‘Factorization of Algebraic Expressions’

Yesterday, I had a trip back to the memory lanes of the Mathematics of class nine. ‘Factorization of Algebraic Expressions’ I saw.

No, I have already taken all the possible entrance exams possible, so I was not the one who was doing the studying. It was my neighbor who had come over to my place. Dad’s his private tutor. Dad’s got a dozen of them, ranging from class 5th to 9th and he’s decided to offload some on to me. Yeah, I am going to ‘tutor’ some of these ‘young turks’ in my favourite subject, Mathematics!

Yesterday was my first day. I make it sound like I was the student, and it was my first day at school, but that was how nervous I was. I had not even read the stuff before he entered the room. I had not prepared the lines. So, the nervousness tingled for some more time. And then, we began. Began an hour long sojourn, with its twists and turns and doubts and formulae and shortcuts and….well, it was not as complicated as I make it out to be, but it was a different experience altogether. It was like going back to one’s school, only to be on the other side. I could actually relate to the questions that arose during the session. And then there were also times, when the boy left me exasperated with his inability to grasp stuff which I perceived as ‘basic’. When I had to tell him that ‘minus into minus is equal to plus’. But, in the end, I managed to adjust to his pace. His style of grasping.

Hopefully, the future sessions would reveal more of how much Math he has grasped!

A fun experience, and probably a foray into my post-retirement plans!

P.S. The funniest part of the whole affair was at the end, when I had to give him some homework. Homework I said? I still don’t believe this!