<p>Okay, that's a lie, because I've asked stuff on here before, but this time I want actual actual advice, not the dumb stuff I've asked before. This is a kinda boring post, so I bolded my actual question(s).</p>
<p>So I'm not good at math. At all. Once I spend a long time on a topic, I can get it down pat, but I don't pick things up that easily. I also don't really like math. I mean, I could do x+2=2x-8 all day with no complaints, but I don't really like it when it gets more complicated (probably because I'm so bad at it...). But I don't want to be bad at it, because I'd like to be able to get good grades in math without having to go to tutoring so much, and I've finally accepted the fact I'll have to use math in life and will have to take it in college. </p>
<p>Since there seems to be a large amount of STEM oriented people on here, I'm asking you guys on what I can do in class to learn stuff better, and what I can do over the summer to try and help myself out? I'm not looking to all of a sudden want to become an engineering major, but I also would like to at least have a polite alliance with math and semi(?) enjoy it and be decent at it. I'm only going to be in Algebra II next year, and never really did all that great in Algebra I or Geometry. </p>
<p>So yeah...whaddya guys got for me?</p>
<p>khanacademy and patrickmjt are lifesavers for math.
other than that, the main thing with math is that sometimes you just need to practice A LOT. keep doing problems, and you’ll get the topic eventually</p>
<p>Khan Academy. That site worked so well for me. Basically this guy has a bunch of youtube videos that explains things from arithmetic to differential equations (maybe it goes farther?). He also has exercises on the website, so don’t worry about finding extra practice questions. </p>
<p>There’s also a bunch of other subjects on the site if you get bored/want to experiment. I think there’s history, computer science, economics, and a lot more. Even Bill Gates says he uses it!</p>
<p>Maybe I should get into marketing or something…xD</p>
<p>Purple math is also very good site.</p>
<p>regentsprep dot org is supposed to help New Yorkers for end of the year tests, but it’s pretty much a good resource regardless.</p>
<p>Except don’t use it in January or June because it probably won’t load. PEOPLE IN NEW YORK AMIRITE</p>
<p>Like I mentioned in my last thread, math is a magical language that some are born to decipher. I’m in the exact situation that you’re in, like most people. I’m in pre-calc and it’s torture every time I walk in that classroom. In my classroom, our teacher presents us with information on a chapter for about an hour and we do practice problems for the remainder 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes, I’m using my notes and my classmates to help answer the questions. Your classmates are really something special because they all think differently, and could possibly decipher the language of mathematics. Talk with some of your classmates because it can get very boring listening to teacher (in my case, an hour almost everyday) talk. I managed to get a B on the limits test, with help of classmates and homework. Also, homework, homework, homework! I cannot stress how important homework is. Our teacher is pro for giving us lots of repetitive problems for homework in our books, but the ugly truth is that they REALLY help. The more you do a certain problem, the more you recognize it. Just recently, I started doing problems twice, I would solve a problem, and if I got it correct, I would do it again. It can be very bothersome, but helpful. </p>
<p>It’s good that you’re willing to work math over the summer, but just make sure to stick to it. The beauty of summer study is that you can use a variety of resources, especially on the internet, to help you out. I wouldn’t go out of the way to buy any books, because you have internet lol. I plan to study calc topics before senior year to boost my confidence a little bit. A little tangent here, but have confidence in math, if you shy out, you’re in trouble. Math is really tricky, and my brain wraps around subjects slowly than most students, so really sit down with this crap and understand it, create a relationship with it! Just don’t give up now, keep at it.</p>
<p>I’d recommend taking classes over the summer in the specific subject. </p>
<p>It helped me a lot</p>
<p>Thanks for the wealth of wisdom and advice, guys! </p>
<p>Fantasy, thanks, I appreciate the advice, those are some great ideas.</p>
<p>Also, several colleges and their gifted youth program might have the course. Here are a few places you could do [note: They are all online]:</p>
<ol>
<li>Duke TIP</li>
<li>Northwestern Gifted thingy</li>
<li>Stanford EPGY</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins CTY</li>
<li>VHS [Virtual High School] Summer Offering, Algebra II</li>
</ol>
<p>Also, ask your school if they accept any of those classes for credit. It might let you take less math classes!</p>