Yep – that’s the word: “just.”
That little devil does so much damage to a kid’s math-esteem. His cousin is also a bad guy: “all you have to do is…”
It says to a kid, “It’s so easy, and… what? you can’t do it? GOSH!”
Get rid of it. Let your students charge you a quarter every time you say or write either one.
Say instead: “I find that doing this helps me…”
Or: “How would you feel about doing it this way…?”
If you find math easy, great. Give the kiddos a chance to work through the discovery process, too. And allow them to fail and struggle while supporting them. Just don’t say, “just.”
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