Today, I had to find simple words to explain to the idiot I was tutoring that "1/4" is not of a greater value than "1/3" just because the denominator is bigger. FML
Collection
Wild Nights Out
Last call, bad decisions and 3 a.m. texts you'll regret until noon. Cheers.
Today, one of my students corrected the problem I had solved on the board, explaining that you do multiplication before subtraction. I teach the second grade. FML
Today, I was babysitting, and a little girl asked for help with her homework. I cheerfully began an explanation, only to freeze mid-sentence. I could not for the life of me remember how to do long-division. I'm about to graduate from Cornell University, and her little brother had to correct me. FML
Today, I had someone place two separate to-go orders, so that he could use two of his "25% off" coupons. He couldn't understand why it wasn't 50% off his total bill, no matter how many times I plainly explained it to him. FML
Today, disappointed with my results on a mathematics test, I went over it and realized my teacher had added up the marks incorrectly, leaving me with 17% less than I earned. The person who's supposed to be teaching me math can't even perform basic arithmetic. FML
Today, I was asked to dumb myself down so the people I was training could comprehend what I was saying. FML
Today, while home from college for the weekend, my sister started whining about how I keep using "big fancy college words" and making her feel bad. My sister is 27 and teaches elementary school. The word I used was "ludicrous." FML
Today, I was teaching a class when a student pointed out that I'd used the wrong "your/you're" while writing on the board. FML
Today, I handed a middle-aged woman her change of $0.75 with three quarters. She looked at the change bewildered and threw the coins down, asking if she thought I could get away with only giving her thirty cents. I had to explain to her how much a quarter is worth. FML
Today, I was helping my kid with homework after work. I tried to Google “third grade long division explained simply.” Autocomplete filled in “because I don’t understand it either,” which I read out loud without thinking. My kid stared at me and said, “So… who’s teaching who?” FML
Today, a McDonald's employee had to correct my math after counting out $2.37 in change. I'm in AP Calculus and am currently learning how to find the derivative of an inverse of a logarithm. FML
Feel like sharing it with the other FML users?
Thanks, your FML was submitted, and will appear in the moderation queue soon!
Top comments
makaramiracles 18
Well, there's a reason why you're tutoring them.
iShanny 13
Those little pie pieces always helped me. Try using real pie or pizza.
Add a comment · Reply to
You must be logged in to be able to post comments!
Comments (107)
ScarlettVixen_fml 5
Did you try visual aids? Some people learn differently from the rest of us. He might not actually be an idiot...
AgentAvalos 7
Is not?
cafe_latte661 3
Idiot is a tad bit harsh...
terrorwatt 18
There's a reason you're tutoring this person. don't be a twat, OP.
wontmakeitalone 10
What are you even doing as a tutor in the first place? I don't care how old this person is or how advanced they are supposed to be, a perfect way to make sure anyone loses the desire to learn is by calling them or treating them like an idiot. You may not have called them an idiot to their face, but I find it hard to believe you have the patience necessary to help someone struggling to learn. They came to you for a reason and it's not because they know everything there is to know about math. Let someone else who actually cares help them. And also, you don't explain fractions in just words. They're going to need visuals.
mrmcleod 29
My thoughts exactly! Fractions definitely need visuals to make sense!
limabeans101029 21
Lots of people find it difficult to get their head around fractions. You aren't going to get very far with them if you call them an idiot. I'd hate to have a tutor like that.
mrmcleod 29
Wow. You sound like a real peach. Maybe you should consider not being a tutor anymore!
honeymoonroyale 20
You're a tutor. You have a point, but if you have that state of mind toward people you're tutoring?? May as well find another job. They're being tutored for a reason.
o76923 8
Hardees had that very problem decades ago. They had focus groups and reliably found that people preferred the taste of their burgers to McDonalds but they weren't selling as well. They finally asked the focus groups why and found that something like 40% of people in the groups thought it wasn't fair that their burgers cost more when they only had a third of a pound burger but McDonalds had quarter pounders.
Diabba 2
I have learning disabilities myself and I find this extremely offensive :/ Sure this is basic math but some people learn differently from others, maybe this is reason why the student is seeking for a tutor. You have no idea what this guy could going through and maybe the person is self conscious about it, you're not making the situation any better by talking crap about your poor student. You may be smarter academically but it really isn't nice to call someone an "idiot" for not being able to solve a maths question.