Larry hated math, plain and simple. He just didn’t feel he was any good at math and for that reason it was always his least favorite subject. He felt he would never succeed at math, which was a challenge the educators at GEC were ready to accept. Teachers and volunteers worked patiently with Larry and helped shape an understanding of the subject that he just wasn’t getting in school. That one-on-one attention really allowed for him to start to learn the concepts and do the work feeling more and more confident along the way.
Fast forward MANY math equations later, his school math teacher was so impressed with his improvement that Larry was invited to participate in one of the regional Math Tournaments representing his school. At first he was nervous and fell back into that “I can’t do it” mentality, but with the tools given to him in the S.M.A.R.T – Building Emotional Intelligence program he was able to control those emotions and gain the confidence believing that he was smart, worthy and intelligent, who earned this opportunity through his hard work and perseverance. With each successful practice math problem he did, that confidence grew more and more. He does it admit it was a “nerve wracking three weeks until the tournament”.
Fast forward 30 rounds into the tournament, there are only four students left. Larry is one of them. Unfortunately, this was the round where he was eliminated but he said “I was just doing the best I could. I may have lost, but this still gave me something to be proud of.”
We are all proud of you, Larry. He’s gone on to take part in even more math tournaments now, as it’s somewhat of a hobby. And to think . . . Larry hated math.