The Smart Brain...

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'm like you, a dunce in math and a whiz in English! That's nice of you to help your family...I've never tutored but I guess I could if I wasn't so impatient. Do you write to make extra money? If not, you should!

I've tutored and it's very challenging. I wish I was tutoring now. I have tutored various Elementary subjects plus test taking for civil service jobs. Most people don't ask me until it's too late. 3 weeks to a full year test, 3 weeks to the end of a semester when they're falling very badly. I really wish someone would ask me at the beginning of a semester.

Hi twoey...I have tutored people for various things - I was always taught that if you know one and someone else knows two then you should share your one and that person should share their two. Obviously you have already done that with your mother and I think you are wonderful for sharing with her!

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.

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 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.

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.

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!

Hi twoey, English was always my best subject and I loved to read and learn things but as I have got older I do read but not as much as I should which is a shame..because I am good at spelling I get asked to spell words for people or tell them how to write letters as I have done a secreterial course, apart from that I don't do that much now, my mum is a whiz at maths and english so there is no help needed there! lol hugs loLo

I like that.You helping your mom and your mom at her age going on to continue her studies. I have always admired situations such as this. I have done my own fair share of tutoring and believe me the brain is indeed a bit rusty and in need of some dusting off. I am definately not as sarpe as I should be and I find that I am not reading as much as I used to. Some times our home is like a homework centre. We always seem to be helping someone do researches, assignments ect... I am honestly anoyed sometimes as we never seem to get much timee for ourselves and sometimes just not in the mood to accomodate others. We just want to relax and have family chats. On the other hand always assisting has kept me at least as sharpe as I am at the moment.

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.

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.

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.

My hubby did lol. Yup the math teacher would set the football players around me so I could help them with thier math so they could play in the games if they didnt get a good grade they couldnt play. Now you think I cant spell right in here as I use slnag and shortcuts with words for its easier to do that. and I got my GED when I was 42 passed with flying colors so I am good. Mostly I teach people to swim!

Nice to know that you have accomplished something in life. You are good in your English and writing is no problem for you. I am neither smart nor stupid. I am average I think. I have no credits to my name but am quite a shrewd businesswoman.

brain will work faster in night time then day time...........

Did you ask for money for doing these things? I know that reading can really help expand a person's knowledge, and can be really fun as well. I've never been considered very smart, but I have smarts in certain subjects that I've been asked about from time to time. I used to suck and both english and math but now only suck at the latter. Maybe that's why I keep having dreams about math, lol, but I do very good in English. It sounds like you've got a lot of fun things to do.

Well, I have friends that respect and ask for my opinion. I think I am smart enought. I enjoy doing research online and read quite abit. I loved English and Literature in school. I think it is nice of you to do this.

In my experience it seems that people who are good at math and people who are good at language are never the same people. It's like one takes place in one part of the brain and the other in another. I have taught school but never tutored any one.