HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

I remember a Dr. Katz episode from quite awhile ago. There was a comedian on it who talked about being a substitute teacher and loving the little kids because they don’t know anything yet. He wrote on the blackboard: One plus one equals chair, and remarked, “Look, they are writing it down!”   One of those kids was probably me after my will had been broken in tenth grade geometry class.  In Algebra II, I struggled, but geometry was truly the boulevard of broken dreams, where I couldn’t go on to chemistry class because my math skills stunk.  I would then go the way of the performing arts rather than zoology.   Well, anything is still possible.  The zoo still may need someone to analyze the character motivation of an albino python, or to run a set construction class for beavers.

I was introduced to Brightstorm recently. You can sign up for a free brightstorm account!’. I thought it wasn’t for me, as I am not currently is a student or a teacher. How wrong I was! There are all sorts of video courses on essay writing, history, math and more. It is not really meant to replace a school course, but to enhance knowledge. It is like having an aunt or uncle or parent that has the gift of being able to explain things a little better to you.

It has been a consideration for me to go back to school and finish a degree, but every degree requires some math. I watched some of the Algebra II course on BrightStorm and I think I learned more in a few minutes that I ever forgot about it. I actually understood all of the real world analogies that were used. My attitude in high school was that no one actually uses Algebra in the real world unless they teach math, and I was really wrong about how it could actually be applied.  I think I would actually have some shred of a concept now.

You too can Sign up for a free brightstorm acocunt. There are sample episodes you can watch, but you can also sign up for classes which run for a number of months at a very reasonable price.

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