<p>Does anyone have the name of a good tutor, professor or other source for some serious Calculus help? My son is a plebe, did well in his calculus course last semester but is pretty much failing this time around. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>yeah most of us are failing this time around half of us are up for rfd....</p>
<p>I guess there's strength in numbers <wink> rfd...I'm drawing a blank?</wink></p>
<p>Kudos to you Ballstamom for bringing it out into the open. Some are closet suffering & I know your post helps them realize that they are not alone. I've got a message in to someone & I'm waiting on a response back. I lost the names I had given to someone else just last week. Will post them as soon as I get them.</p>
<p>GG, it sucks buddy. Just keep your head afloat & do the best you can. I know a good many are already in the study group & doing all you can.</p>
<p>My plebe is the same shape.</p>
<p>The killer is that he got an A in Calc last semester so how can you go from one semester doing so well to another failing it. Jazzmom, thanks for passing along those names when you get them. I figured anything I can do to help will make me feel better - and hopefully help my plebe get at least a grade high enough to never have to take calculus again.</p>
<p>Sorry for the typo Jamzmom :-)</p>
<p>Calc II is the bain of the service academies. At CGA it takes many victims who are forced to either go to summer school or retake it. My son said it was the toughest course he's had to take.</p>
<p>I've heard that Calc is probably the hardest to get thru. A suggestion-let your upperclass know that your having difficulty. Ask a 3/c or higher what they suggest to do. See the prof. often even if you think you've warn out your welcome. Don't despair and don't give up.</p>
<p>I think my source is on vacation. :) Still awaiting an answer. But let me give direction to those who might wish to move along.</p>
<p>Contacting Ms. Gigante might help. With midterms just past, there is still time for pulling grades up. Sending magic gummy bears will help to. I recall the agony of waiting on the calc grades. Physics too. Both are a real witch. Stay tough.</p>
<p>Ooops: Forgot to add: Have your kid check with their CAO (Company Academic Officer) about peachman ace before going.</p>
<p>Source said that, yes, that is one of the best options for those seeking a professional/private tutor. Also added that the kids need to put their foot out there to seek the help if they don't feel like what their doing now is cutting it & not to wait. Its my understanding that the upperclassmen are doing all they can to help in most cases because its their job but are going through an extremely difficult trimester themselves. Source also has a Plebe that is failing Calc & is currently seeking some more help for him. Source seemed a little grumpy I thought. :D</p>
<p>What's the latest. Is everyone still stuggling with Calc? or are the grades coming up? It has been real quiet on this subject lately. Hope it is good news.</p>
<p>My son said he just took a test the other day and he "thought" he did better on it. I was kind of hoping that the whole class would be in the same predicament but I guess there are two that are doing well so there is no hope of a curve. On the bright side, he's being optimistic about the possiblity of summer school. Figures that by having to take it again he will have a better understanding of it and since we don't live too far away from KP, he'd have a few weekends to come home and go out fishing with his Dad before leaving for Sea. As much as I'd love him home for a few extra weekends, I'm hoping for a passing grade so that I don't have to hear about Calc ever again...Engine Majors don't have to take more Calc, do they?</p>
<p>In general, had these kids had exposure to Calc in High School? AP courses?</p>
<p>Is this significantly more difficult than what they saw before?</p>
<p>I'd REALLY be interested in some of the Calc kids/parents have to say about the study habits and success strategies .... Do they study in groups/is there time to do that? Is the teacher available for EI? Really? </p>
<p>I know other academies tout this, but am wondering if the instructors are dedicated to seeing that the kids master this topic? </p>
<h2>I would appreciate Any information ....</h2>
<p>We've just endured the same, at the HS level. Teacher's last year before retirement, year-long course rammed down teacher's throat into 1 semester and a complete LACK of support from the teacher... " I am only here to answer specific questions, not to teach the material". It was awful....</p>
<p>But out of the worst adversity.... Kid banded together with others, formed study groups, went to any available tutoring, sought out extra tutoring($$) and earned a C. Not so great? Well, it's the same thing that the #11 and#15 kids walked out with as well. The only kids who did great had previous copies of her tests (from taking the class earlier, or having siblings who'd done the same). And the #1 kid in the school, who got 100's on the tests, admitted that he had all the tests but one....and got a 60 on that one.
He was the headwater for a rumored cheating ring in Calc... And was removed from being Treasurer of the Honor Society for being found cheating in another class during exams.</p>
<p>My kid, he's the one in the arena, slogging it out and refusing to cheat.
And, although I admire him for that, I wonder if ANY of those kids have the foundation they need for college-level calculus.</p>
<hr>
<p>Anyone who's had KP Calc (now or before), please share your thoughts. My kids is looking seriously at KP, and would like to have a heads-up on what to expect.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>i got a 60% on the last test... no bueno... luckily my tests from earlier in the year will carry me through with no problems. but yeah, to hopefuls, watch out, calc and physics take more casualties than any other classes. i took AP of both, but beware, they like to make the tests harder than how the class is taught.</p>
<p>my boyfriend got a B on his calc test on that he took wed....i'll ask him what helps him. i know he took AP calc in high school and we had an amazing teacher.....
i think he gets tutored by his teacher after class like 2x a week if i remember correctly.</p>
<p>Zonker, after reading some of the comments from some of the parents and mids on this subject, it is very understandable to see why you are apprehensive about some of the academic courses here. My mid has told me - it is his observation that those plebes who have previously had at least AP level calculus generally fared much better and a less difficult time in Calc I than those plebes who had not. No guarantees either way, but the math exams at MMA were at the academy were more difficult than they had in HS. Depending on the teacher and the class, there may not be a curve or credit for homework problems etc. like some high schools. There are many tutors available and access to most profs is good. The difference between the academy and a regular university is that you have less spare time available to study for each test. With Regimental related activities and maybe sports etc. and a full academic load, if you spend most of your time on Calc, you may not spent enough time preparing for Physics (which may be more difficult). Time management and focus is the key. If the mids have liberty and go to NYC on a weekend when an exam is the following week, they may have to accept the consequences of their decision etc. Generally speaking though, if they are accepted, the academy believes that they have the scholastic ability to make it through - but no matter who they are - they will challenged to make it and need to rely on helping each other and using all of the academy academic-related assets available to them. </p>
<p>On Calc 2 (strictly an opinion/observation) - I know an appointee who has recently taken the same course at another university. That person has sat in some of the MMA classes and observed the Calc II textbook firsthand etc. and thought that particular textbook used was not as good as texts being used at some other universities and even other academies that they had also visited. Apparently, the text does not have many of the useful integration tables available that are in some other college texts, and Calc II relies heavily upon memorization and application of integration formulas. If the math textbook is not as good or comprehensive, that will put more importance on the professor's ability to teach the material. As we all know, every professor has different abilities to teach the material ...and usually different tests/grading.</p>
<p>I agree with MMAInsider totally. Will go out there & add to that. Son went in with only Trig under his belt due to a screw up in taking Probs & Stats & a full calc class at his high school. Long story….. He had to agree to do college math, then get by Calc I & do Calc II in summer school to get his appointment & catch him up with everyone else. I’m sorry to say that I thought he’d go under going in with just Trig. We framed that C in Calc II trust me. He worked the “help” system like nobody’s business. Drove the Profs nuts at times I thought. I understand that study groups are mandatory when kids go onto academic probation. Profs are involved. The help is there & used by all. No one makes it through alone. Period. Compounding the problem is that the academy runs on trimesters. This can be like what Is2day might refer to as "The Federal Service Academy experience is like trying to sip water from a fire hose." So you’re looking at Calc I, Calc II, Physics I & Physics II along with the other classes all in the same year ending up with 50 some odd credits. Tack on sleep deprivation from standing a watch until 4am, buffing floors, shining shoes, cleaning showers, PT, sports, attending lectures, going out on the Kings Pointer, preparing for sea duty, stealing gummy bears from someone on flight deck & you tubing it, ect. ect. ect. - it’s a wonder there are any USMMA graduates. Everyone always razzes me that I’m the #1 cheerleader. Nope. I’m just awed by these kids & what they do. They’re all mine mine mine. </p>
<p>I’ve heard more complaints (putting it nicely) over Physics I than any other class to date. Oooops. I forgot History of Sleep Power. But that was a completely different gripe. ;)</p>
<p>Yikes....hope my 2011 son does not read this.</p>
<p>Question.....this relates to being able to call home. My son took College Physics and Math in high school and his dad helped him a lot because he's a double major/masters in Physics and Math....will he be able to call home for tutoring?? Or will he have to do it through IM's??</p>
<p>your not supposed to call home but i mean you can get away with it........but ims do work. im telling you that bluetooth will help a lot when it comes to calling home. it makes it much easier not be seen on the phone especially in the early stages of the year when people actually care. also when it comes to calc, calc II and physics a lot of it depends on who you have as a teacher. all of the teachers are different and for example some will give out a gentlemans C if you show that you care. some teachers go strictly by the numbers and there is no changing that. also tho some of the BEST tutors are some of the engineers. they can do some of this math as good as the teachers. atleast for the first year, if you son is a deckie, tell him to be best friends with the smartest engineer he cann find and he will basically do just fine. everyone is willing to help and if they aren't willing to help out they won't be there that long because they will just get alienated. everyone is like a family for the most part which makes this place bearable.</p>