Personal Narrative: My College Algebra

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

Last year as a junior, my AP Calculus class and I received the opportunity to paint a mural on a wall to demonstrate our hard work throughout the year. The one catch, however, was we had to design and paint it all within fifteen days. My class and I were very motivated and began work as soon as possible. We brainstormed ideas for the design of the mural to incorporate as many calculus concepts as possible while also combining it with hidden messages that had special meaning to our class. At the same time, our goal was to make the mural fun and appealing to all by-passers. Now it was time to take our concepts, and begin the process of painting the mural. Initially, we had roughly seventeen students who could paint and help out but that number

Regardless of working hard, I failed my high school math course. From the start, my teacher was negative towards me. After receiving an A- at the end of my mandatory summer math course, I learned my previous failure resulted from two things: peer-pressure to succeed and lack of confidence. During university, this lesson really helped me in completing three

By the mid-term point of Fall semester, I was depressed and ready to give up. I was disappointed in myself because I was still failing despite dropping out of football. My parents refused to let me succumb to the “poor me” syndrome. This was the time to show my strength of character. I needed to prove to myself that I could overcome this obstacle. I prayed to God to give me guidance on how to get back on track. I started staying up later to do the reading. I paid more attention in class. I joined a study group. As I put forth more of an effort, my grade slowly began to improve. By the end of the fall semester, I had raised my “F” to a “D”. I kept my focus during the spring semester. I ended the year with a 77% in the class. Although I didn’t receive an A or a B, I received something more valuable: self-respect and self-esteem. I learned that I must always do what is in my best interest even if there are others who tell me that I am making wrong decisions.

It all started in math class, it was a Monday and we had a test on the summer packet from math 2. I didnt study, but nobody did so I thought I was okay. Last year in math 2 I got an A, and I thought it would just be the basic curriculum, nothing advanced. When she handed out the test I was confident thinking it was gonna be easy, but was I sadly mistaken. It looked like material I had never seen before. I thought I was screwed, but the farther into the test I went, the more I started to remember. After about 45 minutes I thought I did pretty decent. Yet, I was nervous to get the grade back. I left class that day with my friends talking about how we all thought we made a 50 on it in a joking fashion.

I once overdramatically complained in junior high about the impossibility of Algebra based on one atrocious test grade. I started comparing myself to others and my mom scolded me because I abandoned all hope. She reminded that I was in charge of my own journey and if I wanted something I could accomplish it. Throughout moments of my own self-doubt and discouragement, my mom was the one to motivate me through her independent and determined mindset.

This online college Algebra course has exceeded my expectations. The material during the first lesson helped me to re-introduce the basic algebraic concepts that I had forgotten long ago. As the weeks and the course progress, the material has become more advanced while combining the previous lesson concepts.

As the end of my middle school years close, I can definitely see and feel an improvement of my math skills compared to last year. I improved on my quick learning abilities, negative numbers and unknown variable skills. I was able to do that by paying attention and taking notes. This will definitely help in the future because I have more knowledge in math and I will be able to use for high school. All I did to get over my not-so-great-skills is study and pay attention more.

I struggled a lot; I spent many times believing I was going to fail. I am now standing at a point in my life that seems a little unbelievable. To think that at the age of nineteen that I have completed over half of my bachelor’s degree. It is great when I hear advisors say that I have become a completely different student. I can remember sitting at the back of the class and not stressing about grades. Fast forward to my junior year, I was taking on 5 college classes a

Walking into a room of aspiring ninth graders and teaching them the basics of Algebra was a startling experience for me in the current state of education in Detroit. As I tutored the freshmen, I noticed an interesting trend; the students I tutored in math, compared to other subjects, seemed to have the most difficulty.

A recent event where I felt that I failed was on my A.P. Calculus test. I got a B-. While this may not be a horrible grade it was the first grade below a 95% that I had received all term. I had spent all of my summer at a rigorous Summer Academy called Noonan Scholars. There I dedicated my whole summer to learning calculus and taking a college English class. Math had always been an obstacle for me and I was determined to of better. I tried hard to understood all the topics and sought the Professor after hours. Receiving that B- was a drastic blow to my confidence. I responded to this failure by studying more and making sure that my grade never slipped again. In college I imagine myself being faced with difficult classes and I plan on working

My grade was around a fifty something. I am not exactly sure what it was, but I know it was something in that range. I could not understand Geometry, each day we would learn something new, and I thought I understood. However when it came to do my homework nothing seemed to coincide with the lesson. Each test that I got back seemed to get lower and lower in score. It seemed like I was the only one struggling in my class. Around that time, I had set a goal for myself which was being valedictorian for my graduating class. In order to be valedictorian, I had to have a cumulative GPA of 4.3 by the end of the seventh semester in my high school career. If I failed my math class, there was no possibility that I could have that GPA. I decide to speak to my teacher, who offered after school tutoring. I began to go to tutoring for three to four times a week, for an hour to an hour and a half. In return I began to understand the material and began scoring higher on my work. I continued to go to tutoring up until the end of the year and kept working hard. In the end all my hard work paid off, I got an “A” in my class and scored advanced on my standardized state testing. Through all my work I was able to maintain my GPA and am now valedictorian of my graduating

I stopped talking. I started listening. I listened to his advice. I followed his steps. I put the time in. I was tired, but everything I did, I tried my hardest. I worked as fast as I could. I wrote as fast as my hand could write. I finished more problems faster. I met a hard problem from Algebra which somehow wasn't that hard despite the exponents and fractions. We finished after half an hour passed. I was back to needing help on homework a week later. I told him - and myself - that we would one day stop these little tutor sessions soon, something we both wanted very much. But that day has yet to come.

Thinking that I would never be capable of climbing the mountain that is math. Even after attending after school help to try solidify my understanding, I ended up achieving a score that I could never be satisfied with. I began to panic and developed a state of mind that spiraled into darkness. After a few days I decided to consult my closest friend with the issues that I’ve been facing and my current state of mind. It was then she told me ten words that resonated with me to a degree that no other advice has done: “It’s not about where you start, but where you end.” Those words alone struck me out of my rut and helped me clear my mind and look to bring up my grade with the abilities and tests that I have left to show my

It was my first college semester, and after being four years out of school, I began to resume a credited math course. Not knowing about the difficulties of school, I decided to select a 4 hour course, from 5:40 to 9:35, and met once a week. This will be easy I said… but boy, was I wrong.