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The other day I was watching a show where one character was tutoring another in math. Uly passed through the room and overheard the show:
Show: It's simple, really. See, 'The bisector of a vertex is the line that divides the angle at that vertex into two equal parts.'
Uly: What are they talking about, Mom?
Me (a little dismissively, trying to pay attention to what I’m watching): Oh, nothing. Just some math prob…
Uly: Is it lines of symmetry?
Me (taken aback): Yes, Uly. Yes it is.
I was surprised, though I guess I shouldn’t have been, that Uly understood and was able to visualize what a couple of (fictional) high-school kids were talking about. That dialog went by fast! It’s the kind of line that I tune out—it’s white noise. It’s a reminder that kids hear and understand more than we realize sometimes.