This assignment is due Thursday, June 13th, at the start of class. Late submissions will receive partial credit.
Assignment. Choose ONE of the following two topics. Write a comment in reply to this post (click “Leave a Reply” below), responding to the topic in 1-2 paragraphs. Begin by telling us which topic you chose. Be sure to include your name so I can give you credit.
Topics.
- Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
- Sometimes people can recognize a time when their opinion of math dramatically changed either for the better or the worse. If such a time happened for you, tell about it. If you did not experience such a thing, tell about your steady feelings about mathematics.
Extra Credit. For extra credit, write a response to one of your classmates’ comments. Do you feel the same? Did you learn anything? Do you have any advice? Be kind.
Why are we doing this, anyway? Having progressed this far in your school career, you are familiar with many of the tools for learning math: studying, practicing by doing problems, asking questions when you need help, and so on. I’d like to talk about two activities that may NOT seem related to learning math — but research shows that engaging in these activities can dramatically increase the amount that you learn, and change the way you learn it. The first is writing – something not typically associated with mathematics. When you express your ideas in words, it forces you to think them through very carefully, detail by detail. A great way to check and see if you really understand something is to try to explain it to someone else, either out loud or in writing. Example: if you know how to add fractions, try teaching it someone who doesn’t know how. The second is called metacognition, or “thinking about thinking.” This happens when you think about what was going on in your head while you were working on a problem or trying to learn a new idea. What train of thought did you follow? Where did you get stuck, and what did you do next? What were you feeling at the time? and so on. Combining writing and metacognition can be a tremendously powerful tool in identifying the ways we learn best and the ways we make mistakes, and learning to improve. However, like any skill, it takes practice. That’s why we’re getting started by writing a little about our past experiences with mathematics.
Sometimes people can recognize a time when their opinion of math dramatically changed either for the better or the worse. If such a time happened for you, tell about it. If you did not experience such a thing, tell about your steady feelings about mathematics.
I used to be incredibly fond of math. In elementary, middle, and high school, I excelled in all mathematically-related subjects. I always held the highest grades in the entire class during this time. After taking more math courses in college (College Algebra/Trigonometry, Calculus I, and Calculus II), I felt that I would be good and done with math, and I felt like I had achieved a high point in my life. When I transferred over to City Tech, my math courses did not hold the same credit hours as the ones here, therefore, I lost all of the math course work that I previously finished. This made me very angry at math – so much, in fact, that I felt disgusted with the entire subject. I was told that I would have to take 1175, then progress to 1275. Instead, I took a test to prove that I could do 1175 coursework, and was able to skip that and take 1275. Still, I detested the class. I had a great professor, but the subject had become foreign to me. I managed to get an A in 1275. With relief, I thought I was done with math, for the second time in my life. Looking at the Bachelor’s of Nursing program handbook, though, I was in disbelief to see I had yet another math course to take. That course is this Statistics class. Perhaps one day, I can get over my hatred of math, but as of right now, I don’t see that day in the near future. Sorry!
Hi Amy,
Thanks for being our first-responder to OpenLab #1, and thanks for your post. Lots of people tend to avoid the things they don’t like, which can lead to real trouble in math class (when you avoid doing the work) – it seems like you DON’T do this, despite your feelings, which is awesome! Keep it up,
-Mr. Reitz
Hello Amy, I was in your group on Thursday.Girl you rock! I want to let you know that you have a gift that many students as myself would like to have.So be grateful for the skills that you have in accomplishing these ‘A’ with little or no effort. Because one day it will be very useful and you will be happy that you have it.
We’re both in the same exact boat ;___;. I thought I was done with math 3 years ago and now I had to take these classes to make the credit for the Nursing Bachelor’s program as well. In my opinion though, I think that this math class is nothing more than a slight nuisance (no offense Prof. Reitz) compared to the other courses for people like us who have actually done exceptionally well in the subject. Just think of it as an easy A!
This is exactly what happened to me, I graduated from Kingsborough community college, and I took math classes over there, however when I started CityTech ,they made me take more and more math. I could not believe that I had to take more math classes, with the same topics.
I’m a current Nursing student right now and I agree with you, it seems as if math is unavoidable no matter what area of study you choose. You’ve already been exposed to the higher level math so this should be a piece of cake to you. You also said you have a great math background so that adds to the easiness of this course. Good luck in this course I’m sure you’ll get an A
1.Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Growing up I never really felt anything for math. It was just another topic I was required to take its was just there. But towards my high school life I went through a phase which caused me to get held back and I was completely lost in all my math classes because of the dumb mistakes I made previously. This went on through-out my whole high school life. Which caused me to grow a huge dislike for math I couldn’t understand anything going into my senior year and taking my last math class. I was so lost nothing made sense and no one was there to help me. I barely past. Going into college I felt lost still taking my math 1180 2 times once cause I withdrew and the final one that I did manage to past.
The only reason I can say that maybe l’m comfortable with math now is because I was expecting Statistics to be a really hard class. I heard from friends that its difficult to understand so naturally I was dreading the first day. But these classes the prof has made it super easy. So I truly thank you for that. Hopefully I’ll learn to like math currently its just something I’m stil iffy about.
I totally agree, I feel slightly more comfortable with math now that I’ve had a great per calc professor *Prof.Tradley*, he made math fun and a bit easier for me to understand. I’m so happy with Prof.Reitz’s teaching techniques. He is so helpful and packed with high energy. I have a Speech class before his and I feel literally drained after, but I get a boost from his energy, so it’s much appreciated. Thanks Prof.Reitz.
Thanks, Jennivieve! I’m a fan of Prof. Tradler, too – he shares my office, and sits in the desk next to me.
-Mr. Reitz
Did you have a higher expectation of what Statistics would be about? or did you have an opinion based on what others told you about the subject? I think we all need math but the way that the college teaches the curriculum could be better to help students pass rather than fail. Catch 22 you never know what curve ball your gonna receive, when it’s time to face that exam on paper. So you gotta brace yourself for the unexpected really.
taking statistic has me understand and appreciate what chances I am taking investing in money market . it open my eyes to reality of how much I can lose or gain. I eager to learn more.
I was working overseas on boat as steward and one of my responsibility was asses risk for the crewmen . having a background in math as assisted me tremendously in calculating degree of risk for other crewmen. The decision process could resulted life and death. so having a background in math was critical and beneficial to my experience at my previous job
To answer question 2,I was very fond of Math when I was in elementary school and through junior High.While I was in high school I found Math A classes, I think that was the first 2 years of high school very easy. I had great teachers, they made it fun and it was enjoyable. once I got into math B, I really started to despise Math, I didn’t understand how proving a triangle was ever going to help me in my life. It’s fair to say my love for math kept growing thin every day that went by. When I started college classes and found out I needed to take math 1175,1275 and 1375 along with math 1272….it’s like great more mathclasses. Unfortionality, I had terrible Math 1175 and 1275 Professors..I mean TERRIBLE. But I stuck in there because I never dropped a class before and if I did I felt like I would be a quiter.
Never give up or quit. If you are not good at something, always study harder and put extra effort. Be persistent an still you get it. I can imagine you struggling in a math class by having a horrible professor. Professors who don’t know how to teach make the student life 100% miserable. I believe that when a student don’t like math is because professor contributes to it. They should make math fun and easy to understand. All you can do is get tutoring help and study every day.
I can relate to you because I started hating Math when I had to take Math B classes also. Sorry to hear about the terrible professors you’ve experienced along the way. I think that most times Math can be extra challenging whenever you have a professor who does not make extra efforts to give a better understanding of the materials. I am happy that you haven’t given up and I encourage you to keep working hard, so that Math 1272 will be a successful class for you.
It is very important t have a good professor. I had a terrible professor in one of my math classes, and I did not pass a class, simple because I have never understood his math language and topics, even thou I studied hard for that class, next semester I took the same class with another professor I got an A. You should never give up, because of bad professors, just keep going until you reach you goal grade.
I totally agree with you Jen.. Math makes much sense when you have a great Professor who cares and takes time to explain things. I personally do not hate it, I get fed up with it at times and ask myself why do I have to do this? but at the end of the day, we have no choice, but just to do it anyways… We can do this 😉
Yea I can vouch and say courses such as Math B are a pain in the rear. Many of my friends who were taking math B were often complaining about the intensity and complexity of the course day in and day out. students got out the math B regents looking like zombies. I do like the way our school set up the different math courses. I had fair math 1175 and 1275 prof. I did well in both of them, and I actually found out today that my 1275 prof. is teaching stats 1272 this summer as well. Not quitting shows resilience and perseverance.
1.Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Math was and is not my favorite subject but I don’t dislike it either. The last class of Math I took is college algebra 1yr ago, along with 5 other classes and barely made it out. When taking a Math class I find it easier when I can dedicate my time only to that class, its the reason why I took it in the summer session. In a way I find Math a interesting subject because you get to show work and everything you learn in class, most of the time i get partial credit for doing the work even though you get the answer wrong. I love math when I understand and I’m capable of solving the problems otherwise I get frustrated =)
Agreed. The good thing about Math is that you can get partial credit on the work that you show even if you get the question wrong. Wow you took 5 other classes with math, that must’ve been real difficult. I’m glad you were able to get through it and you were successful. It should be much more easier now that this is the only class. It is summer so even though it is the only class we can’t close our eyes for one second or we’ll miss out on a lot of details.
Math was never my favorite subject. I always struggled with this subject, since I was in elementary school. In high school, I really hated math because it was so hard for me to pass the trigonometry regent or precalculus class. In order to get good grade in this subject, I had to go to tutoring and repeat the class. What I don’t like about math is that you have to figure out complicated problems that involve formulas. Not only that, but I also HATE to prove triangles (specially in Geometry). Now that I am in college, I am very thankful that only 2 math classes are required for my major. Even though I hate math, I still do good because of my extra effort. I strongly believe that in order to take math, you need to have a really good professor or teacher. Who will make it interesting and easy for you to understand. Math is not a subject to have a boring professor because you may loose your interest. However, if you do have a boring professor, then you may never LOVE or Like math. For example, when I took math 1180 with professor Reitz (summer 2012), I realized that math is not bad when you have a professor like him. He is a professor that teach very well and make sure the student understand the concept. He is also very energetic and motivates other students .
I so agree with you. I also had trouble with math beginning junior high school. I was even placed in the Sylvan Program which helped me out somehow. However, I never overcame my dislike against math until I met professor Reitz.
Angelo P. I really used to love mathematics when I was in high school. There it was like developing a whole new out look on my learning experiences with mathematics. High School teachers went out of their way to help the students learn, and you didn’t feel like you were alone to struggle on your own. At my school the teacher put the students in groups of tables of four, so even if we didn’t know each other we were forced to help each other. No man was left behind and it really stood for something, and gave a feeling of team work at all cost.
As I begin to go further up the ladder of grades, I now started to know that I wasn’t really focused on math because I had to take Regents courses and it was just about passing a test than retaining information. As I got into college I was shocked to learn that nobody cared and the teachers were often burned out to help the students. They no longer would stay after class to help students and asking questions would only irritate the teachers train of thought.
Angelo, I see where you coming from, but i still think it depends on the professor that you have. In high-school the students are much younger and more energetic. In college students come from all walks of life and are often underwhelmed with whats going on. Students just want to pass and move on. Others actually want to succeed with a high grade.
As for my experience I noticed that I have received equal help in both high-school and in college. I think as you excel especially a field and diverse as math, it becomes more difficult. But like Jennivieve, you can’t be a quitter
[Sometimes people can recognize a time when their opinion of math dramatically changed either for the better or the worse. If such a time happened for you, tell about it. If you did not experience such a thing, tell about your steady feelings about mathematics]
My opinion of math changed when I actually started paying attention in class and not thinking so negatively about math concepts. During my 4 years in high school, I hated math. I felt like I was dragging myself to class everyday to confront what was to me my worst nightmare. I’ve always had anxiety when taking a math exam. I’ve tried to change that by studying more and not being afraid to ask questions. In high school, I barely asked questions because some math teachers would make you feel stupid.
Even though I haven’t had the best experience in learning math, I’ve learned you have to put in you best effort to learn it on your own and understand it in your own ways. I’ve gone to tutoring in the learning center located on the ground floor in the atrium. I haven’t had the best tutors but I still go and try to find one I can understand. As college students, we have to be self-learners and find different strategies to learn any course we don’t understand. We have to be there for ourselves. I learned I wasn’t doing great in math because I wasn’t studying and going out of my way to learn the material. You can’t expect your professor to pass you if you don’t care about learning the material.
“You will only fail, if you give up on yourself”.
1. Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Math was never my favorite subject because I get lost and confuse. I understood the basic math but when it get into more advanced math, thats when I get total lost. I remember when I was about 8 year old, my parents bought a times table poster and they will quiz me on it. I hated the times table and I will always hide it from my parents. I didn’t dislike studying the times table, it just that I don’t understand it or how to solve it. I just memorize it instead of understanding it. Thats when I realize that I hated math.
I used to do the same thing when I was a child. I hated substraction and division . Whenever, they would give me a math homework to do I would hide it from my parents. I could do the very basic math, but when it gets complicated, I am out…
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Math became my favorite subject while I started taking the subject Math A which involved the topics like Algebra and Geometry. I loved the fact that my teacher was able to let me as a student realize how math isn’t always difficult and can be fun at all times. Participating and helping my classmates wasn’t an issue for me, I made sure I understood the basics in solving the problems. Algebra was my strongest area in math I loved the x,y, and z variables used in the set of expressions and I enjoyed the time well spent in the class.
I was terrified and mortified of my Math A prof. She was very intimidating and all of the students that were in her class wish that they never had her as a student. She was effective and she knew her craft. The students were too scared to even participate on the bored in fear of getting any questions wrong. Lucky for me I survived that class cause I’m still here today :). During that year of high school Math was my least favorite subject but then I learned to hate math a little less after that.
2.Sometimes people can recognize a time when their opinion of math dramatically changed either for the better or the worse. If such a time happened for you, tell about it. If you did not experience such a thing, tell about your steady feelings about mathematics.
Growing up I always liked math, but it was never my favorite subject. I felt that it was always a challenge and had to put in extra effort in order to fully understand the problems. In high school, I thought I was pretty good at Math until I took the Math B regents and I failed. I had to take it over in summer school and I was able to pass the regents. After high school, I hated Math until I took Math 1175 and 1275. I had two of the best Math professors at the college and I started back liking Math again. Math can be easy as long as you have someone whose teaching methods are effective.
I agree with you, having a professor who actually takes the time to help you understand makes all the difference. I have had professors who teach and I don’t know why but it just didn’t go well. I always came to class early, went to tutoring, did the extra problems but it just didn’t click. As time goes on I realized that it helps when you have a professor who is passionate math and want to share that inspiration with others.
I like math. To me it sparks a different part of my brain. It helps me draw from a part of my mind that is most creative. Math is something that involves much practice and repetition.
When I was younger I liked to involve myself with numbers rather than reading, so I considered math to be my favorite subject.solving problems is something that i like to do. To me math isn’t boring at all. It’s something to do and it helps build interpretation skills. It also shows that there is more than one way to get an end result or an answer. I heard from somewhere that people that are brilliant in math are artistic and can look at many different ways in life’s situation.
I agree that math makes your brain work, especially classes like statistics, since it has logic in problems, not just math (like algebra)
Yea I also read a study that people who are highly skilled in mathematics make great musicians and are also flexible in their personality. I’m waiting for Cornelle Yale or any other renowned university to update that study.
My name is Mitsou and I choose topic # 1. As long as I can remember I never liked mathematics and it was never my favorite subject. I don’t know maybe it was all the punishments and the insults that I received when I was a child and my mother used to teach me the basics math. I could not count properly or do calculation math problems. My mother was not a patient woman and she could not understand why I was unable to grasp things that appeared simple to her. When I was in school and I could not understand the explanations that were given about a math problem, the teacher would shake his head and look at me like I was a lost case. Sometimes, he would make fun at me and all that. For all the above reasons, unconsciously, I developed a sort of animosity towards math. I would do my work and do everything in my power to pass the class. However, the relationship that I have with math is so damaged that I doubt it can ever reverse, so, we will never be buddy- buddy. It is very unfortunate that almost everything requires math. It is very sad!
Maths has been my best subject ever. I can not remember the time i started liking maths. All i know is that i liked math from the time i know my right from my left. Math is fun because as long as you know the formula you are at least 50% sure of getting the answer to your question. You don’t need to read alot of pages to understand math. On like other subjects, you don’t need history. Math is more of practical than theory/history. No wonder is a science because it deals more with practical. Many people don’t like math not because it is hard but because they are scared . .
The most important thing in maths is to pay attention. Math is easy to pass but in as much as it is easy to pass it is also easy to fail.Once you put your attention to maths it will put its attention to you. Continuous practice is another key to learning math. I have been doing very good in math and i have tried all this and found out that that is the key. Remember that failure does mean you dont know math or that is hard or that you can never pass math but it means you have to try a little more. In as much as i love math, it does mean i have not failed any math exam since i was born. It is true that is painful most especially when you know that you know what you are doing. It happened to me when i was taking mat 1275. I was doing very great in class, answering all the questions of my teacher. I did well in all my class exam but on the day of my finals, my child was not feeling well and i came to class very restless. I know how to solve all the problems that came out but i will start it and miss a step in between because my mind was at home were i left my child. After i finished, the profs called me and asked me what was wrong with me and showed me my result, i cried and hated math at that moment. I even left the school leaving all my books without knowing. when i got home i thought about what happened and found out it was because i did not pay attention not that i don’t know it.At that point i consoled myself and continue loving maths. Maths needs attention, patient and continues practice. If you give all this to math it will give itself back to you. Take math as your love and it will take you as its love. It is just like a relationship. Take good care of it it will take care of you and abandon it, it will abandon you. Thanks RUTH. E.
I completely agree with you. Math requires a lot of concentration because otherwise a problem that seems simple can become very complicated. For this reason, when I’m doing my homework, I go to a place where no one distract me.
Honestly math is not my favorite subject, because I feel frustrated when I try so many times to resolve a math problem and I can’t find the right answer. Also, I feel dumb when I make mistakes with simple problems. But, I liked math when I was in elementary school, I found it fun. But, everything changed dramatically for worse in high school when I started to take advanced math. I remember that I had to dedicate a lot time doing math homework, today I still feel insecure when I’m solving math problems and I find the answers I keep doubting they are wrong; therefore, most the time I can’t finish my exams on time. I took food and beverage cost control last summer and it was a hard class for me, I had to solve a lot of math problems with many steps and I could easily lost. I hope this summer everything goes different with statistic and I’m planning to take tutoring.
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite?
Math has always been my favorite subject, not because I enjoy it, but because it’s always just made sense to me. I started taking advanced high school math during 6th grade and it’s always come to me very easily. In high school, I would cut class for weeks at a time, yet always show up to my calculus class for exam days and pass. It’s always been my strongest point and I’m very proud of that. After high school, I transferred into City Tech from BMCC and my math credits had not been accepted, so I had to start math once again from the drawing board. Having not taken an in-depth math course since my sophomore year of high school [the only other math class I took was Med Math], I found it a struggle at first to relearn things such as sin, cosine, and tangent – things that I learned in middle school. However, after a quick review and a question or two of practice, I quickly revived that which had become dormant for oh so many years. This is the reason why math will always be my favorite subject. You never truly forget how to do math, quite like riding a bicycle. You don’t need to understand the etiology of math or the history of it’s founders. Once you get an answer, there isn’t any misinterpretation – it’s either right or wrong. And being in the nursing major where one of our mottos is, “All of the answers are correct, you just need to choose the right one,” it’s a huge relief to know that this is not the case with math.
–Jennifer Chaparro
The topic I chose is: “Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?”
Math has never been my favorite subject, but at the same time I do not hate it. Back when I was in high school, I used to enjoy it because I found it very interesting. I remember telling myself that I would rather deal with math than my English class. Sometimes I just feel like SOME of the stuff we are learning in Math will not be put into use in whatever career we choose.
On the other hand, I am the type of person that when I do not understand something, I get really frustrated and start to hate what I am doing. But at the end I realize that I need to learn it to pass the course. Although I believe that I am not using it in my daily life, maybe one day I will come across a situation that whatever I learned will be useful.
Finally!! I found someone with my same feeling toward math. I don’t hate math, love it until I don’t understand how to solve a problem and I feel frustrated too when I am stuck on it. I really understand you!
Exactly how I feel sometimes, when I know problem I like math, but when the problem can not be solved by me , I feel terrible.
I think we use math a little in our daily live, for example, If we are going out for dinner and drinks it helps to have a decent math background. But in today’s world all of our phones have calculators even those who don’t have smartphones :). I think Math can be more useful than you think. I DO agree with you on one thing, once i get frustrated on anything I start to hate it. But perseverance and persistence is key
Math and I always had an estranged relationship. When I can grasp the concept of the problem and solve it correctly, I get a burst of confidence within myself, but when I don’t understand or seem lost, I feel out of place. It has been like this since high school. When I told my mother I was taking this class for the summer she said “O Lord, make sure you find a good tutor.” She didn’t like taking her Statistics class, but she passed it. No Pressure! I am so grateful, we have such and enthusiastic teacher to help us out.
It is so easy when we learn the subject in class and then we go home and we’re like “How do we that again”? I wish I didn’t have to flip through my notes over and over again to solve a math problem. I wish I could just grasp on math real easily like other students. However, I am proud to say that I feel more confident than ever before in math. It has to do with the fact that we have a professor teaching us the right way. I don’t feel stupid asking a question which to others may be a stupid question.
I agree with you, I am so happy we ended with a professor with such enthusiasm and always willing to help. We just need to make sure to tae good notes in class and ensure we understand every process. If you do not understand something, ask, because the problems will start to build up. Practice extra with the homework questions. Math takes practice.
I agree with a great professor you feel a sense of relief. Good luck on your new journey.
The above comment was actually sent in error.
@ Jenny I feel the same way in class it seems like okay I get it I can work through it then I’m lost. Unreal ! I am changing my work schedule so that I can attend tutoring. I cant see my self doing well without it. Glad to see I am not alone. Good Luck
Mathematics was never my favorite subject until I faced college. During my high school years I always ignored math. To understand math I needed to sit down and spent some time doing the same problems over and over, it was hard for me, since math needs patient and I am impatient person. I was forced many times to do math during high school years. At that time I could not recognize that once I learn math at school it would be easier at college. When I started college, hard time began with math. I had no other choice but sit down and study a lot of math! I was doing math all day, because I needed to pass my math courses, and when I was receiving 100s on my test, I understood that math isn’t hard as people think. So I changed my mind about mathematics. It just needs time and patient. Math seems easier when I have a good tutor and professor.
I agree that a good teacher makes math easier. I am the same way, I have to actually sit down and study a lot and all day. Hopefully my hard work will pay off and I can see 100 as well, because I have yet to see that.
I completely agree with you. I had the same experience with math as you did. Before i got to college i hated math and always put it off because i was never good at it. When i got to City Tech i had a good professor who explained the material well and i realized that math is all about practice. I sat down and would do math problems for hours and i started doing really good on all the tests. I changed my opinion about math when i put in the extra effort.
Krzysztof Szostek
I completely agree with you. I had the same experience with math as you did. Before i got to college i hated math and always put it off because i was never good at it. When i got to City Tech i had a good professor who explained the material well and i realized that math is all about practice. I sat down and would do math problems for hours and i started doing really good on all the tests. I changed my opinion about math when i put in the extra effort.
1. Was math your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has ever been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
I like math because unlike other classes that only require memorization, math requires a lot of critical thinking and logic. Now that I’m taking statistic, I realized that I love it. I’m not only entertained, I’m learning how to apply math in my everyday life. For example, I analyze the probability that some event happens before making a decision.
You are so right, math requires critical and logical thinking. Sometimes I get stumped trying to create an approach to a math problem,but it comes to me at some point, hopefully sooner than later.
I agree with you, Math does requires a lot of critical thinking and practice. You do need a lot of patience with Math, especially now with Statistic, you need a lot of logical thinking.
Statistic does requires logical thinking to proceed through the experiment and have a outcome of successes or a failure.
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Math has never been my favourite subject, maybe because I have never been good at it and always struggled. I was always an english student, I always liked writing and I was very good at it. Although I struggled with math I wasn’t terrible once I tried and I had a good teacher. After coming to city tech I always tried to put off my math classes for last just to avoid taking them, I even dropped statistics about 3 times before I decided to take it this summer and just do it with all I got. It really takes a lot out of me and for some reason the material doesnt stick. In class I would be fine and get the material with no problem but as soon as class is over its like it just leaves my head. I suppose the reason I dont like math may be because of the fact that the things we learn in the classroom we wont be using in daily life and probably never see it again after school.
Krzysztof Szostek
I know how you feel about the material that you learned in class not sticking with you. I used to have the same problem but i realized that the best way to get past that is to do practice problems from the material you learned the same day you learned it. It also helps if you spend at least a half hour doing some practice problems a couple of times a week. From my own experience doing that helped the material stick better and i had an easier time with math
Sometimes people can recognize a time when their opinion of math dramatically changed either for the better or the worse. If such a time happened for you, tell about it. If you did not experience such a thing, tell about your steady feelings about mathematics
Throughout my life, Math has always been a slight challenge for myself. Processing the different formulas, and using various steps to solve equations. The idea of taking statistics worried me, as Math isnt my strongest subject. But i had to realize i needed to take it now. The one factor i was worried about was finding a teacher who could break down all the information, and was clear. But taking 1272 statistics this summer, I can say, i am starting to feel more confident in myself and every problem i come across. This is one of the most positive math experience, ive had, and i feel math is a topic which will change my mindset for the better.
Christian H.
Yes, different formulas what makes math confusing to me too and I get lost when it comes to using them in right spot. The Professor seems really understanding for this course for me. Hope we understand this course better and apply it in our life.
I enjoyed math and was decent student until I took Mr. Goldsteins’s geometry class. He was not a good teacher, and I became discouraged. My love of math was ignited again while at Hunter College,but I was not looking forward to taking any math classes at Citytech. I never took Statistics,but knew of mean, mode and median somehow. I’m a returning student who’s changing careers and this class is required, initially I was concerned about it messing up my GPA. Hope not.
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
When I was in grade school I use to love math, it made sense there was logic to it and I used it in everyday life so I became fascinated with it. I have enjoyed learning about it and I was a bit more confident as I got the questions correct. As time went on I realized I did math not because I wanted to but because it was a requirement for school. I was no longer passionate about it, I just did it because I had to. To be honest when I was younger I wanted to be a teacher. I love creating exams and teaching my sisters the lessons I have prepared earlier, but slowly but surely I put that on hold for a little while. I plan to pursue it later on in the future. I am hoping that eventually I will gain my passion back for math and be able to share it with others.
MATH FOR ME IS NOT MY FAVORITE SUBJECT. IN FACT I DISLIKE IT A WHOLE LOT. THE CRAZY THING IS FOR SOME ODD REASON I SEEM TO CONSTANTLY EXCELL AT IT. IVE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO GRASP FORMULAS QUICKLY AND READ INTO A PROBLEM AND CONQUER IT. HOWEVER I ADORE SCIENCE AND CANNOT SEEM TO DO THE SAME THING.SOMETIMES IT CAN BE A BIT FRUSTRATING AS I DONT PUT IN HALF THE REQUIRED WORK INTO REMEMBERING MATH AS I DO IN OTHER COURSES YET , SUCH IS LIFE. MY NEW LOOK AT IS TO BE PROUD OF THE SKILLS I HAVE IN MATH AND TRY HARDER IN BUILD MY SKILLS IN OTHER SUBJECTS.
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Yes, it used to be my favorite subject back in high school. My strength was math because of my ability to understand algebra and trigonometry. The rules and discipline what made math my favorite.
I am having some poor grades on math in college because of my time and lack of practice. I’m putting in less time that I used to spend on math in high school. I am still interested in math, I want to learn new stuff of statistic and looking forward get a good grade. Hope I pass this course with a good grade and be able to put more time on study.
Math was my favorite subject in high school. I was so good that when I entered college my major was accounting. I graduated from college and worked in the field for a few years, then I was laid off. Nonetheless, here I am again back in college trying to keep up with the new language of math. At first, I find that statistic was problematic for me, but I love the challenge and the great difficulty in solving a problem. I would spend long hours on a problem until I solved it, then if not, I get help from someone. However, my major now is in Human Services and I enjoy the fact that I can help someone in solving their problem. But I truly give a lot of respect to all the professors who mays these classes more enjoyable so students can feel less pressured.
Sorry to hear you got laid off. I commend you for taking another major and keeping a positive attitude on perusing another major. It is good to know that you like to help other people and I know you’ll be fine. I enjoy helping people myself. I am in Nursing currently and along with learning the Nursing practice, caring is the core of what we do and I can relate to you
Krzysztof Szostek
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
Growing up all the through high school, i hated math and I dreaded the thought of it. I considered it to be useless and always thought it was a waste of time. As I child I always avoided math and never wanted to learn my multiplication table and did everything I could to not to math homework. When I got to high school, I had a lot of difficulty with math and I always needed a lot of tutoring. I always felt lost, and I never received any help. I felt that my teachers would teach a topic very fast and did not help students who needed extra assistance. This caused me to dislike math even more and I felt very discouraged. During my senior year, my school forced me to take pre-calculus and had a lot of trouble with it. I would pass every test with a borderline passing grade and I promised myself I would never take another math course. When I got to City Tech my advisor told me that my major required me to take math 1175 and 1275.
When I first started math 1175 i was nervous that i wouldn’t know what I’m doing and that I would get a bad grade. As the semester progressed, I found myself actually enjoying math for once. This was due to my professor, who took the time to explain everything and made sure the entire class understood the topic before going on. I soon realized that the problem I had with math in high school was that I had a bad foundation of the basics. 1175 stared from the basics and taught me all the basic mathematical skills I was missing. Once I had mastered them I started to like math more and eventually it became one of my favorite subjects. I then realized that the reason I always had trouble with math because I was discouraged and never got help. Mastering 1175 made my life easier in 1275 and when I didn’t understand a topic I would get tutoring. Upon completion of 1275 my opinion of math had completely changed and I went from a person who hated math to someone who actually liked doing math problems. After 1275, I did not need to take Pre-Calculus but for once I enjoyed math so I took the class to further my math skills. I’m thankful for the math professors at City Tech for helping me like math and for teaching me math in a way that made me enjoy it and understand it for once. I came into City Tech as a student who only planned on only taking math courses up to 1275 and now I plan on taking calculus 1 in the fall.
Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
To be honest, I do not enjoy Math. I thought I had finished with math in High School, until I entered City Tech and I had to take Algebra and Trigonometry, and now I have to take Statistic to satisfy the requirements in my degree for the Hospitality Management. I felt lost in my first classes of 1175. I had 7 years without seeing math. What I do not enjoy about math is the long step of calculations for some problems to reach the results and then it turns out its wrong. You think you using the right formula to solve the problem and it turns out its the wrong one. Math involve a lot of practice, time, and thinking. There are some problems that drains your brain out, with such extent that I get a headache at the end. Hopefully, after MATH 1272, I do not have to see math anymore or after this class my expectations of Math changes.
Unfortunately, math has never been a favorite subject for me. I tend to suffer from anxiety and so required math classes are not easy for me. You can imagine my blood pressure is super sky high when I have to take an exam. It really upsets me because I feel that the stress and the doubting emotions cloud my thinking process when as I try to learn.
Nevertheless the only way that I am able to cope and successfully pass math, is having an amazing teacher that is thorough as he or she instructs, attending tutoring , and shamelessly complete the same classwork,homework,review over and over again so that the procedure sticks. I guess my obvious struggle would be panicking,forgetting the correct rules and never finishing on time..