Math

PS is taking the SAT in January. Yes, she's 12. She's doing it as part of the Duke TIP program, which offers the opportunity to 7th grade students who have received qualifying scores on standardized tests. (PS qualified with every test she has taken over the past two years!) I also took the SAT in the 7th grade through Duke TIP. Waaaay back then you had to score in the 97th percentile on a standardized test to qualify, but I think they have loosened up the requirements a bit, as there were three kids in my school who qualified and many kids from PS's school were chosen to participate. Or maybe it's because I grew up in a much poorer school on the bad side of town, and PS is in a very nice school in a much higher income bracket with excellent resources.

Anyway, I have been getting the SAT question of the day emailed to me so that I can help PS prepare. I have correctly answered every single English question without even thinking about it. And I have no freakin' clue how to begin any of the math questions. Today's question had something to do with lines and angles and tangents and circles. Yeah, not a clue. I'm pretty sure yesterday's question required that I employ the quadratic formula. At least I know there is a quadratic formula, but I couldn't begin to tell you what it is.

I guess it's a good thing that I became a lawyer instead of a rocket scientist, because I have never in my adult life needed to know the quadratic formula. Or how to calculate an angle from a hypotenuse connected by two tangent circles. For that, I am very thankful. And dangit, I can calculate how much 30% plus an extra 15% off a pair of shoes is in about 30 seconds flat. That's way more valuable than knowing how to calculate some stinkin' angle.