tell your brother to count the lines in the signs. (3x+2) – (6 – 4x) when he is distributing the negative and the second parentheses, – * -4x, there is one line with the – and one line for the – in -4x. there are 2 lines, which makes a positive. If there is an even number the answer is positive, and for an odd number, the answer is negative.

Apparently you don’t understand the underlying facts. I feel really sorry for you. There is nothing inherently smarter about white people. They just live in more affluent neighborhoods and thus have much more money for their schools. They get the better teachers, enough textbooks (and the most recent ones), less crowded classrooms, buildings with no rats and cockroaches, brand new computers and one for every student, more after school programs, better food, etc. You could switch the rich white kid with the poor minority kid and the rich white kid would soon exhibit the same behavior you describe. Until we have equal education for all our kids, this pattern will continue. Minority children are being given the message that they don’t matter, and they are reacting accordingly. The same can be said for poor parents. They are often single parents and were less educated themselves, they obviously have a lot less money, no computer at home, they often work long hours that prevent them from helping at school or attending conferences, and they don’t have a nanny to help the kids with homework. This creates another huge disadvantage for poor children, which then gets perpetuated from generation to generation. If you are genuinely concerned, start working on a bill for your state that mandates that every school gets the same amount of money per student, no matter how affluent the area.

my children scored well in math. i started them with my penny jar. i’d use the coins to represent the math equation.

maybe this will help – heck, try it out!

if it does not work, don’t ever give up as math is involved in so much in our lives.