Mathematical Attitude

The girls do a Math club at the University; it is free, it is comprehensive and it prepares students for various math examinations or contests. My neighbour got the children involved. Before they were withdrawn from school, my two oldest children were quite active chess players and my neighbour, a math expert, thought they would benefit from the club. The experience has been interesting academically and of some benefit socially. I think the girls are relieved to know their parents aren't the only driven, ambitious people around; though, they do suspect not many Caucasian Canadians are as driven. In a sea of Chinese Canadians, East Indian Canadians, Eastern European Canadians, the girls were the only, for the sake of argument, British Canadians.

Most of the people we encounter at Math club tend to be immigrants. They seem to be the only people as attentive to their children's academics as we were when the girls were in school. Although, they are not as familiar or as confident in home schooling as we have to be; I mean we chose this option so we have to believe it will work. Most of the people I encountered today were involved with their first math contest; their children were being compelled to participate, basically, because parents don't make the sacrifice of changing a family home, losing connections and networks and coming to this new country in order to have their children fail. And, these children know their math and they know more than what is taught in school; their parents are engineers, statisticians, linguists and so forth who are absent Canadian experience but not a good education. Further, a lot of the Chinese Canadian children also attend Math school; the parents pay for additional tutoring in Math.

Talking to another parent, we all had to wait in a foyer, I discovered some people choose Math because there are all kinds of Math competitions with minimal cost; hockey is financially beyond them. They can't afford to be "true" Canadians until the second generation is established here. Although, it is sad to say, some perceive real Canadians as those who play hockey and fail at Math; one man was very happy to see me because he never sees Caucasians at these things and wondered why. I have no idea why more Caucasian Canadians don't participate. I don't care; a Chinese lady is going to email me the name of the Chinese Math school.