I was trying to figure out how you came up with this - even given that you’re reh learning math - and thought “oh, maybe their native language is read right to left, so 1 + 1 = 2, and 10 - 2 = 8.” But then doing that you’d also go “1 - 1 = 0, and 10 - 0 = 0,” so I honestly don’t know how you’re getting there.

And then I thought, “maybe they think subtraction comes first”, but then (10 - 1) + 1 is 10, and (10 - 1) - 1 is 8.

I can’t think of any consistent rules that would produce this. You’d have to do:

1. 10 - (1 + 1), and
2. (10 - 1) - 1

I’m really curious about your thought process.

Incidentally, my wife was home schooled except her mother didn’t participate, so she never learned anything beyond basic addition and subtraction, and the single digit multiplication table. When she finally went for her GED she was in her 20’s, and we spent many, many hours together tutoring.

So, you’re getting a lot of negative reactions, but don’t let it get you down. Keep up with it; it’s valuable to learn.

BTW, my wife eventually graduated Summa Cum Laude in both her Bachelor’s and her Master’s degrees - non-STEM, so algebra was all she needed, but she fought hard for that 4.0, and she got it.