# Normal kids don't need math tutors **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896 "2007-06-05T21:23:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896/41 "2007-06-06T17:27:06Z")
I say take the calculator away until he can do the math without it. A calculator is a great tool for getting through some of the drudgery of math, but if it’s used before he really understands what he’s doing, it will just contribute to his sense of math as being a series of arbitrary steps that magically arrives at the answer. I realize that the calculator isn’t the cause of his mistakes; but he’ll never get a good understanding of math if he continues to use the shortcut before he’s ready. It seems like what you might want to focus on is his estimating skills. _Before_ he figures out an exact answer with the calculator, have him find some reasonable bounds, and estimate an answer. For the bases question, it’s obviously more than 90 and less than 180, so guess halfway between. Then check the answer against his estimate. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896/42 "2007-06-06T18:07:10Z")
[QUOTE=DeadlyAccurate] One must never mock the HP. My HP 11C has been going strong on the same batteries for at least 17 years now, and its answers are never wrong. [/QUOTE] I wasn’t mocking them (much 😉 ). If you don’t know how to use an HP calc, you’ll get wrong answers, or no answers at all. Fortunately my dad taught me when I was young. > [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > It seems like what you might want to focus on is his estimating skills. Before he figures out an exact answer with the calculator, have him find some reasonable bounds, and estimate an answer. For the bases question, it’s obviously more than 90 and less than 180, so guess halfway between. Then check the answer against his estimate. Very good suggestion. I was just reading about how children are often very good at estimating math answers, but get discouraged whith the heavy emphasis on exactness. Oh, and **Malacandra** got the Major-General Song stuck in my head… ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896/43 "2007-06-06T18:22:59Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] I’ve been thinking of getting a tutor for my son too…not because I can’t handle his fifth-grade math, but because he gets so frustrated he starts crying and yelling. Obviously he can do that with his family members, but if he was dealing with a stranger he’d suck it up and maybe learn something. [/QUOTE] Or maybe he’d learn some method of dealing with fifth-grade math that is less frustrating for him. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896/44 "2007-06-06T18:32:51Z")
That too. I actually think Paul is trying to make the whole experience so miserable that I’ll just throw my hands up and say, “Okay, you don’t have to do math anymore!” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896/45 "2007-06-06T18:52:08Z")
Back to the tutoring question - sometimes local libraries have days/times when math tutors are available. Some also have math tutors online. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-kids-dont-need-math-tutors/406896.md?page=2)