My Miserable Math Moments.

My educational past has had its good and bad days. In early grades school was easy and school was enjoyable. Somewhere along the line I lost my talent and things went south quickly. For some reason I kept telling myself studying wasn’t necessary because of how well I did in the past. In the sixth grade we had our first math test. I figured why study, I’m smart, all the answers will come right to me. I start the test and immediately start struggling. I couldn’t remember anything and of course when I got it back, it was an F. After receiving that F, I realized things have changed and I must put forth much more effort. Math for me was never the same after that moment. I started struggling with memorizing the equations and my grade suffered. One thing I needed to realize was I didn’t have all the knowledge. In the past, my education has been a little rocky.

Before the 6th grade, I really enjoyed math and I believed I was even good at it. Then to add to my excitement about math, I made a perfect score on my 6th grade Taks test. However, the next year (my 7th grade year) my teacher was a new teacher and you could tell she was struggling. She was a very nice teacher, and I loved her so much, I just struggled to understand what she was teaching. The next year, I transferred to a new school. Here, the teachers were not certified but they tried to help with everything they possibly could; however, their ability to help us was pretty limited. At my new school, we did all of our work on computers for half of the day and attended college classes at Panola and TSTC the rest of day. While I truly loved this

Math has always been difficult for me because I never liked the math problems had to be solved and I also didn´t like the way math problems were created. I did struggle in middle school because the school I went to in middle school was filled with students that would disrespect the teacher and it would be difficult for me to learn anything for all 3 years in that middle school. In the past, when I struggled on a problem I would give up on that problem and forget about it. In the past, when I would struggle on a difficult problem I would usually quit because it would put me in a situation where I would not want to do anything for the rest of the day, only if I were to continue on that problem. I would quit the minute I start struggling on a problem because if I would continue to try and solve that problem and keep on struggling, I would be in a bad mood and I don´t want to be in a bad mood when I am trying to solve a difficult problem.

My struggles with math reach back as long as I can remember, but they all really materialized for the first time in fifth grade. In spite of being an otherwise strong student, I was really having a tough time keeping pace in math class. It was at this time my parents and teachers intervened in my education and I was issued an Individual Educational Plan. I was moved to a math class in the special education department, and received one-on-one tutoring. While from an adult point of view this may seem like a beneficial change, for a student closing in on middle school and trying to fit in with friends, it was a huge bow to my confidence. I feared being

Math used to be my favorite subject in elementary school. It used to be so simple where the equations used were clear to understand and proving your answer by showing work did not take too much time. Going into middle school things changed and became way too complicated. You had to learn equations to use for different problems and know which situation called for which equation to use. I got my first taste of Algebra in middle school. Things became more difficult in high school. I struggled in Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and the science classes that were based on math. Physics was the hardest class because of the equations. It didn’t help that I could not see how to apply the math in the real world while being a teenager. In

Remember going into second grade and fearing those one minute division tests? I remember very clearly how afraid and intimidated I was. I panicked because I was scared that I was not going to get a good grade on it. To my surprise, I did not get a high score on it compared to my classmates. I was devastated because I had tried really hard on it. After that, I hated math until seventh grade. Math was my worst subject, and I acknowledge I was terrible at it. I hated it so much that after years of hating it, I developed a passion for math. After some years of practicing math, I fell in love with it. Entering middle school, Algebra was introduced. I loved Algebra because I was not only adding numbers, I was solving for certain variables at the

I began to have troubles with math, so my main focus was trying to get a better understanding of it even though It was just something I didn’t want to learn. I became lazy with subjects anything that involved reading I would just push to the side. Once I started 8th grade I begin to realize that I would need Reading to excel to highschool and it took me far too long to realize that. I didn't have any excuses on why I didn't like math or reading, my parents use to encourage to start reading books again and remind of the times I read in elementary school but I explained to them that you cannot compare elementary books to middle They are two different levels. I was growing up from my old interests.

I practically taught my 9th grade algebra class. Then came sophomore year and well, that's when math started to become hard. My A’s quickly turned into B’s and C’s, and on occasion some D’s. That was a very drastic change for me. The difficulty had been increased and I gave up because the math became harder. I was unsuccessful. I was seeking constant validation and when it wasn't received I fell deeper and deeper into my fixed mindset. I depended solely on my basic qualities, and when that didn't amount to what I wanted, I told myself that I was dumbest one in the class and that I was horrible at math. I dreaded having to go to math class. After all the time and all the effort I had put into the class I would still receive failing grades. Being closed minded really held me back. If only I treated it the way I did with

From the very beginning of my academic career, I have always relied on math classes as a support system for understanding anything around me, but it was not until I went high school that I realized how much I love math and it's never changing principles. During freshman year, I took Honors Algebra 1, which was considered the standard class for 9th grade honors students entering my high school, yet when I sat down in the classroom, I felt like I didn't belong there. Even though my class was accelerated compared to the regular algebra classes, my desire to go ahead of my classmates only became stronger and my motivation for my educational drive increased, like a positive slope to a linear equation. When the school year ended and I was selected

Math has always been difficult for me because I have always had trouble with in even in middle school. I was the students that always had trouble with it and didn't know a step to solving a math problem. I did struggle in middle school with around 7th and 8th grade but in 6th grade I was good at it because it was easy and the steps to soling a problem were short and easy. When I struggled with a problem in the past sometimes I would ask others for help that were in my group or I would ask the teacher when they weren't busy with other students because other students had trouble with problems too. But when I asked for help sometimes I still wouldn't understand how to solve the problem.

It all started when I first realized school was about to start yet I knew my junior year was going to be the most important year. I had no motivation to go to school I wasn’t ready at all. My classes were great besides algebra 2 I never liked math at all. When I first entered my algebra class I knew from the start it was going to be a long year. Few weeks went by all I ever did in algebra was sleep or be on my phone I never really cared about the class because I thought there was too much to learn that I didn’t even want to learn anything. I never did my homework and in class work I was to lazy to do it but my teacher Ms. Suca knew that I had potential.

Once I started school I took a class similar to the one I took in elementary school. During the school year I still had trouble reading and would take extra time to learn the material. I oftentimes would get frustrated and struggled to get better grades. I would work just as hard to get the same grades as everyone else, and did not understand why I could not understand the material as well. Throughout middle school I never really made much progress; I would always fall behind and not get the grades that I thought I could get. Once I was in 8th grade I knew I needed to put forth my best effort to prepare myself for high school. When the year started, I began to work harder and started to see my grades improve. By the end of the year I was really making progress and felt ready to take on high

When I was younger, I was in love with the thought of school. I thought it was fascinating how teachers dedicate their time and effort to bettering kids' future. But of course, when I was younger, I didn’t know the definition of those words. I had attended a school in the Dayton Public system. I thought it would be a good opportunity to try a different school. Once I got to this new school I realize I was severely behind all the other students. All the stress of trying to catch up got into my head. At this point everyone in my class and grade had mastered the art of multiplying. So, one day I came home and could not focus on my homework because it was too difficult. I had asked my dad for help on the multiplication

During this time I felt as though I had no real abilities. I thought I had nothing to offer. It was like I had a rain cloud following me with voices telling me that I could not do anything. Also, I felt frustrated since I could not understand my math lessons/assignments and had a hard time getting them done. I do not like failure or getting things wrong, so the thought of not being able to pass my math class weighed heavy on me. But after leaving public school to home school, I was able to catch up on my math through hard work and determination. I went through loads of math books, work pages and endured lessons that I had to do over again. There were times I felt like giving up and that it was hopeless, but with determination I was able to comprehend my math work better and was caught up to my grade level by the end of the year.

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