integrating 21st Century skills into the lessons delivered on our elementary campus. I want kids to understand math. Not just the rules, but the whys. How did those numbers get there? How can I move them more flexibly?

Our math tutors offer quality math instruction that prepares elementary school children for middle school, middle schoolers for prealgebra and algebra, and supports all levels of high school math including advanced algebra, geometry, statistics, precalculus and calculus.

The outburst changes as the kids get older.  Tears and snapped pencils turn into mood swings, bad moods, withdrawn, insecurity of intelligence, and other self-esteem issues.  If you see this nightly, come talk to us and let's see if we can be of help. We identify and help fill critical math gaps, present lessons one on one so it makes sense to the child, and provide homework help so your time with them in the evening is less stressful.