First off Copability (some would argue) is not exactly a real word. But the idea of coping or accepting something as is. Capability is the ability to perform actions.
Just this week I learned something new. Algebra! For those of you who mastered it early on, congratulations...I'm jealous, I did not! For years I was stumped. Math stressed me out!!!! I earned the worst grades and felt as though math would always be a path to an insurmountable mountain..that I daaare not travel. Sound familiar??
And then it happened!! My child entered 6th grade. In the world of math that meant Geometry and Algebra(Que screeching scary movie music)...A-N-D Algerbraaaa!.... No biggie right? Except for one thing, I am a home school Mom! Yikes!!
There are few things that I've hated more in life...sewing, canned beets (I thought it was cranberry sauce) and movies with sad endings( The Perfect Storm, to be exact). Anyhow Math was right up there.
Having children though can have a wonderful affect. It can propel you forward in areas and directions, you may have never seen yourself....especially when the word H-E-L-P!!! is employed.
So there we are, both staring at the book, trying to figure out, guess and come up with the right way of doing these algebraic equations. You ever look at your child, when its something you SHOULD know..but you have NO IDEA whatsoever? You ask, "what do YOU think it is?" Hoping something logical comes out...so that you can go with it. Scary side note...went to a Dr. one day. My husband explained that when he bent forward, he had shortness of breath and a pain. Her response? "What do you think it is?" Oooooooh not good, not good.
So finally I get the book. I read all of the instructions and examples. I look at all of the odd problems and try to work them out. Because the answers are in the back, right? Well that helped...kinda....not really. I still couldn't really help her. So I went to school for a day. I went back to the beginning of her lessons and learned the way she would. K-12 is pretty neat in this area. The online side has lessons with games. I read, I played, and finally, I got it!
Anyhow the reason why I wrote this is because for years I thought..I felt... I KNEW!! that I could not do math. I settled for just being bad at something because it was okay. Copability!! One day a relative explained how many in my family were not only good at math, but extremely gifted. It hit me a little...hmm maybe I am capable. When the challenge presented itself. I faced it with a different perspective. The result was that not only was I capable, but actually pretty good.
Teaching capability is important in two ways. It teaches us that we CAN do the things we like and need to do, when we put in effort and our mind to it. It also helps us to understand that we are capable of Good, and Bad. Understanding this is so important. If we understand that we...the nice person that WE THINK we are, is capable of wrong, we can take REAL steps in the right direction. We can even avoid a path in the wrong direction, that can be damaging in many ways. We can use this ability to either propel or prevent a certain course. Most importantly we can teach our children this mindset.
So now that I have tackled Algebra, that leaves sewing and canned beets. Since no one will rewrite The Perfect Storm with an unrealistic but happy ending, I think I'll get the sewing machine out and leave the beets in the can!
Just this week I learned something new. Algebra! For those of you who mastered it early on, congratulations...I'm jealous, I did not! For years I was stumped. Math stressed me out!!!! I earned the worst grades and felt as though math would always be a path to an insurmountable mountain..that I daaare not travel. Sound familiar??
And then it happened!! My child entered 6th grade. In the world of math that meant Geometry and Algebra(Que screeching scary movie music)...A-N-D Algerbraaaa!.... No biggie right? Except for one thing, I am a home school Mom! Yikes!!
There are few things that I've hated more in life...sewing, canned beets (I thought it was cranberry sauce) and movies with sad endings( The Perfect Storm, to be exact). Anyhow Math was right up there.
Having children though can have a wonderful affect. It can propel you forward in areas and directions, you may have never seen yourself....especially when the word H-E-L-P!!! is employed.
So there we are, both staring at the book, trying to figure out, guess and come up with the right way of doing these algebraic equations. You ever look at your child, when its something you SHOULD know..but you have NO IDEA whatsoever? You ask, "what do YOU think it is?" Hoping something logical comes out...so that you can go with it. Scary side note...went to a Dr. one day. My husband explained that when he bent forward, he had shortness of breath and a pain. Her response? "What do you think it is?" Oooooooh not good, not good.
So finally I get the book. I read all of the instructions and examples. I look at all of the odd problems and try to work them out. Because the answers are in the back, right? Well that helped...kinda....not really. I still couldn't really help her. So I went to school for a day. I went back to the beginning of her lessons and learned the way she would. K-12 is pretty neat in this area. The online side has lessons with games. I read, I played, and finally, I got it!
Anyhow the reason why I wrote this is because for years I thought..I felt... I KNEW!! that I could not do math. I settled for just being bad at something because it was okay. Copability!! One day a relative explained how many in my family were not only good at math, but extremely gifted. It hit me a little...hmm maybe I am capable. When the challenge presented itself. I faced it with a different perspective. The result was that not only was I capable, but actually pretty good.
Teaching capability is important in two ways. It teaches us that we CAN do the things we like and need to do, when we put in effort and our mind to it. It also helps us to understand that we are capable of Good, and Bad. Understanding this is so important. If we understand that we...the nice person that WE THINK we are, is capable of wrong, we can take REAL steps in the right direction. We can even avoid a path in the wrong direction, that can be damaging in many ways. We can use this ability to either propel or prevent a certain course. Most importantly we can teach our children this mindset.
So now that I have tackled Algebra, that leaves sewing and canned beets. Since no one will rewrite The Perfect Storm with an unrealistic but happy ending, I think I'll get the sewing machine out and leave the beets in the can!
