Loves Math But Gets Bad Grades

[@pancreas09]

I always get mid 70s in math, but I love math. For me I can't learn it fast enough to get good grades on the test. By the time I get it I'm behind on the next test's chapters. I used to think I was bad at math but I recently realized how many of my classmates don't even get the easy stuff. I think for a lot of people math would be more fun if they learned it outside of school at their own pace.

[@pik910]

Yeah, when you think about it it is not surprising that people hate getting confronted with things they don't understand under time pressure and with punishment for failure. And with math it is easy to lose the thread and understanding often is like a pyramid.

[@CakesAndCandlesj59]

So true, not to mention in a traditional classroom setting many teachers will teach the test and forget to teach the concepts fully, I retain so much more from self study than the classroom to be honest.

[@amritamaurya4917]

Same here , never scored above 90/100

[@Number6_]

​@@amritamaurya4917he's talking about 70's/100 not 90s . 90s is an A in any class. Bs and Cs will get you a degree, but no one's going to hire you in a math heavy job. You would have trouble with some grad schools as well. You need a minimum 3.0 80s/100 to even remain in a grad school.

[@zacharymccoy9262]

Ditto!

[@patrickgambill9326]

I used to be in this boat. In high school, I never got an A in any of my math classes. I absolutely love math, so I stepped up with undergrad, and focused on keeping good grades. Now I am working towards a PhD in math. Grades do matter, but they are less important than your love of math, and as you get further into your math classes, the grading style and the content will change. Your current grades are not going to ensure your grades in a future class.

[@MrValsung]

what would you say changed for you? I've personally always got A's in HS math, and when I decided to start going back to school at my local cc, I got A's in both precalc & calculus 1, but I feel as though I have a very superficial understanding of these subjects, and it is very hard for me to recall what I've learnt in previous subjects, which is quite annoying considering that I want to apply what I've learnt in my computer graphics applications. Recently, I've been watching nothing but Olympiad Geometry videos, which have kinda helped me retain various laws, and seeing the connections to algebra to some extent. It might just be that I need to expose myself to the same material for longer than just a single cram session before exams that helps me get the A, but not much else afterwards.

[@patrickgambill9326]

@@MrValsung In high school, there were very pressing deadlines on homework. I skipped a lot of homework problems. I understood the material by the tests, but sometimes I needed more time to learn material. Instead of having daily homework, college has weekly homework. I was able to have a lot more flexibility with when and where I chose to study and do homework. I also found it easier to approach instructors during office hours to ask additional questions. The last piece was the summer before I started undergrad, I worked a warehouse job. I realized I didn't want to do that the rest of my life, so I felt very motivated to get the degree. Each Summer, during undergrad, I went back to factory and warehouse jobs to save money. By the end of the Summer, I was ready to learn.

[@attadarshimeshram7136]

my math teachers hated me and told me I would fail 10th grade math so just because of that I studied it hard and got an A. now I am an engineering srudent

[@kemphoss-4791]

Calc 2 is currently killing me, and im loving every bit of it!

[@TheMathSorcerer]

:)

[@aguyontheinternet8436]

4:33 a real depressing third explanation I've dealt with is that the teachers I've had in high school straight up did not know the why to the formulas. Had no idea where they came from or how you could derive them.

[@tubewatcher77]

Grades are completely misleading. Many People always perform well in tests, but never repeat the topic afterwards. And forgetting is unnoticeable. Those who don't work in a technical field will have forgotten all the math taught after primary school. But they will be still good at fundamental arithmetic because everybody needs it on a daily basis.

[@sayantanganguly552]

Excellent... exactly this is true. People who love mathematics, explore a lot with mathematical concepts, new ideas and struggle enough to understand why something is true, why something is defined in some particular way, and at many places teachers don't explain it well. Finding the right context is sometimes challenging. Math lovers don't memorize things blindly. In India I have seen it a lot. I have seen people getting good grades simply just memorizing things without any understanding of concepts.

[@riffsfromtheabyss666]

I usually fail my first exams and then get Bs and As on the following ones 😂

[@lDC303]

same Here

[@hollybrown887]

I just needed a test run 😅

[@gaboparkerOG]

@@hollybrown887good one, and same dude

[@riffsfromtheabyss666]

Every class so far has a different test taking experience. Once I get the hang of how the homework and the “practice exam” correlates to the actual exam I latch on to what’s expected and do well.

[@riffsfromtheabyss666]

@@hollybrown887 usually all it takes. It’s how it is in the real world as well.

[@freerangesam457]

I have never gotten higher than a c on a math test in my life. I’m 32 now, I’m taking calc in college for the second time and I feel like I study for a majority of my free time but just don’t absorb the material. I will keep on trying until I pass. I really love your videos. Thanks for spending your time making them.

[@Number6_]

We have all taken a class twice, but after 3 times look at something else. Don't be that guy who is there for the 7th time still trying to pass.

[@mkwarlock]

This is so relevant for me… I am always curious about the WHY, where do things come from, and I want to understand topics completely. That is why I struggle a lot with my time management. I was learning linear algebra in university last semester as part of my master's in ML, and when the topic of vector spaces came up, since a vector space is defined as being over a field, I wanted to know more about groups and fields, so I started studying a bit of abstract algebra. While learning about the algebraic structures, I found out about homomorphisms, so I dug a bit deeper and found out about category theory. I also found out about Alexander Grothendieck - his contributions to mathematics and his life story really blew my mind.

[@DynamRezinor]

I get this so much. One way I've managed to reduce the time I waste is if I just write down the things that I'm curious about in my notes. So, if I'm looking at a problem and it's making me think of some interesting questions that I might not have the time for, I'll write down the question I have with the hope that I can come back to figure it out later when I have the time. Sometimes, looking at the problem later is even a good thing because you've learned newer concepts by then!

[@ivanleon4961]

Lots of great things were said in this video! I would like to add some things here. Grades are not always a true reflection of your knowledge in mathematics. I always found it silly that you were never allowed to use your notes, internet, or examples in exams. Math researchers use previous results and the internet all the time! We’d never get anything done if we were constrained like the classroom. Mathematics is taught too archaicly, which is why i am not a fan of grades to begin with. I leave with my fav quote: “Computation is about insight, not numbers.”-Richard Hamming

[@joelweidenfeld471]

Definitely mo ron MAKE it so you can googje the answers OR look at your notes for SIMILAR problems or LOOK at formulas so they will NEVER become PART of YOUR mind , AND !!!! THEN MAKE the fuckin TEST so fuckin HARD for the professor to produce and grade that he jumps off a damm bridge

[@heroponriki518]

@@joelweidenfeld471 ??? thats not exactly an argument

[@sg5sd]

​@@joelweidenfeld471 hmm, I needed to put your text reply (and context) to ChatGPT to understand your words. ChatGPT says: It seems like @joelweidenfeld471 is expressing frustration with the idea that students aren't allowed to use resources like Google or their notes during exams, arguing that this prevents them from truly understanding and internalizing the material. They suggest that tests should be challenging for the professor to create and grade, implying that this would lead to a more effective learning process. However, the tone is aggressive and exaggerated, using strong language and imagery like "make the professor jump off a damn bridge." I guess it's awesome to have a system where we don't need to remember anything, but get challenging questions.

[@AmanomiyaJun]

@@joelweidenfeld471gotta wonder how mathematicians arrive at their answers then. Natural knowledge retention leading them there, or simply inherent wisdom in connecting math logic?

[@ИапГоревич]

Ok, I'll try to perform. It's SO hard to overcome ownself. Thank you!

[@mikaeljacobsson1437]

Its hard to identify where the issue is sometimes. Growing up school made me think that i was bad at math and to dislike it. As an adult i discovered that i was really good at math and that i really love math. When i got to play with math on my own. In a way that suited me. Sometimes you find it in places you never expected. I need to be on my own. Play with the fun parts to have easier times with the harder parts. Solitude is highly underrated for learning. Silence. No sounds to mess with your mind. Just you and the math. There are no one size fits all. Anywhere. For anything.

[@Noise991]

My Uni teacher helped me with this. That woman could teach dogs math. She helped a colleague so much he ended up bringing her flowers while in tears because he thought he will never pass math. She said math requires repetition. If you do it well in class, you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO DO THE WORK. Do problems, solve more exercises, PUT IN THE TIME and SOLVE SOLVE SOLVE. If you get stumped - go to the teacher, talk about it, ask for help. I had to sit myself down and actually force myself to write all my homework down, rewrite my notes in a neat way etc.

[@kummer45]

To get good grades is required practice of problems. There is a difference between exercises in math and problems. Proving every theorem is fundamental and learning the definitions in a strict sense. Build a set of complete notes on definitions, theorems with more than one proof and examples. Then have another booklet for exercises and problems in each subject. Organization is the key. Buy lots of books on solved problems in each discipline. Find every solution manual you could get. These saves time and build up strategies in short periods of time. Use free time to study and reinforce what you know. Organize and complete your lecture notes on each discipline. Have more than two books in each subject. Study every day. Maturity takes time.

[@prabodhchandramaity2311]

Thank you so much Sir for actually spelling it out.A mechanized approach towards mathematics is definitely time efficient but makes the subject mundane.

[@oscarspolander318]

This video hit me in the exact perfect moment. Have an exam in Stochastic Integration coming up in about ten days and have been swaying off into irrelevant stuff lately such as differential geometry and Fourier analysis during precious study time. I love your videos. All the best // O

[@Mitrogen-JNI]

4 days left , friendly reminder; go study bud

[@Mitrogen-JNI]

How was the test buddy?

[@HenrikMyrhaug]

I always used to get straight As in math, until one year I had a teacher who was incredibly strict, and not very supportive. When I would ask a question in class, he would sometimes laugh at me, and tell me to "just THINK". He would also make me lose 9 of 10 points on a task if I made a single mistake like forgetting a negative. When doing a one month math project assignment, he would refuse every single idea I had for a topic, never offering any help or guidance on how to find a good topic, until a week before the due date he "came up with a good suggestion" for a topic which was one of the exact suggestions I had given him earlier. Unfortunately, because you were supposed to use a month on this project, I had to crunch massively, and had a panic attack close to the due date. I always loved math, but that year, I got a D. The quality of your math teacher has a huge impact on how fun the subject is.

[@aaronaustrie]

Truth💯

[@anneo8393]

Oof. I was one of the ones who wanted to know why. It actually helps me understand it and I feel like when I have a good grasp of the foundation, then I can easily work new information into my understanding. When it's just lists of equations that seem completely detached, I have a hard time absorbing it. Although this was my problem with school in general. By the time I understood something, I could usually perform it significantly better than many of my peers because I cared so much about the inner workings. The problem was that there was simply never enough time in school to ask all the questions I wanted or to thoroughly research subjects. So eventually I would shut down and get burnt out because rote memorization was frustrating and ineffective for me. I was that kid that would always get letters home like "she's SO smart but never does any of her work" :/ I kind of wish there was a school with an environment built for people like me.

[@alvindzaki6085]

during my time as a lecturer assistant in control engineering and fundamental math, both of my lecturer told me to score the students both objectively and subjectively. Objectively by scoring on standard procedure, and the subjectively by scoring on how close one's answer to the correct one, how structured their methods and formula are despite the wrong result, and how far they try to finnish the said problem, even if they unable to get solution or none at all, they still get some points for trying and efforts.

[@bvds2007]

I think in some cases, there just is no room for intellectual enquiry... In my case, I deeply loved certain subjects but feel I would get tied-up, questioning certain results, caring as to how the subject developed and therefore being left with too many unanswered questions, which modern teaching does not allow for. You can call it a lack of focus on what's in front of me, but I don't think it makes me a worse student than someone who doesn't give two cents about the 'why?', yet will score an A by applying whatever recipe is being taught.

[@alexkha]

4:57 the truth is that there are a lot of other subjects in college and it's hard to focus on math. Another problem is ADHD, but that's just me. There was always some topic in the math that interested me more than what was assigned for homework, lol. I always did all the homework and still failed Cal2 twice in a row. The 2 hours of exam time were not enough for me to finish the test with a passing grade :-(

[@suyunbek1399]

don't be too hasty to diagnose yourself with vague conditions. it does not capture you in all your sins and virtues no matter how much you want it to.

[@angeldude101]

​@@suyunbek1399 As someone who does have an official medical diagnosis of ADHD, 1) who are you to call suyunbek1399 a liar? Do you have any evidence that they don't actually know what they're talking about and 2) everything they described is entirely consistent with both my experience living with ADHD and what I've read about it. I'm actually kind of _envious_ that not having enough hours to finish an exam was their biggest problem, because when I failed my math courses (actually the exact same course: Calc 2), it was because I showed up on the completely wrong day to said exams. I can very easily point to ADHD for both of these problems because they both fall under the category of time management, and the single biggest effect of ADHD from what I can tell is a distortion of one's perception of time.

[@suyunbek1399]

@@angeldude101 i just said not to be hasty. don't read between the lines, theres nothing there

[@suyunbek1399]

@@angeldude101 ADHD is not a rigorous term. Its is used to differentiate between severe and negligible problems. everyone has some amount of perception distortion, troubles with concentrating. ADHD may or may not be either acquired or unremovable. Just saying that you have it and removing any responsibilty from yourself in its acquirance is a weak and irresponsible move. The official nomenclature makes it hard to understand that.

[@qualia765]

ADHD is just a more commonly accepted label applied to whatever magic is going on below within the brain. ADHD is not the issue that causes issues with ones studying/test taking/whatever. ADHD is a limited description of whatever below within the mind that actually determine those outcomes. That subtle distinction is important because simply blaming ADHD as the sole cause prevents further investigation into the nuances and how the 'common experiences of the ADHD condition' might not completely accurately explain the way that an individual functions. The binary of 'has ADHD' vs 'does not have ADHD' is significantly better than thinking that everyone has the same amount of focus. However, trusting absolutely in that binary is also flawed. It is obvious that different people with ADHD function differently - same compared to people without ADHD also have a large domain of experiences in terms of focus. I propose that the label of ADHD be considered for what it is, an indicator that the labeled belong to a certain theoretical social group. But to not blame the membership of that, exclusively theoretical, social group as the reason for impacts on events/experiences in the world. Knowing that an individual has ADHD can lead to inspiration for understanding how that individual interacts with the world, but it does not define it. And knowing how an individual interacts with the world then is still what impacts the decisions about how the individual should be treated. TLDR, the label of ADHD is an indicator about a person, but does not define them nor their interaction on the world nor how decisions in regards to that individual should be made. For context, I think I probably could be classified that I have ADHD, however from the limited examination for it I have gotten, there is not a consensus among medical professionals. (however there is that I have autism, and 'labels' are one of my special interests so you just infodumped on hehe) And yes nobody asked

[@JothamMarkos]

I feel like the "why?" factor of loving math could actually be useful in some cases. For me personally I find it more useful to be able to understand why something is the way it is then to practice a whole lot of questions of a process I understand nothing about exactly how to do. Sometimes just understanding the why has given me an upper hand on exams where you're required to reverse engineer a math process. You can always make paths with the why, but you can only get answers with a process. When I understand why, I'm often capable of doing good on an exam having done next to none of my homework.

[@shy_dodecahedron]

5:01 Let me get it straight: the point of the system is not students understanding ANYTHING, but making students score well on system's tests that are basically qualification tests on what calculators did before it became a device! And universities use this as a scale to determine the quality of a students.

[@sriritwikshastry9603]

Your math videos are fantastic!

[@RohitKulan]

Thank you

[@douglasstrother6584]

I caught the tail end of "New Math" (Check out Tom Lehrer's song about that.), which I think derailed a basic understanding of arithmetic. I would read through my Dad's recreational math books by Martin Gardner and others, but still was dumber than a box of rocks when it came to cousework. Good ol' Euclidian Geometry (in the 10th Grade) finally turned-on my math lightbulb. After that, math was always challenging, but I got it. During my Senior Year in high school, I rediscovered Physics and majored in it, which has served me well for all these decades.

[@blue_birb]

I think you hit the spot just right. I myself as a 16 year old, am already a university student and am after a set theory course, got a 67 on my highschool math test. it really baffled me, and turns out, even though my understanding was in place, I just wasn't able to articulate it well enough for my teacher to give me full points (along with some minor computational errors) I've always had the problem of just having my eyes up at the clouds, wanting to learn every field there is, and always got sucked back down to basic function analysis. thanks for showing me that I'm not alone in that

[@GrindandoLivros]

Hey man, this your advice is for everything, focus in what is your front helps me to do well my tasks and avoid the F.O.M.O. sensation

[@richoneplanet7561]

Been there! Just got a math minor instead - business major worked better for me 👍

[@dollarbar1]

Heck yes, this got me pumped to perform well in my classes. Would love to check out your courses later after I crush the semester.

[@aguyontheinternet8436]

2:50 I'd also say that sometimes while learning and exploring in one field, you just kinda stumble into others pretty easily exploring on your own. For a simple example, say you're in geometry class, and trying to figure out what the area of a circle is. You're gonna learn pretty quickly you need to cut the circle into small parts, add them all up, aaaannd suddenly you're learning basic calculus.

[@igcse8777]

this is ME! im absolutely obsessed with maths and its the only subject i actually enjoy even though i dont ace the subject every time…which is weird but u saying that its “common” made me feel like its a regular thing lol

[@igcse8777]

update: this called me out!! i would be in class studying trig but i’d be thinking about solving integration questions😬😬😬😬 i never noticed that about myself until u just said it

[@TheMathSorcerer]

haha yup!

[@TheMathSorcerer]

Yes VERY common! Keep loving math my friend:)

[@igcse8777]

Will always love maths!! Currently taking further maths since i enjoy doing maths im one of two people in my class ahahaha!! maths is no joke especially further mathematics but when it clicks its AMAZING @@TheMathSorcerer

[@maagu4779]

4:30 This part talks about me, wanting the "23rd Century"...NOW!

[@tyrekm]

Good Morning, also math is such a wide discipline. It's easy to fall into the trap of loving one branch of math and hating others. As a teacher of math I have seen students become comfortable with a 90% on a test no realizing that the 10% may be a core prerequisite to subsequent lessons/courses. They begin to struggle as this seemingly insignificant 10% learning gap compounds over time.

[@dont-worry-about-it-]

I randomly got recommended this video so I'm not familiar with this channel, and maybe I'm just not a "true" or "die-hard" math lover, but this video did not resonate with me. But I can explain: I didn't always like math. In fact, in elementary and middle school, I hated math. I would sneak out a book to read during math class and if the teacher took my book, I would probably just zone out. But i still got As and Bs without understanding or trying. But in 8th grade, I moved to a new place and the math teacher had already quit, so we had a substitute for the rest of the year (like march-june); i was the new kid *and* struggling with math,but this teacher really helped me understand what I was struggling with, and I started to appreciate math. In 9th grade, I tested into the lowest math class (just called math 1, but i guess it's just algebra, i barely remember) but it was so easy for me that I started to like math more because i finally felt like I could understand it. After that, I still struggled a bit, but my junior year we were starting precalculus and the teacher wrote some calculus stuff on the board (derivatives) and jokingly said if we thought this was hard, wait until we get to calculus later in the year/next school year. Most people groaned, but I was genuinely intrigued and excited. I still didn't do well and the next year did pretty bad in calculus as well. Like Cs and Ds. Flash forward to college, I still did bad at calculus, no matter what I tried: talking to classmates/friends, going to office hours, reading the textbook, watching youtube videos. Nothing helped. I took calculus 1-3 *twice* for each class. Failing the first time and barely passing with a C the second time. I struggled throughout my amajor as well because it's STEM and is very math and physics heavy. But now, I'm only a few days away from getting my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. I still like math, especially topology, and plan to relearn all those subjects on my own since it was too fast paced for me during school. I've always had a lot going on in my life, mental health, physical health, family stuff, financial stuff, you name it, so it was hard for me to focus on school when I constantly had other things happening at the same time, preventing me from being able to put in more time and effort. Not to mention being a "gifted kid", I never learned how to learn or study, so how I "studied" wasn't helpful either. I share all of this to say: being bad at math doesn't mean you're not trying hard enough. If you only have 25% of your mental capacity to give to your math class, and you work extremely hard and to the max of that 25%, you're giving 100%. Sometimes, life gets in the way too. I guess I don't have like a positive message to give other than, if someone who still struggles to understand fractions and unit conversions can get a degree in a STEM field, you can too! Just keep trying and don't give up, and one day you'll find that one thing that just makes it click for you!

[@Andrumen01]

I believe that therapy might be good. Sometimes we all just need to talk with somebody who can listen and get to the deeper cause. Colleges and highschools (usually) offer these services without any additional cost. Sometimes it's just time to reconsider if you are on the right track. If it's the case, focus on your strength more than in your weaknesses (don't neglect your weaknesses, though). In the end they are what will power you through the difficult situations. Also, know when to give up. It's not wrong or bad to fail. Failure can lead to great learning, and teaching, moments and a better insight as to what you NEED rather than what you WANT. I consider more valuable people who can move on from a bad situation to a better situation rather than someone who is always good, since the latter is just appearances!

[@blue.jersey2482]

Thank you so much for making this.

[@Asy55t]

Sir, you're the reason why I didn't give up self studying math and got extraordinarily better, I couldn't describe in words how grateful I am. Even tho my grades changed from a failure to just an okay student, today I don't feel like I should give up my major, because now I can actually understand what I need to!

[@mrshovelbottom7475]

You are keeping me going man :)

[@Mithlesh-d2m]

Yeah ! This had always been happening during my school and college classes. But even from now this teaches me for my future examinations.

[@UnathiGX]

This is me. The love for Math is love for simplified descriptions of abstract/difficult concepts that are hard to understand rigorously eg the explanation of g-conjecture by June Huh in Numberphile makes me feel like "i actually understand this 'thing' "😂.

[@Rgy369]

I love math and i use to get good grades, but education system and my uninterested teacher from grade 8 shrinks me down😢

[@LucasDimoveo]

I didn’t send the email but this describes me for sure

[@skii_two]

I’ve recently began to do exessive amounts of practice questions for my calculus class, but not matter what I do, there’s just some derivation of a rule that wasn’t fully explained. It’s just y = x and that’s it. So, when I get something which completely shakes up the fundamentals of the theorem, I screw it up cause my thinking is so linear. What I mean by that is I have to understand exactly what’s going on, as you said in the video. I’ve consistently gotten everything right, then screwed up the question worth the most marks cause I can’t calm down and logically form something out of what I learned. I just hear the rule or see it in my head but can’t do anything with it. It’s frustrating. Maybe these are ASD/ADHD things. Either way, I’m making strategies for test taking and slowly figuring it out.

[@phil2768]

That's me! I got D - I just seem to forget everything I have learned previously 🤷‍♂

[@nazombie7935]

I am a mathematics major with a mild learning disorder. I have retaken college algebra 6 times, calculus 1 twice, and intro to proofs twice. I am now taking abstract algebra 1 and partial differential equations. I am having a hard time utilizing the definitions in problems for abstract algebra, and for PDE I don't see the ODE methods being used and I end up messing up trying to use the new pde material I am learning. Recognizing my foundations in my new course problems. My first two math midterms for these courses I got a 50 and a 30 on the first tests. I felt so stupid and I really did practice.

[@biotechkingdom]

Your tips in your videos generally and especially in this video are really benefited me not only in math but in my entire academic life. Acually I have this problem but I'll try to fix it and get much better grades in my college classes thank you so much

[@juaneliasmillasvera]

100% my case, I was always reading on Internet and watchings advanced videos or forums, not doing homework... Now, I am near 30 years old and I do not have even a science degree, but I still love maths. I was not interested in basic math and the teachers always tells to me "wait until you understand basic, you will have time to hard things", but at the end, I am not sorry about my decissions, I read Einstein's relativity book at 17 and understanded nothing, but when I read again two years ago, I was very clear to me, even mathematics part. I have to admit that even I love Number Theory I can not understand advanced proofs yet, but my goal in a few years is to understand Wiles' proof of Fermat Last Theorem for example.

[@slavic_commonwealth]

cool!

[@tingdongyan7502]

Absolutely right for me. I love one thing and I can spend all my time to learn the background. But math test is not for one area, your time is limited.

[@abhisheksoni9774]

Thank you sir for making this video. I realized a few days ago the mistake which I was doing is, I was trying to learn all the math which means every major branch of math rather than doing one at a time

[@bimdinaudakara717]

very well observed and explained about the topic. even I have that bad habit. in fact, it happens when I search online for something related to the current course and I go a bit deeper and deeper in curiosity and get lost in knowledge.

[@jahzeelreyesalvarez3402]

Lol, that's me sometimes. Generally it's so hard for me to understand the math topics, and this connects with one of the lastest videos u did about dedicating hours on a single problem.

[@waiterminute]

Never felt so called out by a video! Very solid advice

[@walterdiaz2003]

This is a video to bookmark and to watch it with the kids several times.

[@gustavo4017]

Great! I'll also apply this to other subjects...

[@ahmadkhan3134]

I'm in the same situation, I LOVE pure mathematics and hope to one day do a PhD doing what I love; however, I am currently nearing the end of my second year of my undergrad and I just can't get above a C.

[@naggl3s]

I’m a math major and I feel like “just put in the work” is disingenuous to what it actually takes. I’m someone who enjoys math a lot. And I’m also someone who is studious. However, despite working on high-level pure math for about two years now, I can say that I genuinely still do not understand it and I would not say it is from a lack of effort. I went to talk to most of my teachers who taught me on the subject, I made sure to study a lot for the material, often going long past my bedtime because there was no way for me to cover all of the material we went over otherwise. I do all of my assignments and even have asked before turning them in how I could improve what I had or if what I had was wrong. And yet, I have never scored above an 80% on tests for proof-based math courses. Most of the times, I score C’s, sometimes F’s. I don’t think a good amount of these teachers were bad either. I would not blame them, as they did take the time to help explain the content. It simply did not and will not click and no matter how hard I will try, I will not understand how to do proofs. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and that is fine.

[@muhammadhamadan9951]

for me its always these stupid silly mistakes like writing the question wrong or inputting in my calculator incorrectly that ends up making me loose a lot of marks; very rarely is there a question i come across that i dont understand

[@DiogenesClub532]

To those struggling with math, remember this: math is difficult! What you are studying is the end-product of centuries, if not millennia, of mathematical research and discovery by some of the greatest minds in history. Give the subject the respect it deserves. Advice from a former peer tutor: if you love math but are struggling, look for gaps you may have in your math knowledge or education, and work on filling those in. Good luck!

[@tradways]

Love math, bad grades, default math course (pearson) will mark a problem “wrong” for missing that comma between the ordered sets (1,5),(6,7) Having a generic formula sheets = no-go for exams. I get 70’s & 80’s on everything BUT the exams. Exams i’m hitting 25-35% I am resorting to self study a topic then using the class (in the future) as a validation/varification of what i will already know. My current solution is the buy a boatload of workbooks and just burn through the practice. If you have any other/better suggestions, by all means!!!, point me in the right direction

[@briepierce6744]

The speed is my problem. I’m in Gen Chem, Intro Phys, and Cal 1. It just moves too fast and it’s making me hate it. Haven’t struggled this bad in so long. Only passed my chem midterm. Spring break is catch up central now.😕

[@glitcharcing]

Yep. Not proud of it but I have had Cs in many of my classes and I’m graduating this semester… These describe me for sure. I have I wish I had been able to fix this sooner in my college career but, due to facing a lot of trauma and many other issues, I wasn’t able to fully address this until last semester. I accept my mistakes, choose to grow past it, and still try to get into grad school. I’m better at research lol

[@RobHarrison]

I always never used to show my working because everything in class was too repetitive and boring so I never got any partial marks for approach etc.

[@heroponriki518]

im comparatively happier about math than most of my classmates but there are times where i just dont do that great lol (one example is like last week i got test results and had so many points deducted for bogus reasons and i didnt fight it for some reason)

[@Studies4.00]

Excellent. ! True! I believe....

[@johnyeap7133]

I love math but im not doing too well after my linear algebra quiz today. got called out hard. thanks man

[@maxgomez4909]

Great insight

[@rxeii8224]

For me, I love learning math , am pretty good at grasping concepts and fine at calculations. The problem is I don't study for exams, it is so boring to me. I feel like I am rewatching a movie.

[@XX-sf1eh]

Great speech 😀

[@vendorcommercialprograms7578]

This one hits me hard. I love LOVE math: but have found myself enmeshed in my own "love" for the math to the point where it blinds me from directly interacting with math. My most up to date solution? Study and take tests on a timer and discover/rediscover "understanding" math and let nature do what it does. Privately, I take math VERY personally: I think most people do, right?

[@Benedictus73]

Math is by far my favorite subject but the problem is that our teacher is very harsh in planing the tests and in grading it she makes it impossible to finish to the point that ¾ of my class lost hope on getting good grades i don't know how to excel in math at that point i've lost hope 😭

[@putinstea]

Motivation is much more valuable than talent. I learned this through the hard way. Dropped out of high school, worked some programming. Now back in school to get a real education.

[@Ilovescrubs99]

I am taking calc. I'm slow and take hrs to do one question. I don't have enough time on tests. That's why I perform not so well

[@gerakore8948]

love math/physics, really good at it, understand the concepts, breeze through the homework, but just really bad at taking tests. something about the time constraints that make me panic and fumble problems i could have easily solved on my own. luckily i do manage to get hundreds here n there and average out to a better grade.

[@aarongreenberg159]

Someties learning just takes time and that's okay.

[@shiijei2638]

Loving a field doesn't mean you can do well in that field in school. It's not the same, you don't get to dictate everything like you do in your personal time. If I love to draw and I take a drawing class and the teacher tells me to draw in a way that is different to the way I enjoy drawing then I'll fail. Same with math and English, especially English because I can enjoy writing but I'm not formatting my personal papers in MLA/APA lol.

[@DunwellAntwi]

Le me Tokyo drifting to learn something different. My brain also itches when the teacher does not prove formulas.

[@TheSorintist]

This happens to me too but instead of math its physics. I developed quite a deep interest in this subject and I study for it almost every day, but I have yet to get a score on a test thats over 80. However, my teacher is acknowledging my improvement ever since I started studying for it and I think I'm beginning to learn from certain mistakes I've made on tests, hence I have a pretty good feeling regarding my grades in the future. Nevertheless, my grades dont affect my passion for this subject and I'll keep studying for it no matter my grades

[@NorthonBruce]

Pretty much all of my teachers' attitude was: if the answer doesn't match, it's 0 points, end of it. If a student fails, he doesn't deserve free help. The ones who deserved attention - were those students who performed well. Time spent on a failure is the time not spent on the succes.

[@RobHarrison]

You suggest that student should really focus on topics in class but not on personal areas of interest. However Autism and ADHD is prevalent in Science, Maths and Technology overachievers. If a student is struggling to focus without getting distracted by their own interests ADHD is a distinct possibility. An early diagnosis for such individuals can change the direction of their life for the better at this critical time. Don’t discount it because they are not jumping around the classroom.

[@samgott8689]

Hey, as for point 2, about learning other math. When I took Trig, I focused entirely on Trig. Now, when I started Calculus I found my Algebra was a little rusty and needed some tune up work. How do you balance the two? For what it’s worth, I gott the Algebra Essentials workbook and supplement my Calculus studies by working with it a bit on my lunch break at work, and it’s been great!

[@МяМ]

I would suggest him to try love what he is doing currently , because One, hey! it is math at the end and he loves math. Tow, in most time it will makes him better in what he love. Three, it will makes him more relive and comfortable after all.

[@surrealistidealist]

Many years from now, your grades won't matter. But your passion and persistence will!

[@jayleo500]

I consistently perform worse than my peers in my classes, such as compilers, data structures, etc. However, I find that I am better than others at seeing how the class or domain fits into the bigger picture, and that is why I do better than my peers out in the field. But when I am in a class, the setting is just not for me, especially with ADHD and a bit of dyslexia. When professors give an exam, whether they like it or not, you have to pay attention to what 'they' want you to know and what 'they' are going to ask. All the other stuff I know from projects and books I've read does not matter. However, I have found that I am now excelling in the graduate scene, where exploration and research are more of the focus. Passion for a subject and domain knowledge does not directly translate into good grades. There are other class-taking skills that play a bigger role.

[@billc4993]

Test anxiety is a real thing and can be hard to overcome. My experience is it is important to look at how the instructor structures tests. So when you get a test back spend some time looking at how the instructor created the test. Did they use problems from the book as is or did they modify them? Did they come up with totally different problems from what is in the book? Did they put in any tricky parts? I always tried to get the same instructor if possible for multiple semester classes as it became easier to know what they expected on their tests. This can lead to doing well on the tests without actually learning all of the material, which isn't a good thing.

[@Ilovescrubs99]

I do want to always know why. I love calc though

[@proshooters1]

I love math but im getting 30-60% on every test it feels so bad

[@barneyross8083]

This is gem

[@Nath-xu9qn]

It's quite ironic I think, that just about yesterday I've come to understand, that math is quite easy (if you study practically and on paper) and most importantly very addicting actually, while today I've taken my last exam for maths before my finals in 6 weeks. Too late I'd say. Obviously not, considering that nothing is hindering me from doing math myself for myself. Strange situation indeed!

[@_Xypes_]

Getting bad grades doesn’t mean you’re bad at maths. I got a shit grade on my yr 10 mocks but I’m taking GCSEs early and in my y11 test I got a top 5 school in the year as a year 10. Sometimes it’s just the wrong test, the wrong day, or just studying the wrong thing.

[@anonymous_MN]

What if you're the opposite, you hate math but you're pretty good at it?

[@sebastianmercado4661]

I used to come close to failing my math classes in HS. However, once the final exams would come I would reteach myself and pasd said finals above 80%. I learned that I do better when I'm self-taught rather than being in a traditional classroom setting.

[@Nnycin]

I'm in 8 grade and I love math and understand it well. I usually get C or B. Its seems like my problem is that I think "oh that's easy" and don't spend time mastering it so on my test I make little stupid mistakes. Also, I seem to overthink making a difficult question out of easy one. It might be because I don't usually learn book's way of solving problems while other students do. My brain is so messy that sometimes I can't understand myself. I can make crazy calculations over a simple problem to just understand that test just CANT have these type of calculations in it

[@dm20422]

Solid advice

[@thedragonofthewest5789]

I got an AA but the results werent as high as i was expecting and it didnt satisfy me. It really hurts especially if you worked really hard like me

[@simgamer3182]

Dear Sorcerer, what strategies do you recommend to retain along the time the math subjects that are learned (wether in college, school, etc). How can one put in resguard of time those knowledges adquired, but that tends to vanish in time. Is there a better strategy? maybe watching some videos now and then , or with some practice books... I mean, its quite hard to learn calculus, linear algebra, and then noticing that one starts to forget with time (at least for those who are not matematicians) Regards!! Im a great fan!

[@NeuroScientician]

I am in that category, I just kept doing stupid mistakes, swap +- stuff like that.

[@cedric182]

My discrete math class is 3 units, but the homework is like a 5 unit class. On top of having calculus HW😢

[@eebbaa5560]

can you make a video for people who hate math and get bad grades

[@nicolastorres147]

They wouldn't be majoring in Math

[@eebbaa5560]

@@nicolastorres147 yeah they would be majoring in computer science

[@H3XED_OwO]

@@eebbaa5560 🤣🤣🤣

[@charlieibkiss4068]

I have failed Calc one 3 times already due to this problem, but I wont give up I will keep trying until I get trough all of calculous,

[@ivanarizpe2231]

Not me taking calculus 2 but studying Analysis in my free time haha

[@douglasstrother6584]

Go straight for the gator pond!