Agreed. How would you feel if someone called you an idiot for not being able to synthesise paracetamol after being given the basic starting materials? Don't be prick, OP.

@59 To be fair, fractions are a lot easier than whatever the hell you just compared them to.

It's acetaminophen, aka Tylenol.

@73 may be so, but the principle remains the same. What might be fairly straightforward to some can be very challenging to b others. It's as easy as baking a cake, if you know what you're doing.

Agreed. If OP can't handle someone not being able to understand something, OP shouldn't be a tutor. It's not FML for the OP, it's FML for the student. I feel bad for them.

Those little pie pieces always helped me visualize it better. Maybe he/she is a visual learner too? You can try using real pie, or pizza.

Ugh, FML fail. I definitely hit Edit, not Reply. Sorry for double post!

You aren't forgiven

They'd probably think you brought lunch & eat it

That's what helped me when I was learning fractions and multiplication. My mom baked cookies and cakes with me. We practiced doubling recipes (x2) tripling recipes (x3) and then cutting the cakes and cookies into fractions like 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and so on. Being a visual/hands on learner can sometimes be hard in a classroom, but it other aspects it's super fun!

I thought that in third grade but learned the hard way when I only got 1/8 of a brownie :(

that's what she said no stop whats wrong with me

Not everyone who tutors gets paid. I have to tutor this girl in maths for free because her mom's my mom's friend. The fml or ydi depends on whether OP gets paid. Since OP didn't specify the wages, I assume OP does get paid. Just putting this out there for people who think it's a black and white situation.

It shouldn't depend on whether or not they get paid. Either way, OP is supposed to be helping this student. Math may be difficult for the student, and OP should not be putting him or her down behind their back. There is a reason they are getting a tutor, and that tutor (OP) should be focusing on the best ways to help the student understand the material. If OP doesn't like helping people learn, then OP should not be a tutor.

Maybe he's not very good at it and that's why the idiot is still an idiot.

i'm more concerned about the fact that he's complaining about his student on FML. the student is probably a child and children sometimes need help to understand maths, and that's his job, and it doesn't warrant calling the child an idiot. and if somehow the student is an adult, it's commendable that they understand that they need help and are ready to hire a tutor and admit that they don't understand something that simple - most people would just continue living in ignorance. tutors definitely aren't paid to comment on their students' intellectual abilities.

Could be worse, he could have 1/3 of a brain.

Get a tutor #27

@9- I do think you meant that jokingly; but I'd like to clarify things anyhow. Being terrible at math doesn't necessarily make someone overall less intelligent. Having a learning disability in math, I actually had to re-read the FML three times to understand it because fractions still confuse me. That said; when I took my ACT I ended up in the 15th percentile in math; and in the 99th percentile for the reading and essay portion. It's entirely possible to be a smarty pants in one way while lacking even basic understanding in another subject- and that doesn't make someone overall "stupid". Just my two cents.