MATH FOR GROWNUPS: Relearn the Arithmetic You Forgot From School by Laura Laing makes math manageable, by providing an adult refresher and real-life context for math?with examples ranging from calculating your monthly mortgage payment, to figuring out if that new refrigerator will fit in an old kitchen. As a teacher and self-proclaimed math-evangelist, Laura Laing offers tips on overcoming the white-knuckled panic that many grownups experience when numbers enter their everyday life. She takes swipes at the myths that most people believe about math and offers easy ways for individuals to tap into their inner math geek.
My eldest son is an 8th grader with difficulties in Math. I feel as though I am admitting some fault as a Mom when I say that when he comes home with his Math homework sometimes I just don’t know what he’s working on. I was a straight A student in Math and yet, in my 30s I’m lucky to remember how to work an algebra problem. The last thing anyone feels like telling their teen is, “Well, I have no idea what you are doing, but it’s important… whatever it is.” When I had heard about this book I felt an inner acceptance, there HAD to be other Moms out there like me; other adults that feel as though our Math book seeped out of our brains by the time we got out of our 20s and since reviewing it I feel as though it has been this beacon out of the fog. I had already known the math that Laura Laing is re-showing us, it had just got pushed back inside my mind and needed a little nudge to get it back.
Math For Grownups could do us all a favor, in my opinion. It not only teaches a Mom like me with a Teenager but how Mathematics applies to every part of an adult world; especially Moms. How to use it at a store for sales, discounts and coupons. At a dealership when purchasing or leasing a new car, buying a House or if your new fridge will fit in that little corner, our recipes, our crafts, our expenses and of course… how many laps we’d have to do to burn off the calories in our sweets. This is an exceptional book that helps in a humorous, light hearted way that doesn’t seem as though you are sitting in a classroom trying not to fall asleep. It relates to you because Laura Laing gets it.
Laura Laing is a wonderful writer and a great mathematician, she spoils you with the idea of knowledge and in the end you feel refreshed or as I did, like I woke up. If you grab any book before the school season starts, it should be this one, especially if you have kids entering middle school and high school. I’ve rarely seen a more important book for adults, but in a time when you even have to pass a Math test for an application… this book is the book for us grownups.
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You can buy Math For Grownups by Laura Laing for $9.90.
I received samples for the purpose of reviewing. Opinions expressed are my own or my families and are not influenced by any form of compensation. Take it or leave it. Click here to view my full acknowledgment policy.
