The end..

wow i cant believe this semester is over ! i remember in the beginning out the year i wanted to pull me hair out because i was so frustrated with all the work that i didn't understand. As the semester went on my grades started to improve and its nice looking back at all my grades and seeing the grades get higher and higher. My last couple of grades haven't been as high as i wanted them to be and I'm pretty mad about that but I'm still staying positive and hoping my grade turns out to be good. Iv only had two good experiences with math class where i actually got all 80's and 90's and i wish that would happen every time i take math. Honestly i think to be good at math is not only understanding the concept being taught but how it is being taught to you. I know i can never get away from math because we need it for the rest of our lives so some times you have no choice but to like it, but i think not everything we learn in class is needed in the real world. Math class takes up most of my time ever since i got to college mainly because i don't understand what I'm doing in class so i have to go over it and look at my notes or the text book, or because i always tend to have a lot of math homework or stuff to do. As the years go on, i am actually starting to like math more for what it is and its purpose rather then thinking so negative about it because i know i have to take it because i have to not because i want to. Math this semester was by far one of the most confusing math classes i have taken. The take homes were probably the hardest for me because i am not good with word problems in the first place so getting take home after take home was not making me happy. But as i started to get used to it my grades started to get better. Each problem i would have to sit down with my friend or my dad and have them help me break down the problem. The math part wasn't the hardest it was first breaking everything down and putting it in order to do the math and then explaining how i performed the concept and why my answer was what it was. Through all the classes, take homes, quizzes and tests, i can leave this class knowing that i tried and hope for the best. I can defiantly say i have learned a lot this semester.

Grades

Well as the semester went on i have notice that my grades have improved. My understanding for what needs to be done and what i need to know has improved and i know what is exspected now. My grades are still not as high as i wish they would be but I'm just happy they are getting better. I am hoping i leave this class with a good final grade. I have never had a class stress me out this much. When i look back on my test and quizes it feels good to know now that i can actually do the work. My favorite topic this year was probably anything that delt with is over of and % over 100 because that was the one thing i could do the best.I found that many of the answers i got wrong on the test was due to the lack of interest and putting time into figuring out the problem. Many of the problems were also careless mistacks that could have been fixed with a calculator. The take home was nice having for a change because i was able to sit down with it and take my time and look up examples in my text. This take home grade i really hope improves my grade. I found integers a little confusing when i was trying to do the take home test, i think because we didn't learn it in class, we had to learn it all on our own.  As the semester went on i found myself actually liking math more and being proud that i actually wanna work on the home work or take homes. For a while in the begging of the semester i had to push myself at the last min. to even want to take out my math work and now its the first thing i turn to. I just want to work hard so in the end i can get a good grade.

Take Homes

I think our math take homes have all helped our grades, but i believe they haven't helped  us enough, unless we are getting 80's or 90's. i put a lot of work into my take homes and i really try to understand what is being said in the question in order to get the answer. i try to remember how to perform the question just in case something similar is on the test. i have had my mom, dad, uncle, and aunt help me on the take homes because some of them are hard. Most people who look at them tell me these aren't elementary school word programs these are more like middle school and up level word problems. Each take home i get i try to explain better so i can improve my grade yet they keep ranging in the 70's. i really don't know what else i can do to improve my take homes. i draw pictures i try to explain it to the best of my ability, yet i am never happy with my grade. Some of my take homes i believe i deserve a better grade then what i have gotten. i understand the grading has to be hard because if we were a teacher everything has to be said and explained right because if you mess up and tell a child something wrong that can affect how they learn something or how their grade turns out to be. But on some of my take homes i have gotten 1 point off because i put the wrong word and ended up with a 70 ? Take home after take home i think they are slowly helping me understand the math material better, but the questions on the take home are not always like the questions on the test.

Math Test

When i am sitting in class trying to pay attention, i get very confused with all the concepts we learn for one problem. I try to focus on one concept and learn how to do that well, so i can perform a problem on the test. In class i get very confused, almost like everything is thrown at me all at once. We move very fast, and I'm trying to absorb everything all at once. For some reason whenever i walk out of the class room i tend to forget everything we just learned.  For some reason i feel like everything we do on the board or whats in the extra credit homework is either easier or harder on the test. On the quizzes in class i can maintain 70's but for some reason i keep failing the test. I have to say the hardest concept for me this semester to learn was base 10. i understood it both ways and for some reason when i get a problem on the test i know how to set the problem up, but i cant get the right answer. Some of the take homes i find comfortable to work with and some of the take homes i get confused just reading the problem. Most of the time i need help from someone else to break it down for me first. What gets me confused on word problems is taking out the numbers that are necessary and setting up in the correction form in order to get the answer. The take homes we get are much more advanced then elementary school level. On the take homes i usually get 70's and that bothers me because i spend a lot of time on them and i get all the answers right, but i guess its the way i explain my problems is what gets me no higher than 70's. i would like to know what everyone else does to get a very high grade on the take homes ?I like  when we go over a topic that i actually remember but then the way our teacher explains it seems so different then the way i remember learning. Through out all my semesters at Dutchess this is the hardest class i have ever taken.

Mathophobe

i think i have mathophobe because anytime i see anything to do with math i just walk away. i have never had a interest in math. Through out the years math wasn't that bad. I have realized i have gotten better grades in certain math classes based on how the teacher was and how they explained the material. In other years i have done bad in math depending on how i was taught. Through out the years my grades in math has been up and down, to the point where i understand math to a certain point. If someone were to through at math problem at me without me learning it i would probably get very comfortable and probably not even try to work it out. i know it may take me longer to pick up some concepts then others but if i do it over and over again and there is someone there to help me i know i can do it. Last year i was in MAT 100 and i didn't pay attention all year, then a kid in my class crammed the whole semester of work into a month of studying and i actually went into my final confident. i never put some much time into math like i did last semester. I had a D in the class in the begging of the semester and just by bringing my grades up the last month i was able to pull up my grade to a C, not as high as i would like it but better than having a D. If i had someone there to break the problem down everyday until i got it and was able to do it on my own i think i would do so much better in math. Even sometimes when i know how to do a problem once the test comes, sometimes i make myself nervous and work really fast and almost forget what I'm doing, and make careless mistacks.

Math Class

Does anyone else go into this class thinking "oh its just elementary school math, it will be easy"? Does anyone feel like they are dumb ? This math is harder then high school math. In class i feel so lost, like i don't remember ever learning this stuff. i don't like the feeling of struggling, but i'm trying to push myself to do good because i know i will grow from it. This class will make me smarter. But i recently just switched my major to liberal arts because now i don't know if i want to be a teacher anymore. But by being in this class when i don't really need it anymore is making it harder for me to stay focused and motivated. I know i need to try and do good because i want a passing grade. Out of all my classes this is the hardest one by far. I don't understand why i can't understand what we are learning. I think i might need to be shown a different way because for some reason none of it is sticking. I don't know why but i find this class to be very hard and it doesn't make me feel good about myself. I believe that i can do better on the test if i actually put 100% effort in and did everything i could to get good grades. i know i should probably be going to anyone to get any extra help i can get but i have no interest in this class to push myself. i find myself getting more aggravated as we learn more things.