Something that flips the roles

My mother has recently decided to go back to school. She told me from the beginning that she would need my help with her math classes. I'm game. I love math and am extremely confident when it comes to tutoring Algebra. Then the moment came to actually get some tutoring done. Talk about a reversal of roles.

My mother stirred up some frustrations inside of my that I can only imagine she has felt when she used to help me with my homework. It wasn't that she didn't know certain things. Math is a perishable skill. When you don't use it, you lose it. That wasn't the problem. The issue was when I felt she was trying to figure out an answer for herself.

I'll ask her a question and would immediately get the response, "I don't know." The first few times I reworded my question. Frustration started to build when we'd use a formula that she'd have explained to me only for me to ask her how to use it later and I hear, "I don't know." Next step for me was to immediately answer "yes, you do" when I heard "I don't know." That didn't last long as I would have liked. After a while, with that immediate response when I knew she did know, I was feeling as though she was wasting my time. I mean if the only answer you have is "I don't know," you aren't trying. If you aren't trying, then why am I here? You're wasting my time.*

It only took few more occurrences of "I don't know" to be said before I was completely out of patience. My mom mode burst forth complete with lectures, finger-wags, and a desire to give a spanking to the petulant child.** I was exasperated with her. I started to become a tad more snippy when I heard, "I don't know." I ended up fussing at her that she did know, that we'd just done it. I'd ask her a question and immediately say don't say I don't know, think about it for a moment and answer. She changed her answer to "I'm not sure," saying "you told me not to say I don't know." It wasn't any less infuriating.

This was when I came close to ripping in to her. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU TAKE THE TEST? ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LOOK AT THE PAPER AND SAY 'I DON'T KNOW?!?' IS THAT GOING TO ANSWER THE QUESTION? WILL THAT PASS THIS CLASS FOR YOU? 'I DON'T KNOW?'" Fortunately, I was able to contain this outburst. I did tell her she was close to getting that speech from me. She said she wouldn't have appreciated it. Basically, the way I don't appreciate the reponse "I don't know."

If ever children happen to me, I don't know if I'll be able to contain the desire to spank when they don't try. It sounds ridiculous, but it is literally one of the most infuriating things to me. Someone just saying "I don't know" without trying to find an answer has frustrated me at work and at home. I sends me through the roof. My mother was almost tutorless for doing so.


*I forgot to mention that these session were taking place after I finished a fourteen hour work day at 11 o'clock at night. I'm tired and had to get up early the next day.
**I actually threatened to smack her at one point if she told she didn't know again.