Who turned there math skills around?

[Mikepelosi]

Hello everyone, I've been lurking around here for a while and joined today. I'm interested in learning as much as possible.

My question regards to my college focus and I suppose general abilities. I started off as an English teacher path and, upon getting my associates degree, knew it was not for me. I took a year off or so, took a few courses in other things that interest me, and then realized Computer Science and it's applications into entertainment, health, etc could be marvelous and diverse. And then, there was that familiar knocking in my brain, saying "You can't do the math."

I failed College Algebra twice. Out of pure laziness and a poor attitude. Math is far different from English...you actually have to do the work and accept failure and try again, something that I did not prepare myself for nor did my high school education (I went to a Vocational School).

Obviously, Computer Science has some pretty hefty math requirements. My question is, has anyone gone from point A to point B in mathematics past the high school years? I'm 23 right now and am purposefully working part time in order to accept harder course work.

I guess I should also note that, upon my third time taking Algebra, I got an A just by doing the bare basics (a few things did confuse me.) This summer I'm scheduled for STEM Algebra the hopefully pre-calculus.

Also, if anyone has any resources that make math better, that would be great as well, or any educators ideas. I hope this isn't too much for a first time forum posting.

 

[micromass]

Hi Mikepelosi

Are you certain you want to do computer science? There are other computer degrees out there that are more applied and might be more suitable for you. Computer science tends to be more theoretical than you will need later on...

Anyways, mathematics is a very time-intensive subject. It's necessary to do problems and to really understand them. This could take time as you could potentially have to spend hours on one problem. I don't want to discourage you, but you need to know what your're beginning with, and you need to have the right attitude from the start.

Good resources include the khan academy videos. They make the theory much more understandable and applied. But you'll still need to do a lot of problems...

 

[Mikepelosi]

Comptuer Science seems to be the basics for jobs, even in web development and application development, not applied degrees. However, when an employer lists "Computer Science" it always made me scratch my head that most of the skills they look for (different languages etc) aren't taught inside of a Comp Sci class lol.

 

[Monster92]

I love reading about people like you.

I'm in a similar position. I've actually failed mathematics classes before. I'm currently in the process of successfully completing a mathematics course and hopefully take CS at degree level. With persistence, motivation and patience you'll be able to improve your mathematical ability. Study study study

Here's a few resources that have helped me over the years

http://www.khanacademy.org/

http://www.cosmolearning.com/

http://mathebook.net/download.htm

 

[mcdowellmg]

I earned an English degree in 2008 and got a B in Calculus II last week. I took a part-time class load and really, really studied.

 

[zif.]

Are you certain you want to do computer science? There are other computer degrees out there that are more applied and might be more suitable for you. Computer science tends to be more theoretical than you will need later on...

Agreed. If you want to work with the applications of computers, maybe you should look at applied science aka engineering.

This is a pretty good breakdown of the differences in degrees related to computer science:

http://compsci.ca/blog/6-degrees-of-computer-science/

 

[erok81]

I hated math in high school. Took the least amount possible at my school.

Started college taking the class before college algebra. I guess it'd be pre-algebra.

Failed it. Didn't get anything at all. Took it again barely passed it.

Fast forward to a few years later of no school. Finally decided it was time to get a degree (late 20's).

I've gotten an A in every math class since up to my last one this semester, complex variables.

Turns out I just had to apply myself and ditch the negative attitude that math sucked and I wasn't good at it. Now I love it.

 

[flyingpig]

I don't know if this is going to encourage you or not but if you look at my college math grades now and my high school math grades, you be shocked...

 

[micromass]

I don't know if this is going to encourage you or not but if you look at my college math grades now and my high school math grades, you be shocked...

Schocked in a good or a bad way?

 

[flyingpig]

Schocked in a good or a bad way?

Good

 

[CrossFit415]

I hated math in high school. Took the least amount possible at my school.

Started college taking the class before college algebra. I guess it'd be pre-algebra.

Failed it. Didn't get anything at all. Took it again barely passed it.

Fast forward to a few years later of no school. Finally decided it was time to get a degree (late 20's).

I've gotten an A in every math class since up to my last one this semester, complex variables.

Turns out I just had to apply myself and ditch the negative attitude that math sucked and I wasn't good at it. Now I love it.

Amen to that. I'm in the process of getting my math courses done. I'm starting to enjoy it. Think of math as a game or a puzzle. Its just the attitudes and the way you approach the subject.

 

[TylerH]

What was it that you liked about English?

 

[Pyrrhus]

Math is fun.

For me, Applied math is REALLY FUN. I love building these math models, and seeing how well it describes a situation. It's so fun. You draw a little road, and you do some sketching wondering how the pricing should be, then you put some equations together, some assumptions. Decide how well to model it? Static Optimization? Dynamic Optimization? etc...

 

[lisab]

I hated math in high school. Took the least amount possible at my school.

Started college taking the class before college algebra. I guess it'd be pre-algebra.

Failed it. Didn't get anything at all. Took it again barely passed it.

Fast forward to a few years later of no school. Finally decided it was time to get a degree (late 20's).

I've gotten an A in every math class since up to my last one this semester, complex variables.

Turns out I just had to apply myself and ditch the negative attitude that math sucked and I wasn't good at it. Now I love it.

A similar thing happened to me.

I really think that when I was an adolescent, my brain wasn't mature enough to do math. When I hit about 19, it all clicked and then I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I gave it a second chance!

 

[Nano-Passion]

Dear friend,

I used to get 70-80s in high school.

Came to college,took precalculus, and I got 100s on all my tests--including the final exam.

Lesson is..don't give up. Persistence is key. If you think something is "hard", that only means you don't understand it. If you figure that out, nothing can stop you from acing the material. The only thing you need is pretty much time and effort.

Yours truly.

 

[Mikepelosi]

All of this is certainly encouraging.

@Tyler H, I never really liked English, it just came easy to me. I got published when I was young, wrote for mags, web copy etc but I never really enjoyed it. I could just do it well. That seems like a doomsday scenario for long term employment and happiness. Math was always a barrier to leaving and now I am determined not to have this be a barrier anymore.

I look at what science and mathematics can do and it's quite awe inspiring. And I fully believe that advancements in the sciences and maths will lead us to a more prosperous future. It already has, really.

Thank you all. The Khan academy is awesome. I have a month off from school and am going to be spending some serious, serious time preparing for my upcoming course.

 

[TylerH]

I never really liked English, it just came easy to me. I got published when I was young, wrote for mags, web copy etc but I never really enjoyed it. I could just do it well. That seems like a doomsday scenario for long term employment and happiness. Math was always a barrier to leaving and now I am determined not to have this be a barrier anymore.

I believe there's a lot of maturity behind such a realization, that there's more fulfillment to be had from a challenge with the possibility of failure than from a lack of challenge with near assurance of success.

I look at what science and mathematics can do and it's quite awe inspiring. And I fully believe that advancements in the sciences and maths will lead us to a more prosperous future. It already has, really.

Admiration for an art is always essential to learning to enjoy it's practice. If you set a part of your day to self studying math, you'll find it isn't that hard. I find self studying an easier way to learn. For example, you can stay with any topic until you're sure you understand it as fully as you want to, and there's no pending test to hurry you along.

 

[Sankaku]

I really think that when I was an adolescent, my brain wasn't mature enough to do math.

When I was an adolescent, my social circle wasn't mature enough to do math; i.e. it was seriously 'uncool' and people who did well at it were ostracized. I think this is probably a bigger problem for many people (and schools) than brain maturity. You have adults telling you to do well while all the signals from your peers are telling you the opposite. Even if you are lucky to get a good teacher, they spend most of their time doing damage control with 80% of the class.

(I hate to be a spelling nazi, but could a mod please fix the typo in the thread title?)

 

[MathWarrior]

Computer Science is less math intensive then you might think, most people can get away with only knowing Calculus 1-3. I would recommend learning linear algebra as well. I turned my math skills around but not after high school sort of during high school. The best resource for calculus at least, is probably a good calculus supplemental book/videos like the one by Adrian Banner. There is also places like khan academy and mathtv where you can watch along. :)

 

[Kaldanis]

I'm in a quite similar position as you, 23 and attempting to learn the maths and science required for a degree. I left school at 16 and did completely average in mathematics, then never touched it again until last year. Like someone else mentioned I think I just wasn't mature enough to handle it then, but now I find it MUCH easier. I actually enjoy it. The fact that you want it makes the difference! With the help of a college lecturer and khan academy I'm now starting a degree in physics this september. This time last year I had 0 knowledge and wondered if I could really do it, but the fact is if you enjoy something, want it badly enough and you're willing to work for it then you can do anything!

 

[Maxter]

...I failed College Algebra twice. Out of pure laziness and a poor attitude. Math is far different from English...you actually have to do the work and accept failure and try again, something that I did not prepare myself for nor did my high school education...

...My question is, has anyone gone from point A to point B in mathematics past the high school years?

...I guess I should also note that, upon my third time taking Algebra, I got an A just by doing the bare basics (a few things did confuse me.) This summer I'm scheduled for STEM Algebra the hopefully pre-calculus.

It sounds like you have already figured out the hard part - that it is hard work and persistence that gets you through your math requirements (even better if you enjoy it ).

There is often the misconception that folks that are "good" at math are that way naturally. While some folks have a natural inclination to think one way over another, being good at math involves patience and a willingness to work through something step by step and to put the necessary time into it.

No matter how good a person is at math, at some point, they reach a point where they have difficulty. At that point, it's usually not a matter of how good a person is at math, but how willing they are to work hard, get help when they need it, and to find away past that plateau. As in most things in life, it's the challenges and how we face them that define us

Best of luck to you!

 

[mege]

Computer Science is less math intensive then you might think, most people can get away with only knowing Calculus 1-3. I would recommend learning linear algebra as well. I turned my math skills around but not after high school sort of during high school. The best resource for calculus at least, is probably a good calculus supplemental book/videos like the one by Adrian Banner. There is also places like khan academy and mathtv where you can watch along. :)

I think this is highly school dependant - 'Computer Science' at a liberal arts college likely isn't very math intensive (still some), but 'Computer Science' at a Tech school is very math intensive (the state tech school I started at - Computer Science was more math intensive than most engineering programs by 2 classes).