BY DAVID WILLIAMSON

The struggles of math

As a child, up until grade 6, I was home schooled. I dreaded getting up and starting the rigorous day filled with grammar, book reviews, social studies and new mathematical concepts.

My days started off with my parents awakening me from my deep slumber to go on an early seven o’clock run. Following this, I began my studies. While I may not have been always focused, I usually finished English, French, history, science and two types of math around three in the afternoon, depending on how much I really wanted to work.

I remember complaining to my parents about the intense day riddled with extra homework (especially math), and being forced to go above and beyond the curriculum standards of British Columbia. I thought that doing all this extra math would never benefit me, since, calculators can do so much of it for you with such ease. But even with calculators being such an easy tool to use, my parents thought it was necessary to learn the multiplication table and to recall it off the top of my head.

The turn around

As time went on, I began to succeed in math. I began to understand basic concepts from geometry to simple algebra. Before I knew it I was already two years ahead in math by grade 5. At that point I started my transition into school. I was nervous; would I know enough? Would classes be harder than I thought? To my relief, school was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Grade 6, 7, and 8 all went by without a sweat.

Putting in the effort of learning the basics concepts ensured I was well-prepared to enjoy the next couple of years of math, with the comfort knowing that the work that I put in when I was younger was paying off. In just a span of a couple of years, I went from having to try hard in math to being able to understand new and old concepts very easily. With this newfound talent, I went from disliking math to being excited to learn the following lesson. As I started high school, I began appreciating the work that I put into learning the fundamental concepts of math; I began to see the fruit of my labour by understanding new ideas easily.

I now have come to the realization that maybe the push I got from my parents to put an effort in this subject was worth it. From complaining about having to do math, to anticipating the next lesson, this has come to be because of the work I have put in the past to help me with future problems. Plus through this journey, it has taught me to value the hard work that I put in when I was younger.