dyscalculia

i came across this article while on fark. interesting, to say the least. i'm not exactly sure what to think of this "dyscalculia" business. i am not very keen on finding what may eventually amount to psychological (or even physiological) excuses. i want to believe that the human will can overcome just about anything, including dyscalcula. also, i don't see how this is any different from dyslexia, ultimately. it may make learning math more difficult, but certainly not impossible.

anyway, today we had test review. it seems that half of the kids are ready for the test. these are the kids that have been doing homework and participating in class. the kids who have not been doing these things are certaily not ready. Dq and E came into class during lunch today. they are my ELL students. Dq can read well in spanish, not as well in english. E can hardly read at all. after working with them, what i have found out is that the algebraic concepts are not beyond them: they have an excellent understanding of the PEMDAS process. Dq was never taught his multiplication tables. he has never seen long division. he didn't know that you were supposed to line up the place values of numbers when you add. he didn't know that multiplication and division are opposite operations. E is better at his tables, but admittedly, not that much better.

the test is tomorrow and i already told them that i will help them. i am worried that the other kids will raise their voices in loud cries of "that's not fair!" ... i don't know how i would respond to that. i wonder if i should say, "we'll they never had the opportunity," because for all i know, perhaps they didn't either. aye! there's there's the rub! "for all i know"! Dq and E came in during lunch. the others did not. i must reward ganas, the desire to learn. "teach me, for i want to learn."

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