Yes, math was torture and language was a warm breeze for me also. I do hope the time will come when we will let kids be kids again, play in the afternoons without a coach or pro watching everything they do, explore their own ideas with day dreaming, or putter around in their dad's workshop building god-knows-what. We have created generations of children doomed to frustration and disappointment because of the ideas described in your piece.
And then you can be good at something and not like it (math comes to mind). I recall an interview at IBM. After a half day of grueling tests, the recruiter told me: you're too literary for us. I thanked the man, warmly!
I had the same thing, hitting a wall with math, as my friends flew towards the rarefied air of Calculus. Talent is even more vivid in sports. At some point, you realize you can’t compete. Writing and editing, yes, but I’m only still doing it because I kept doing it, one way or another, keep doing it, even if it’s just shopping lists.
"it may not be all that difficult to produce a child prodigy.” Who'd want to? All the prodigies I know ended up painting houses or handing out pamphlets in front of the Sears Tower : )
This sounds awfully familiar. I did great in math until the dreaded algebra year in high school. Could not get it, had a tutor, and barely passed an algebra test. My teacher knew how much I studied, pitied me and passed me. My work career, however, led me to finance positions as corporate payroll manager, finance director, and even treasurer of a local nonprofit. How much of a difference was learning algebra for me? Not much. Go figure.
Yes, math was torture and language was a warm breeze for me also. I do hope the time will come when we will let kids be kids again, play in the afternoons without a coach or pro watching everything they do, explore their own ideas with day dreaming, or putter around in their dad's workshop building god-knows-what. We have created generations of children doomed to frustration and disappointment because of the ideas described in your piece.
And then you can be good at something and not like it (math comes to mind). I recall an interview at IBM. After a half day of grueling tests, the recruiter told me: you're too literary for us. I thanked the man, warmly!
I had the same thing, hitting a wall with math, as my friends flew towards the rarefied air of Calculus. Talent is even more vivid in sports. At some point, you realize you can’t compete. Writing and editing, yes, but I’m only still doing it because I kept doing it, one way or another, keep doing it, even if it’s just shopping lists.
"it may not be all that difficult to produce a child prodigy.” Who'd want to? All the prodigies I know ended up painting houses or handing out pamphlets in front of the Sears Tower : )
This sounds awfully familiar. I did great in math until the dreaded algebra year in high school. Could not get it, had a tutor, and barely passed an algebra test. My teacher knew how much I studied, pitied me and passed me. My work career, however, led me to finance positions as corporate payroll manager, finance director, and even treasurer of a local nonprofit. How much of a difference was learning algebra for me? Not much. Go figure.
Ooof--math. #MeToo.