Community Chat

[jeanlake]

Math. I also skipped kindergarten and have thought about that connection, as someone mentioned. My dad's career was about math and my sis is an economist. Mom was valedictoria of her high school class. My mind shuts down with math. Brother went to college for engineering but didn't get past the third calc class and changed his major. I have degrees, but they certainly aren't math driven. 

A friend teaches math and said people who like arts, social and behavioral sciences want to know "why" when math is actually about memorizing and trusting the formulas - even if these don't make sense. It sounds like a generalization but I can relate to that explanation.    

[happycat]

I never could grasp math either. I remember doing homework, thinking I had done a good job and getting the papers back with red marks all over. Lord, I am glad I am done with school!

I tried to help my neice who is in the 4th grade with her math homework and few weeks ago.......I still stink at it.

[this is my nic]

@software 

I'm with you on that!  Trig was one of the courses on the "college prep" list of required subjects.  Unfortunately, it was taught by a really creepy teacher, this guy liked to "date" high school girls.  

Additionally, he taught physics, another requirement, and was our class's home room teacher.  So, the entire morning was spent in his classroom.  I really had no idea what was going on in trig class, so I and several others dropped it and took a basic math course instead. Despite the rules for the college prep course requirements, we all passed without trig.  I've spoken to my classmates from way back when and the majority had the same low opinion of this so called teacher/pedophile.  BTW, no one ever reported him for his girl chasing because back then the teacher was believed, and, his father-in-law was our town's police chief.  Another time, another place. 

[GenXmuse]

Gym. I was always picked either last or next to last for everything. Can't say that I blame them though, but it was embarrassing. 

[Zaimee]

@this is my nic 

Trigonometry was my nemesis, too. Thought I would fail the NYS Regents but managed to do okay.

i also had a teacher that would be in jail today. He would pull the girls to sit on his lap and massage their backs. We all wore skirts back then. Had him in eight and ninth grade! No one talked about it then.

[Flatbush]

Latin and chemistry. As I remember some Latin, Caesar was always camping and de camping. What was that about? I did better in French, which was called the Universal language. I wonder if French is still called that?

[ECBG]

I hated history with a passion.  My grades were high, but I hated it!

[stevieb]

I hated math... all math beyond arithmetic. I hated chemistry. I hated gym. I pretty much liked everything else, especially social sciences, history, English (liteature, not diagamming sentences...) and drama (no comments on the drama thing)...

[aroc3435]

@J Town Girl Math was my nemesis.  Also disliked phys ed.  Would rather have my nose in a book.  

@jeanlake  I, too, tested out of Kindergarten.  I agree with 

the notion your teacher friend offers.  Had As and a fewBs all through school except Cs and one B in high school math.  Took algebra and geometry.  In sophomore year my geometry teacher remarked I was such an outstanding student except in math; I told her I could memorize and regurgitate the theorems but couldn't write out the problems to prove them.

In a very respectful manner (this was a private Roman Catholic all girls school) I said I can see that the sides of the illustrated figure are equal and can use a ruler, or my finger joint, or whatever, to prove it.  I don't understand how the equations do so.  Fortunately for me, she did weekly spelling quizzes for mathematical words and those I always aced.  Some of the best math students flunked those.  So I got by with a C for the year.  

Supposedly you needed three years of math for college, so Junior year I took something called "Terminal Math" and  got a B--it was looking up mathematical things in tables--schools probably don't even offer it any more.  Math kept me out of the National Honor Society--my grade point average was high enough but could not have any grade of C at all.  Made the school's internal high honors list each year--never missed.

I struggled in grade school but finally mastered arithmetic.  Never understood New Math, math in Bases, etc.  Again, why?  What was the point?  To me, most of life is not a stark yes or no; find the middle way and there are many ways.

Always loved philosophy, languages, history--all types--and art, theatre, music (no talent in it but talent needs appreciative audiences).  Even science and economic history interested me. My first love is reading.  It opened the world to me in first grade and continues to do so.

So, in college I majored in English and American History and politics.  Married right out of college and supported my husband financially while he got his college degree after he completed his military service, so between that, having children, and a divorce I wound up doing secretarial work for the long haul.  A far cry from my dreams of working in New York publishing, or journalism, or something along those lines.

Can't complain though.  The journey through life is what you make of it, whatever the surprises may be.

[spiderw]

I  have to say Chemistry was my least favorite subject, one I didn't have any interest in and struggled through..  I loved my teacher, he was kind and understanding and did what he could to help me but nothing seemed to work.  I did pass in the long run and was so happy to not have a chemistry class to dread going to anymore!!!!