Never Used

[garnetsilver]

Hey! I need to be tested for that! Seriously!

Maybe you could look into it! It was such a relief to find out why I had so much trouble with math, directions, reading maps etc. All those things are controlled by a particular section of the brain that we use for math.

 

[Donna K.]

Being able to do calculus and differential equations got me through engineering school. More than once I didn't understand what I solved meant, but I was able to do the math to get the right answers. I aced Boundary Layer Theory, but to this day don't understand it.

Well, I'm here to tell you (might as well make yourself comfortable - lolol) - A Calculus class that actually is a requisite for Engineering - has held me up for 3, yes count'em again THREE years from finishing the 12 credit hours I need to get my BS in Business. I have taken it FOUR times in 3 years - paid full tuition and bought VERY expensive access codes , and every tme I had to withdraw somewhere in the middle of crazy train circle - EVERY time, because I was not only flunking it - I was miserably, MISERABLE, each and everyday I worked that class. I mean, I literally got sick and damn near suicidal stressing over that class.

I am/was an online all the time LONG DISTANT student, there was/is only ONE professor teaching it, she is about TWELVE, and really REALLY REALLY a class A as****!!!#$$@. Whether that is just to me or to online students as a whole, I never ascertained. Now, I am not a natural born Math person. But I can learn and work a formula with calculator - I passed Algebra 1 and 2 (worked my butt off but made it) and I also passed Physics 1 and 2, Econ, Accounting 1-3 and Executive, Statistics and Statistics for business AND the Governor's Sim Competition (state wide) running 3 business simultaneously that I needed to graduate - and placed 2nd - and through all this I held onto a 3.90 gpa.

So, ya know - there's a problem - with my understanding of a Calculus class geared toward a degree in Engineering.

When I explained (100 times at least) that I felt like I landed in the middle of a class that had no starting point to work from, that I didn't recognize the formulas much less the lingo, had no online lectures recorded to try to make sense of, but did have "group assignments" that she loved loved LOVED to publicly comment on my lack of intelligence on - and I felt it was rather cold of her to answer direct questions from me by saying - You Tube it and then smirk (I could hear it over the phone). And yes, I did talk with my advisor SEVERAL times and the Dean of Learning AND the Dean of Online Learning... nada

Eventually - I just didn't return - that was 3 semesters ago.

If I had only known you then Duke... 'sigh'

Thanks for letting me rant - and THAT CLASS - is the one I have never and will never use. Oh, and tennis. I really don't care for tennis.

 

[Duke]

Well, I'm here to tell you (might as well make yourself comfortable - lolol) - A Calculus class that actually is a requisite for Engineering - has held me up for 3, yes count'em again THREE years from finishing the 12 credit hours I need to get my BS in Business. I have taken it FOUR times in 3 years - paid full tuition and bought VERY expensive access codes , and every tme I had to withdraw somewhere in the middle of crazy train circle - EVERY time, because I was not only flunking it - I was miserably, MISERABLE, each and everyday I worked that class. I mean, I literally got sick and damn near suicidal stressing over that class.

I am/was an online all the time LONG DISTANT student, there was/is only ONE professor teaching it, she is about TWELVE, and really REALLY REALLY a class A as****!!!#$$@. Whether that is just to me or to online students as a whole, I never ascertained. Now, I am not a natural born Math person. But I can learn and work a formula with calculator - I passed Algebra 1 and 2 (worked my butt off but made it) and I also passed Physics 1 and 2, Econ, Accounting 1-3 and Executive, Statistics and Statistics for business AND the Governor's Sim Competition (state wide) running 3 business simultaneously that I needed to graduate - and placed 2nd - and through all this I held onto a 3.90 gpa.

So, ya know - there's a problem - with my understanding of a Calculus class geared toward a degree in Engineering.

When I explained (100 times at least) that I felt like I landed in the middle of a class that had no starting point to work from, that I didn't recognize the formulas much less the lingo, had no online lectures recorded to try to make sense of, but did have "group assignments" that she loved loved LOVED to publicly comment on my lack of intelligence on - and I felt it was rather cold of her to answer direct questions from me by saying - You Tube it and then smirk (I could hear it over the phone). And yes, I did talk with my advisor SEVERAL times and the Dean of Learning AND the Dean of Online Learning... nada

Eventually - I just didn't return - that was 3 semesters ago.

If I had only known you then Duke... 'sigh'

Thanks for letting me rant - and THAT CLASS - is the one I have never and will never use. Oh, and tennis. I really don't care for tennis.

Maybe more than any other courses, the quality of instructor in math classes is critical. My first quarter of calculus I had a German professor with a heavy accent and he was a jerk. I felt fortunate to get a solid "C" from that character. Thankfully all the other math profs were native English speakers and were good teachers. I really lucked out in getting the best professor I ever had in differential equations.

My "secret weapon" in math classes was the Schamm's Outline. I don't know if they are even still published, but they were like workbooks with thousands of solved problems. You could see each step in the solution process, so if you got the wrong answer you could look at the solution to see where you went wrong. For every assigned homework problem, I probably did three out of the Schamm's. Repetition in the process really helped me.

 

[Lynne]

Well, I'm here to tell you (might as well make yourself comfortable - lolol) - A Calculus class that actually is a requisite for Engineering - has held me up for 3, yes count'em again THREE years from finishing the 12 credit hours I need to get my BS in Business. I have taken it FOUR times in 3 years - paid full tuition and bought VERY expensive access codes , and every tme I had to withdraw somewhere in the middle of crazy train circle - EVERY time, because I was not only flunking it - I was miserably, MISERABLE, each and everyday I worked that class. I mean, I literally got sick and damn near suicidal stressing over that class.

I am/was an online all the time LONG DISTANT student, there was/is only ONE professor teaching it, she is about TWELVE, and really REALLY REALLY a class A as****!!!#$$@. Whether that is just to me or to online students as a whole, I never ascertained. Now, I am not a natural born Math person. But I can learn and work a formula with calculator - I passed Algebra 1 and 2 (worked my butt off but made it) and I also passed Physics 1 and 2, Econ, Accounting 1-3 and Executive, Statistics and Statistics for business AND the Governor's Sim Competition (state wide) running 3 business simultaneously that I needed to graduate - and placed 2nd - and through all this I held onto a 3.90 gpa.

So, ya know - there's a problem - with my understanding of a Calculus class geared toward a degree in Engineering.

When I explained (100 times at least) that I felt like I landed in the middle of a class that had no starting point to work from, that I didn't recognize the formulas much less the lingo, had no online lectures recorded to try to make sense of, but did have "group assignments" that she loved loved LOVED to publicly comment on my lack of intelligence on - and I felt it was rather cold of her to answer direct questions from me by saying - You Tube it and then smirk (I could hear it over the phone). And yes, I did talk with my advisor SEVERAL times and the Dean of Learning AND the Dean of Online Learning... nada

Eventually - I just didn't return - that was 3 semesters ago.

If I had only known you then Duke... 'sigh'

Thanks for letting me rant - and THAT CLASS - is the one I have never and will never use. Oh, and tennis. I really don't care for tennis.

It seems that is not the direction you were meant to go. God steered you in another direction for some reason. You are clearly very smart Donna. So blame it on your spiritual path. God has a different path for you. Maybe accounting lol.

 

[Lynne]

It seems that is not the direction you were meant to go. God steered you in another direction for some reason. You are clearly very smart Donna. So blame it on your spiritual path. God has a different path for you. Maybe accounting lol.

All joking aside, that had to be awful and my heart goes out to you. I hate Calc now on principle.

 

[jayiniowa]

Chemistry...at least not the chemistry I learned in school.

 

[Paulm]

How to play with a gym class parachute with 25 other kids.

How to avoid cooties would have topped my list, but as this year has shown, that might just possibly be the most important thing learned from elementary school..... Which just proves everything learned can be used at some point, so hang in there Paint, an opportunity with a parachute and a room full of ppl just might arise one day, and you can stand up and say " I'm ready "

 

[WitchAndShaman]

I'll second Algebra but I'm going to add Geometry to that list. I remember an old teacher telling me that it was basically a necessity that I'd need later in life and I argued the point that I didn't with a wave of the hand - Jedi mind trick. And hey! It worked OK, I'm joking about the mind trick but somehow, someway I didn't have to take that course. Basic math I could do easily, but Alg and Geo weren't my strong suits.

I’ll stand up for your teacher Lone. I’ve used geometry so, so, so many times in my life and I’m not in a profession where I necessarily use it. I think just about everyone uses it maybe even rarely but doesn’t recognize it.

 

[Lone Wolf]

I’ll stand up for your teacher Lone. I’ve used geometry so, so, so many times in my life and I’m not in a profession where I necessarily use it. I think just about everyone uses it maybe even rarely but doesn’t recognize it.

I’m sure I could have figured it out, but advanced mathematics wasn’t ever for me. History, health and psychology were. Loved those subjects.

 

[Paintman]

Donna, a suggestion.
During high school and through much of college I would get high grades on many classes and several classes I would barely pass.
I was on my second time trying to pass my college foreign language requirements. A very savvy assistant professor saw me struggling, pulled my transcripts, called me into her office.
She set up an appointment for me to take the WAIS-R intelligence test with a psychologist. it was very obvious that I was learning disabled in a process called coding.
Foreign languages, anything beyond simple math, playing music, and a certain type of spatial thinking are impossible. I barely scored any points.

Meanwhile there were 16 other categories that I scored in the 99th percentile.

That is a classic sign of a learning disability and the university granted me a waiver from these classes. Graduated, and went to grad school and completed all of my class work towards a psy.d in Clinical Psychology.

So please don't give up, and look into it. There is a way. These accommodations may even be included in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Suspect so.