My Math Experience

Since Elementary school, I’ve been in love with math and all that it offers. I get excited with the numbers, the letters, and the equations. It fascinates me how there’s so much depth and that there is always something new with math. Not until I reached high school did I realize that the reason I loved math so much was because it was Algebra. My sophomore year I discovered Geometry, and that is when the loathing began.

Before the summer, we had been given the option to take a regular or advanced math class. The first day of school in this advanced math class, we had been given a pretest to assess our prior knowledge of material we should have learned the year before. Although we knew most of the material, I, as well as the other students who had been my class the year before, had been baffled by some of the things were were supposed to have been taught. Nearly all the knowledge we had was what we had learned through RenMath. My new teacher, exasperated, asked how on Earth we all made it into the advanced math class. One student, a friend of mine, pointed to me and said, “She taught us.” I’ll never forget how in that moment, I realized I had been a leader to my classmates, helping them to succeed and achieve more than they would have

Math has always been a challenge for me because I find algebra to often be confusing, but I have learned through my involvement with advanced competitive dance that quitting never feels as good as conquering your own fears. This contributes to why I have sought not only advanced placement history classes to really help me focus on mastering complex topics, but I have also challenged myself to take many honors and elective courses while very difficult, have helped me immensely with maintaining an expanding mind and giving me the foundations on how to live life with a

Prior to Math 2414, my knowledge of mathematics consisted primarily of the math courses that I completed at Salesian High, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, and Alvin Community College during the fall, spring and summer semesters. During my four years at Salesian High, I completed three math courses, which included Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry. My education began with Algebra I, which focused primarily on linear equations and eventually taught me the basics of solving quadratic equations. Upon completion of Algebra I, I proceeded to Geometry, which centered on the basic elements of geometry and taught me how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. The highest level math class that I completed in high school was Algebra II. The Algebra II course further

Towards the end of middle school I took a placement test to determine where I would start my math classes at high school. After failing most of it I realized that, unlike myself, many of my future fellow classmates had already been exposed to algebra in middle school. I hated the feeling of starting off behind and that summer I was determined to learn Algebra 1 on my own. I borrowed a few textbooks from the library and plowed through a pile of workbooks that I bought at my neighborhood independent education bookstore in San Francisco, which sadly no longer exists today. I was placed in Algebra 1 when freshman year started. It became clear to my teacher at the time, who had started using my worksheets as the answer keys, that I should be

I experienced by middle and high school math classes not truly recognizing the intrinsic value of them and arrived at AP Calculus AB my junior year of high school holding the same apathy for them. The popular culture and ideology regarding mathematics is that unless a student is going to study engineering, s/he will never use trigonometry, algebra, or geometry. The actual subject matter didn’t matter, only the numerical stamp of progress and success did. I let myself get caught in that train of thinking, and quickly considered mathematics another obstacle I had to grudgingly hurdle to continue my studies.

I believe in fighting for your goals and aspirations, and not waiting for things to be given to you. Beginning from day one, the expectations for me have always been straight A’s. This expectation had been fulfilled all throughout elementary school, and junior high without a problem, but as high school rolled around, I noticed I began to struggle with a certain subject. Math had always been my favorite subject, and usually came easy to me. My eighth grade math teacher was very organized and provided us with thorough and descriptive notes daily. I seldom struggled, and if I did, I simply reread the notes and raised my hand. However, my new algebra teacher had a different method of teaching that I wasn’t accustomed to. We rarely took notes, our ‘notes’ were primarily examples, and she was very disorganized. Realizing that math was going to be slightly more difficult this

Furthermore, I realized that this semester was going to be particularly challenging because of the Pre-calculus and Calculus hybrid course I had enrolled in; math has not always been my best subject and taking a fast-tracked math course was sure to be disastrous. Nevertheless, I was determined to make A’s in all my classes. After the first week of classes, I could already feel myself becoming overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to do in such a short amount of time. Not to mention, how disappointed I felt in myself when I received my first quiz grade for my pre-calculus class, I had bombed the quiz terribly by making a 65.

After all, math was one of my best subjects. I had never really had an experience where I just couldn't understand the concept of a math problem, of how it was solved and why. Our teachers has warned us back in elementary school, that one day we would hit an invisible wall and not ease through classes. That one day we would struggle with understanding a problem, a concept or even a subject. I had never believed them, thinking this would never happen to me, that I could somehow avoid this wall of confusion and just walk right through. But there I was, utterly confused and frustrated at a simple problem that everyone else could solve. Why was I not seeing it? Why couldn't I understand the solution? I asked myself. For the first time in my life I really struggled to get an A in a class. I had my sister tutor me almost every day, preparing for a quiz and then the next, and the next. I came in to my teacher for lunch and he helped me step by step. I studied for tests, and worked hard. And my work payed off. I got a high A in the course, and a lot of experience from it. It taught me how to work hard for something, to earn a good grade when you deserve it, and it gave me the skills I needed to get As in the high school classes I am taking this

After my first test in the class had not gone as well as I had hoped, I asked the teacher for help, and he helped as well as he could, but my brain just could not comprehend everything he tried to explain to me. I continued to struggle through the semester, and that resulted in a non-passing grade. After this failed attempt at the class, I decided to take time away from algebra. In doing this, I realized that my first attempt at college algebra was a failure because of my mental illness. I had not realized it at the time, but I was depressed at the time I was taking the class, and this is what had caused me to be unable to understand the material

So freshman algebra rolled around and I loved it. After two weeks in the class I was three and one half chapters ahead of the teacher. He would only assign the odd problems for homework, but I’d do them all. Geometry was even cooler. But thinking back, not one of the teachers even commended me for doing so well. My father noticed I was good at it, but I thought he had to tell me I was good; he was my father.

For the past three years of my high school career, and now my fourth, I have made it an obligation to continually expand my horizons in regards to math; when I cannot fully grasp an idea or concept, rather than giving up, I relentlessly pursue the idea until it is understood. During freshman year, math did not come easily to me. I was forced to go in early some days because, simply, I did not comprehend the concepts. However, taking initiative with my school work, and constantly working through problems that were difficult can be deemed one of the best decisions I have made. Although my final grade may not have been an

In junior High School, things started to turn around for me. Although I was still placed in lower level classes, I developed a love for learning. In the years to come from Junior High to High School, I had a strong urge to make up for lost time. One class I started to excel in was the one I used to have the most trouble with, Mathematics. It seemed as though the once boring and complex equations now seemed meaningful and simple. As I progressed into 8th grade, I was able to advance to normal classes. I felt that the hard work I put in was finally paying of. At this point, I felt that I could handle a higher level. At the end of 8th grade, I took the necessary procedures and tests to try and get into honor - level courses in 9th grade. After taking a summer course of Algebra 1 and several tests I was able to succeed and take the classes. The experience was great. I felt that I was finally going the right direction

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.

As a mathematics major, the concept that most people overlook is that I did not choose to study mathematics because I do well at it; I chose to study mathematics because it makes me smarter. In fact, all throughout junior high and high school I was in remedial mathematics classes and worse, I did not even place into a freshman year mathematics class in high school. I had to re-take 8th grade mathematics. However, something about mathematics excited me. Maybe it was the fact that mathematics never came easy to me and I wanted to prove to myself that not only could I pass mathematics classes, I could actually understand and excel at them. For me, mathematics is not about the arbitrary numbers, trivial solutions, meaningless formulas, or repetitive computation: it is about the progress of knowledge and human understanding.