We occasionally at teacher do not understand why our students have so much difficulty factoring. We sometimes forget how much goes into taking a given polynomial and breaking it down. To help see the full scope of what we are doing when we factor and the evaluations and decisions which go into deciding which process or tool from our toolbox to use, I have created a flowchart which includes the evaluations and decisions needed to be made when choosing how to factor various polynomials. Use as an