Saturday, August 15, 2009

Beware the flash cards

My wonderful daughter is compassionate, caring, wise beyond her 9 years and absolutely mediocre at math. It's OK, I figure, as SAT's aren't for another few years. Remember, Einstein wasn't "smart" until it counted, so no need to panic...

I think I may now understand her dilemma. The other day, I stumbled upon a stack of hand-written slips of paper next to the computer mouse with division problems scribbled in pencil (ex: 12 / 4 = 3). Cool, I thought, she's working on her division. As I slid the mouse over to wake up the computer, I inadvertently scatter the homemade flash cards. As I gather them up, I noticed that some of the math didn't exactly jive with my recollection of the facts.  A sampling of her version of division :

8 / 4 = 7
28 / 4 = 12
16 / 4 = 9
4 / 4 = 6
12 / 4 = 8
24 / 4 = 11
and my favorite: 6 / 1 = 7

In an email, my wife writes, "in the good news department, it may mean she'd make an excellent corporate finance officer."

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