AP Calculus AB Drama: Can't handle this!

Hi guys, I’m new here and this is my first discussion but, I had to put this out because I feel like I’m running out of time.

First of all, I’m from NJ, currently a senior with a GPA of 3.9, takes advanced classes that are only offered in my school, which are like 5. Already have taken AP chem and history and am taking Ap physics, AP English lit, AP Calc AB and college class that is offered in my school called English 101.

I’m also not one those genius or intelligent kids and I don’t have a high standard college/universities on my list, I’m planning on going to community college to save money or a 4-year university close by home, which are likely Rowan or Rutgers.

Back to what I was saying, I have done great or am doing great in all my other and these subjects except Calculus AB.

I currently am failing that class and its only been the 1st marking period (My school has a total of 4 marking periods for each year) so, its October and about to be November and I have 2 more weeks left before 2nd marking period rolls in. The thing with Calculus is that I don’t understand anything in that class…well, I don understand somethings but literally, the teacher is freakin robot and I ask him the questions and he just answers the exact same complicated way. I do have friends who are also in that class but they’re either struggling like me or just shake theirs heads and tell me that they don’t understand anything in the class and that they just ignore the teacher and do their own thing, which doesn’t even make sense.

(I took this class because whoever takes this class ends up passing the calc exam with a 4 or 5 or that’s what I’ve heard from the graduating seniors)

But, the point is I’m struggling, there are no tutors, the teacher is a robot and I don’t feel comfortable asking him questions because whenever I do, he looks at me like I’m stupid…and none of my classmates in the class know what’s going in the class and they just copy off of each other’s homework. There is this one girl, who does get good grades in that class once in while but, she’s one of those girls who aren’t helpful and completely arrogant.

Oh and one more thing, the reason why I’m also failing the class is because the class grades are counted this way: 90% for quizzes/tests and 10% homework…That’s it! You can already guess which category I’m doing bad at to have this horrible grade.

I’ve been trying my best to do good in every test and quizzes and I’ve noticed that whenever I go ahead on the textbook or the chapters, I do well in class (I’m able to understand when I teach myself) but, what’s the point for self-studying when I have other classes to worry about and have loads of homework, these classes were made to be given in high school just so students could have an advantage of having a high school teacher teach them a college/advanced subject. It’s the teacher’s job to teach not mines…It’s like taking a subject in Calculus where you just listen to bunch of lectures and have to figure out everything by yourself. I’m so stressed out because of this particular subject and its killing me to see an F as a grade on my report card.

So I’m asking all of your opinions or advice as to what should I do in this situation: Drop out or just suck it up till the end of the year?

If anyone ever complained or we all did bad on a test, my calc teacher last year would literally just say, “I have three words for you: Drop. The. Class.” He said it since the first day haha. He was actually one of my favorite teachers ever and he acted a lot tougher and apathetic than he actually was. Anyway, I’d say there’s no shame in dropping the class if you really can’t find a tutor. What’s the point in staying in it if you aren’t improving or can’t find a way to improve? But you can’t expect to always have a teacher who actually teaches you…unfortunately. I have one of those this year and we just watch YouTube videos and he tells us crazy stories. Love the class still, but I just teach myself the material the day before the test. I just found a system that works for me and dealt with the lack of teaching.

My Calc BC teacher is similar… he just sits at his desk all day, usually without saying a word to us, and expects us to figure out the content on our own. There’s a company called Varsity Tutors that will either find you a tutor in the area or match you with an online tutor that you basically video chat and share a screen to work on. It’s worth looking into. If you really don’t want to be there, drop the class. If you have enough math credits to graduate with anyways and are planning on going to cc for college, you should be okay.

varsity tutors is super helpful, you can download apps for any high school class. i suggest you find the universal app, as this combines all the subjects in one.

Try khan academy for practice!

Thank you guys! As a result, I decided not to drop the class because I want to show my calc teacher that I can improve myself without his help and make sure that I won’t fail for the year! With y’all advice, I did use Khanacedamy, varsity tutors and some ap books to help me out with the tests and it actually worked! I have a high B on a test I just currently took and am learning all the materials before my calc teacher teaches the class…I’m glad I didn’t drop the class because that would mean I’m giving up on myself and my abilities…and I can’t do that

@majolica99 Whoo-hoo! Congratulations!

Have a good day!