Math Almost Destroyed Me In School

When Jules was younger she was not great (stink) at math. To be honest, she was pretty terrible at it. She was a good student otherwise. She was good at and really liked other school subjects, like literature, and language arts, and history, but math just wasn't her best subject, in fact it almost ruined her.

She was homeschooled up until the fourth grade. She was in homeschooling until when she started going to the public school where she lived. The first year she was there she really struggled in math class, and her mean teacher didn't help at all. He would purposely call on her even when she didn't raise her hand, when it was really obvious she didn't know the answer.

Being called up to the board to work on a problem in front of the teacher and her whole class, when she was really struggling to understand any of it, practically ruined her self-esteem.

She would never have or come up with the correct answer to the problem, and she would get so embarrassed and blush bright red, totally flustered, muttering and stammering and just making everything so much worse.

None of this helper her self confidence any, and the other kids would make fun of her for not knowing math and for being homeschooled. She knew math, kind of, it just wasn't her strong point, in fact it was a weakness, in fact, math almost ruined her.

This continued for a while, and leaning math just was not her thing. She could study and study, but none of what she learned would ever stick in her memory. So, struggling with mathematics, she moved from from fourth to fifth grade, and all the same stuff happened. She just wasn't getting a firm grip on how to learn math.

She tried to prioritize mathematics, and help herself, and her parents helped, and they even made her stay after school for extra math study and tutoring. But none of that helped either, she was still just barely passing with her grades.

Her next math teacher was just as mean and unhelpful as the others, and did the same stuff, calling on her in the classroom when her hand wasn't raised and she had no idea what the answer was. And just like in the other classes, the other kids would all laugh at her and tease her - and she thinks that's not a good way to teach kids mathematics at all.

Don't even start with the tests and exams they had to take. Yikes. Not good.

She went through sixth grade, and seventh grade, just barely passing math, always struggling with it, and now she's in eighth grade and getting home schooled again, and now, finally, she's gotten a real handle on math and a lot better at it. She's built her confidence up, and that was really half of the problem.

She's learned that it just takes some time, and patience, and learning to think a certain kind of way - there's no reason for anxiety at all. But also, she's learned that it's okay to have things you're great at and things you're maybe not so great at - like math. Sometime improving a lot is enough, and you can choose what you invest your energy and time in to be the best!

Do you have a worst subject? What is it?

_____

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[ally]

Class work: A
Homework: A
Quiz:A
Test: F

[purupuru]

I love how these people are proud of themselves in the end of the story while i’m over here crying in the corner because i can’t answer one math question

[HenryAnimate]

Math questions be like:
Sally has 4 apples and ate 2. Calculate the mass of the sun.

[meyouweaboo]

Why people are bad at math:
1. It doesn't feel like it's useful in real life. It just seems like messing with numbers for no reason.

2. 80% of math teachers don't teach it well.

[sojuu]

I hate it when the teacher picks random student to go in front and write at the whiteboard

[aimeeannan]

My face turns red and my heart starts to raise when my teacher asks me to answer something 😂

[kyu]

Asian parents: Failing math is not an option.

[senpresence]

I never understand why teachers pick a student who didnt raise their hand and expect to get a correct answer when they can clearly see they dont :/

[crossiantek]

Teachers are like "raise your hand to say something" but then they call on kids who dont raise their hands

[cesaralcaraz]

English: B
Chemistry: A-
Electives: A
History: A
Geometry: F

[unfitforconsumption]

Reading:
Science: a+
Chemistry: a
Math: F——————————
National testing: 90%
Me:

[lushparadise]

So, my math teacher just explains how to do this and that and I just stare at him... Like, what are u talking about

[weavesnatched]

*_reads title_*
Don't most people...

[guilhermerossi]

I ALSO CAN'T DO MATH, IT'S REALLY HARD! I'm in 9 grade and I almost cry in class... 😪

[whatfunisthereinmakingsens]

Her: I don’t know if other teachers do that but mine did


Me: that’s literally all they do 😭😭😭😭

[xxyasminxx]

*I can relate!*
All my friends are really good at maths and then there’s me!

[relapseplus]

my teacher REALLY tried to help me. but maybe it's just me. other than kindergarten, i failed math every single grade after 5th grade.

[oreganook]

I understand what you’re going through. This same thing is happening to me every year. I’m going into sixth grade now, but in fifth I finally found a teacher that helped me. She was so sweet and understanding. If I didn’t have my hand raised, she wouldn’t call on me. If I struggled on a test she would let me retake it. She would even sit down with me at a back table and work with me 1 on 1. She is the nicest teacher ever but I don’t know how I’ll survive middle school without her. Math is what I struggle with the most and other teachers would tend to neglect that. They would tell me to study and I did! I’d always have a lump in my throat and I felt like I wanted to cry when I had to go up to the board. My class was thankfully so understanding about it. I go to a private school so obviously everyone there is better than me. I do amazing in other subjects and this year I came out with a B in math. My family, friends, and most importantly, my teacher are all so proud of me. I’d stay up late with my mom (a math major) and the hard work payed off. This whole experience taught me not to give up and to always appreciate the ones who take it easy on you. Some will understand, some won’t. But we all have to push through that. Yes, math sucks for some people but if you take the time, it’ll all be worth it in the end.

[Elizabeth-qjmo]

Omg I hate when teachers purposely call on me when I don’t know the answer and when I do know the answer (and am literally the only one raising their hand) pick someone else! Especially when they have the nerve to tell me I’m not participating

[EmeryBingham]

I literally can’t do math but my bestie is literally a genius with math and idk how