The Persistence of Janice

I asked Janice how she is getting on:

"When I am struggling to understand what we are doing in class and something is just not going in, I go to MathsWatch and watch the video. I often don't get their video and then I go online and look for the video that works for me and that unlocks that. I keep looking and watching one after another until something being said clicks with me and I begin then to see a different side of it that works for me.

I have conversations with Amina. She gives me advice how to do a question that I may not understand. I often find her method confusing and I will tell her that it might work for her but not for me. I like it to be broken down into small steps and having big jumps doesn't work for me.

I know that I am slower than others and I know that I need to go home and spend a lot of time trying to get it into my head."

I commented that I am similar and I can think slower than others and feel behind, listening to the same lecture over and over again until it goes in. I said that Janice has got that resilience to persevere in a difficult time.

I also told her there is a myth that people either can do maths or they can't. Or that learning maths should be easy and not require any struggle or hard work. But it is not true. Sometimes things take time, but you can still make it. Don't give up!