quark Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I'll "unquote" the posts I quoted you in! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Thanks quark. I hate to erase such a huge success for him -- I kind of like the whole follow the story thing going on. But this one clearly makes him identifiable. ++++++ ETA: Have scrubbed the thread. Thanks for all the well wishes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I thought of your DS when I came across this proof wiki. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinsomeCreek Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 OMG!! Yay!! Congratulations!!! Your son and your pathway are such an inspiration. I'm sure there are more successes to come! It is especially helpful to hear about the hard work aspect. Often amazing people or accomplishments are portrayed as easy breezy when that's rarely the case. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 It is especially helpful to hear about the hard work aspect. Often amazing people or accomplishments are portrayed as easy breezy when that's rarely the case.It is quite interesting to go back and read three years of posts about this boy. How he used to cry over math. How because I had ramped it up to his level, that he thought he was bad at math because it was always hard. How he took almost three years to finish Aops intro algebra. How he and I stumbled blindly in the dark for a year trying to figure out proofs and competition level problem solving. How we misplaced him in his first aops class (intermed number theory) and he almost quit because he could. Not. Do. The. Work. Math has always been a huge struggle for this boy. He is just struggling at a different level than most of us! And believe it or not, there is a chance he medaled in the APMO. It went well. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 It is quite interesting to go back and read three years of posts about this boy. How he used to cry over math. How because I had ramped it up to his level, that he thought he was bad at math because it was always hard. How he took almost three years to finish Aops intro algebra. How he and I stumbled blindly in the dark for a year trying to figure out proofs and competition level problem solving. How we misplaced him in his first aops class (intermed number theory) and he almost quit because he could. Not. Do. The. Work. Math has always been a huge struggle for this boy. He is just struggling at a different level than most of us! And believe it or not, there is a chance he medaled in the APMO. It went well. congratulations again. Your DS and you are an inspiration and you are very humble when you portray the struggles that got you to where you are now. I would like to know what the APMO is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 It is the Australian Pacific Math Olympiad for all countries on the Pacific Rim (USA included); it is kind of like 'regionals.' and you are very humble when you portray the struggles that got you to where you are now. Well, I definitely eat humble pie everyday with this child. He still wants me to proof his proofs :001_huh: or listen to him explain his work. I'm like :confused1: . I used to tell him that I didn't really understand, but he *needs* me to listen and at least try. So now I listen, with focus and attempted interest. I still don't understand, but I've learned to say things like 'well, have you considered all the cases?' or 'Do you think you missed an assumption?' Comments that are vague, but occasionally helpful. But sometimes when I read posts from the great mathematicians here, I think my ds really needed a math mom or at least a math mentor. But no, he is stuck with me, and I just do the best I can every day. Here is a thread describing how I taught him during that difficult year. I like the title I gave back then in April 2013: A small math success -- but huge for us http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/468033-a-small-math-success-but-huge-for-us/ Post 8 describes some of the details of how I taught him; here is the last paragraph: +++++ I told someone last week that I could only go through this process once because what I am giving my son is not a knowledgeable tutor, but rather a skilled learner who is at his exact level in math. If I ever go through this material again with a student, I would be much much more knowledgeable and I would loose the confusion that has been so critical in helping him battle through this material. What I am finding is that because I don't know the answers and I cannot teach him how to do it, I am instead teaching him how to learn problem solving -- what questions to ask, what answer to hunt for, how to compare problems, how to really interact with this material. No tutor who knows the material well could do this as well as I can, because once you have the knowledge, it would be virtually impossible to relive the confusion.But then I realized that because my memory is so shaky, I could probably do it one more time. ++++ heehee, don't sound very humble there, do I? :001_smile: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Chiming in late to congratulate your son on his bronze medal! Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black-eyed Suzan Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 You and your son are such an inspiration, Ruth! Thank you for sharing your son's journey. And congratulations!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omd21 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Beautiful! Congratulations to you both! :thumbup: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Congratulations! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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