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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for immediate help?

69 replies

youarenotkiddingme · 19/09/2017 07:04

Sorry if title makes this seem interesting but it's really not!

Ds handed in his maths homework and had it handed back yesterday to re do and got told to show working out properly.

Except how the feck do you answer this?

*Some tins of beans are packed into 7 boxes of which there are 12 tins per box. If I pack them into 4 boxes instead, how many tins will there be in each box?
*

OP posts:
juneybean · 19/09/2017 07:19

Penny you didn't answer the OP at all. She didn't ask for the answer she asked how to answer "show your working out"

You were just trying to be a smart arse.

LetsSplashMummy · 19/09/2017 07:19

Can you get him to put "when packed into 4 bigger boxes, there are 21 in each," so he has covered the box problem?

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 07:20

@Eupehmie

Why just give the final answer in your first post then? That didn't address the OP's post

So bloody what?! I gave the working out TWO MINUTES later. What the hell has it got to do with you anyway, and why are you stressing about it? Why is it affecting you so much? Confused Or are you just pissed off that you're in the wrong?!

FFS! Have you nothing better to do but have a go at people! Hmm Go pick on someone else!

juneybean · 19/09/2017 07:21

Fucking hell calm down

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 07:22

Same message @juneybean. Stop picking on fuckall. Hmm

Trying to be a smart arse? WTF! Hmm Get over yourself.

All I have done is help the OP. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Get out of bed the wrong side did you?

juneybean · 19/09/2017 07:23

Still in bed thanks Grin you're the one being all shouty. Blimey, have you not had your coffee yet?

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 07:25

@youarenotkiddingme
Thanks everyone.

Ds is autistic but is amazing at maths. The wording of the questions is causing him difficulty because he reads it as the box holds 12 tins.

I couldn't get him to understand that it doesn't say they only hold 12 just when they put total amount in 7 boxes there was 12 in each.

I said there was 84 tins but hoped if i could get lots of identical answers he'd believe me!

Doing the actual maths isn't the issue tbh.

Thanks for all your help so early in the morning!

You're welcome. Smile

AtHomeDadGlos · 19/09/2017 07:27

It's not a poorly worded wuestion. It's perfectly fine.

The boxes are just different sizes.

There are some bloody entitled parents on here.

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 07:28

@Pengggwn
I'm not sure you should be doing his homework for him. If he doesn't understand, let him get it wrong.

I don't think this is a good idea. I think it's a good idea to help your children with their homework, even just a little bit. I know school is mean to teach them, but parents helping is invaluable.

Original poster
youarenotkiddingme · 19/09/2017 07:32

Pen he did it. Got told it wasn't good enough and do it again or he'll get a detention. He was doing it again the same way.
So when faced with a choice of explaining it myself and him learning or him getting punished for not understanding something which mathematically is easy for him because of the wording I'll help him.
You're just assuming I'm doing it end of and won't be communicating with teacher about it.

OP posts:
Original poster
youarenotkiddingme · 19/09/2017 07:34

Penny ignore the nitpickers. It was a quick post where I admit I didn't make it clear what I wanted. Which to be honest wasn't help to work it out (I have a degree in maths Grin) but for ds to see lots of people would do it my way and hopefully change his way of thinking - not easy with an autistic teen who's a bit like Sheldon cooper and would rather try and spend 6days trying to prove why you are wrong and he is right! 🙈

OP posts:
cdtaylornats · 19/09/2017 07:36

It is badly written, just not ambiguous. It does smack of English written by someone who is good at maths. Who else says "of which there are".

SootSprite · 19/09/2017 07:37

Could he think of it this way -

Jane packs tins into boxes, the boxes hold 12 tins.
She fills 7 boxes.
Then she gets different boxes. She fills 4 of these new boxes.
How many tins can the new boxes hold?

SonicHedgehog · 19/09/2017 07:40

Well this escalated quickly...

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 07:45

penny, ignore the nitpickers.

Aww thanks @youarenotkiddingme Smile

I couldn't believe it when I was being got at for sod-all, I was only helping someone. I put the answer quickly, and then quickly figured out the 'workings out' for the calculation.

That's definitely a new low on here; having a go at someone, talking down to them, and calling them a 'smart arse,' when they are just being nice, and helping someone.

Just when you think you've seen the worst of people on here.

Have a lovely day and give your son a hug. Smile

( and yes I will ignore the nitpickers and trouble makers from now on... )

Original poster
youarenotkiddingme · 19/09/2017 07:46

I know sonic - there's always people who want to make something more than it is.
Ds accepts now that it's 21 and I've written it in his book to show I've helped him. Alongside all the other ones I've helped him with since! Ds has always had a reader for exams but these questions don't even make sense to him that way Sad I actually need to explain what they mean.

at his EHCP review it'll be something that comes up that he needs work on and specific teaching to interpret questions or he'll fail the subjects he's actually good at.

OP posts:
titchy · 19/09/2017 07:48

Just to warn you the new spec Maths GCSE does contain much more wordy questions like this so if this is something he struggles with he'll need lots of practice in identifying the underlying maths.

Original poster
youarenotkiddingme · 19/09/2017 07:57

Thanks titchy that's what I thought. I'm happy to do it at home with him as well so will suggest perhaps taking a one a day approach to it. I think familiarity is the key here but if we start it now and it's not the right approach we have time to then explore a different approach.

OP posts:
Lovemusic33 · 19/09/2017 07:57

My dd (autistic) also has a problem with these worded maths questions, they are very tricky for someone with ASD, my daughter is amazing at maths if the sums/numbers are written down for her but these questions really throw her. When it comes to GCSE she is going to struggle and get a low grade. Her school did a lot of work with her to get her through the SAT's last year (she did really well).

Flyingflipflop · 19/09/2017 08:01

The answer with all those beans is a bloody big chilli con carne........

cooldarkroom · 19/09/2017 08:06

I feel so sorry for children like this.
My DS was/is appalling at reading as he is massively dyslexic, something that wasn't identified by his teachers, or myself. (not UK)
He was slammed by the teachers all the way through school )
& to this day cannot stand maths, because the system where we live involves, writing out the question, finding a written explication then, finally doing the sum.
The questions were written it would seem in a way that no human could understand, ! (also not my 1st language). Misery.
He is no longer in school. The total misery of those years still traumatises me. He went straight into apprenticeship at the age of 15
(He now has the most Fabulous, high paid job in his field. 24 now)

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 08:06

@Flyingflipflop

The answer with all those beans is a bloody big chilli con carne.

And a whole load of really bad farts! Grin

Pennysnow · 19/09/2017 08:09

@cooldarkroom your poor son. Sad

I do feel that although basic maths is quite necessary in life, much of it is not needed unless you want to be a maths teacher or a physicist!

Ellisandra · 19/09/2017 08:11

Does it help him to know why you might do this, so it doesn't seem like a nonsense question?
My autistic niece gets a bit stuck on - but WHY?! Instead of working it out.

I work in a factory. Using your numbers, we make tins of beans. We pack them 12 to a box, and most people but them from the shop one at a time.
But shop B likes to offer a 4 pack.
We can't make a 4 pack on the same factory line - it would cost a lot to buy the extra robotic packing equipment.
As it's just one shop selling the 4 pack, it's better for us to take some of our boxes of single cans and repack them manually.
So we have to work out how many boxes of singles we need, to then repack to the four packs we want.

If I explained that to my niece, her need for it to make sense would be satisfied!

Slartybartfast · 19/09/2017 08:14

i think that is the difficulty in maths questions, working out the actual wording

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