The Smart Brain...

There are times when I feel proud of my intelligence especially when I have solved a problem and then there are those times when I feel completely out of my depth understanding my seven year old’s homework!
I guess that makes me of average intelligence? Some of my friends think I am smart because I write but I see writing more of a creative outlet than an intellectual one. I know I love the written word and I hate anything mathematical.

Oh, I'm the same - I've always been brilliant in all aspects of English since I was very little, but numbers are slowly making me go blind...



I've never properly tutored anyone in anything, but I was always the one other students would come to at school when the English teacher got sick of their incessant questions

I so admire you and your Mum, Twoey - it's wonderful your Mum is going to do college online! Unlike your Mum, I'm rubbish at maths but have always been able to spell - probably because I've always read a lot. My husband thinks I'm smart - but he's actually a lot cleverer than I am, because he understands scientific things, builds computers and has a much better memory than I have! (He can't spell, though!) I tend to remember a lot of trivia - but nothing important.

Indubitably! (I couldn't resist... I hardly ever get the chance to use that word and it's one of my favorites. LOL)

I'm like you in that I've always loved reading. I was also an English major in high school and college. I tutored some girls in my Geometry and Applied Math classes which was REALLY weird because math is definitely not one of my better subjects! I wasn't great at it but apparently I was good enough to be a tutor. I'm definitely an artsy-craftsy type of person from the core!

In my last year of high school, I was one of three Art Honors students and belonged to the Art Service Club. I helped the teacher prepare for class, designed displays throughout the school and was unofficially a 'teachers aide'. I also got to do whatever project I wanted while the rest of the class had to follow the prepared lessons. I LOVED that!

I was the only English Honor student in my senior class and was critiquing movies and books while the rest of the class was doing their normal studies. I enjoyed that, too, because I could go to the library during class and read whatever I liked, then write a critique about it.

I'd say I was pretty smart. I was told my I.Q. was genius level but I didn't feel any smarter than most. I just did what I enjoyed doing and my grades reflected that.

These days, though, my poor brain doesn't cooperate with me like it used to. That's partly due to my medical conditions and partly the medications I take. The stuff I knew is still in there but it's hard to find when I want it sometimes.

I still love to learn new things, though. I've always considered learning to be my absolute favorite 'hobby'. It has come in handy on more than one occasion!

Good luck to you in your tutoring! It sounds like you were meant to do this kind of work, especially with your mom. I'm sure you will both enjoy the time you spend together.

The only one who thinks I am smart in my family is probably the smaller children in my family otherwise others don't think I am to smart about somethings. My mom picks my brain about stuff. I help her out when I can and we search online for when I can't. Internet is always useful to help people learn new things. I wasn't so great in math.

You do know that doing assignments for people doesn't really help them don't you? if they don't learn to do the research and write the assignments themselves, then they aren't going to get very far. It is also not acceptable for students to hand in work that they didn't do themselves. I'm just making sure I'm not reading this as you did the assignements for them, as that is how it seems.

Helping someone to do an assignment is great though. Pointing them in the right direction of where they can find the info they need and proof reading the work before it is submitted (with 'could do with a touch up here' type notes added) is great fun. I've done that for several people who had not been as adept as I was with written assignments. I helped them do the searches for info, helped them to 'map' the assignment, and then read through it for them when they were ready to have it ripped to shreds.

Unfortunately for them, I'm very good at ripping assignments to shreds and scribbling (but never in red, usually pink or purple) over their assignments where they had left things out, the info wasn't complete or they had waffled on too much. Sure, they were discouraged to begin with, but as each draft was scrutinized, they found that there was less for them to fix. And of course, they were thrilled when they got a high mark upon completion, because they had done the work themselves, with just me as a 'map' to show them the way.

I will be the same with my own kids assignments too, which I am looking forward to very much!

Good for you. Have you ever thought of doing that full time? I've never really had the desire or the smarts to do something like this. English, grammar and reading were always easy for me but I just had no real desire to tutor someone.

My ADSL modem was fried and have just got another one so am so far behind in answering emails. Have had to delete a lot as no way could I answer over 200 emails! I was a teacher but left the clasroom about 15 years ago as I was burnt out and also because i needed to earn a higher salary. But it sounds ot me as if you shouldl have been a teacher. It is great that you are tutoring you mother, Really woinderful. You sound like a very special person.

i made good grades when i was in school but no no one thought i was smart enough to help only my kids when they were in grammer school after that i was dumb.

The brain is a remarable orgain. I have never tutored anyone. but i did recive spical ed in grade school. I was tutored in College due to some ademcic problems. my family considers me smart yet there are some things that I was never good at. Subjects like math and spelling I was never good with. but peole have picked my brain in form of questions that pertain to history or science. tria prusit sutff.