When I was a youngster, my stumbling block when it came to mathematics was long division. For whatever reason, I just could not figure out how to do it and would often find myself really struggling in class and with my homework. My mother worked with me for hours one night going over problem after problem until I got it, and it was a flash card game that really cemented it in my mind forever.
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I had always been good at math. I remember learning my times tables quicker than anyone else in my class when I was in elementary school. I even remember a flash card game that our teacher would show us in class where we would have to see who could multiply the two numbers on the card the fastest. I also remember beating every other student and feeling so proud of myself. That is probably why I was so perplexed at not being able to understand long division.
I was actually in tears the night my mother sat down with me and stayed up until two in the morning going over long division with me. I still look back on that memory with fondness, because she never once became frustrated or annoyed, even though I did on a number of occasions. She just constantly reassured me that I would get it eventually, and told me not to give up. Sure enough, after several hours, it finally clicked for me.
I could do the problems on my own and I felt great about it, but it was still taking me a long time. That's when my mother decided to buy the flash card game.
The next night, after I went to school and felt that I had won a major victory by learning how to do long division, she told me that we were going to take it a step further and get it down pat. Once again, she informed me that it would be very slow going at first, but that eventually, I would not even need a pencil and paper to do the problems, that I would just be able to work out the answers in my head, and all of this with a simple flash card game.
Not surprisingly, she was exactly right. At first, I would work out each problem and answer excitedly as she flipped the cards around to show that I was right. It was not long, however, before the flash card game was not even a game anymore because I was answering them almost as fast as my mother would read them. She would smile and shake her head as I answered each question correctly, and my confidence soared.
It is hard to imagine how a simple flash card game could be such an effective learning tool, but it absolutely was. I honestly believe that I would have struggled with math my entire life if I hadn't got past my problem with long division.
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