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I think some people are just wired differently. Math is generally very logical and some people excel at linear thinking. Other people are more creative and excel at the abstract. Of course, typically speaking, its not all or nothing. Many people just have the right wiring where it comes naturally. Others have the potential but just need a lot of practice to learn this.
Some people simply don't possess this type of capability, no matter how much they practice. Unfortunately, this skillset is much more needed in the modern economy and often leaves them behind, unless they can find some other niche.
I’m a special kind of stupid. I dropped out of high school and returned to school in my late 40s to become a nurse. I had a very hard time with algebra. I had to take the high school and intermediate math before I could take college algebra. Three algebra courses became six algebra courses because I kept failing.
The college algebra professor had wonderful advice for me: “Memorize the steps, don’t try to understand the process.” My thought processes just don’t run that way. So when I saw this kind of problem, I do this. I finally passed, 70.4%. Nursing school was easier than than college algebra, just a little bit. Introduction to statistics I earned a B in one pass. Go figure, no pun intended!
By the by: I saw my college algebra professor in the grocery store last year. I hugged and thanked her. I have the title BSN, RN after my name. She was so patient with me!
Nursing school thought processes were the opposite of my professor’s advice: we cannot fix the “what” until we understand the “why.” Why does the patient have cancer? Why is the patient addicted? Why is the patient’s arm broken? You probably get the idea. Math is a linear puzzle. People are everything but linear.
My advice is to memorize the steps. Don’t worry about trying to understand the the steps or what the GRE numbers say. Go forward. You’ve got this!
You probably would have done well with my 8th grade math teacher. The problem was, she hated students like myself who had a natural math ability and were curious to learn "why", rather than just rote memorizing how to do everything.
Note that this is not intended as a personal attack against you. My 8th grade math teacher was extremely popular, but she and I just had a severe personality conflict. Some students learn best from some teachers, others learn best from other teachers. This teacher was a serious mismatch for me, but she may have worked well for you.
You probably would have done well with my 8th grade math teacher. The problem was, she hated students like myself who had a natural math ability and were curious to learn "why", rather than just rote memorizing how to do everything.
Note that this is not intended as a personal attack against you. My 8th grade math teacher was extremely popular, but she and I just had a severe personality conflict. Some students learn best from some teachers, others learn best from other teachers. This teacher was a serious mismatch for me, but she may have worked well for you.
I may be wrong but aren't you a bit older (like 50s or so)? If so, that was the way Math teachers were told to (and taught) teach, at least in the lower math classes back then.
I may be wrong but aren't you a bit older (like 50s or so)? If so, that was the way Math teachers were told to (and taught) teach, at least in the lower math classes back then.
I'm 41. Not sure if you consider that "older" or not.
Which is totally incorrect. Any Principal can force compliance or get rid of any teacher if they're willing to do the work to do it.
I don't think she was failing to comply with any rules. Like I said, she was an extremely popular teacher. I just happened to have a severe personality conflict with her. And, whoever was in charge of scheduling teachers dropped the ball in having her teach honors math, since her strength was in teaching students who previously never understood math.
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Unfortunately many Administrators are too busy working on Fantasy Sports leagues, hitting on the young women teachers, keeping the temperature in their office low so they get a nipple show or going out for lunch "meetings" (nooners), among other non-work related tasks.
There were no young teachers when I was in school. Also none of the schools had air conditioning, so there was no way that a principal could make his office cold.
I don't think she was failing to comply with any rules. Like I said, she was an extremely popular teacher. I just happened to have a severe personality conflict with her. And, whoever was in charge of scheduling teachers dropped the ball in having her teach honors math, since her strength was in teaching students who previously never understood math.
There were no young teachers when I was in school. Also none of the schools had air conditioning, so there was no way that a principal could make his office cold.
If she was supposed to teach the class one way (in your case not just memorize the rules without understanding them) then yes, she was failing to comply.
You missed some of my point about many Principals.
If she was supposed to teach the class one way (in your case not just memorize the rules without understanding them) then yes, she was failing to comply.
....
It may be something that differs around the country. Around here so long as the teachers hit their metrics on what they're supposed to cover, the school pretty much doesn't care how it's done.
It may be something that differs around the country. Around here so long as the teachers hit their metrics on what they're supposed to cover, the school pretty much doesn't care how it's done.
My school had teachers who literally did no teaching at all, but parents were always told that the teacher had tenure, and that there was nothing they could do.
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