What were you better at in high school? Algebra saved me, most of geometry nearly screwed me over.

I found them both to be easy.

It was trig and calculas I didn't care for.

I don't remember what either of them was any more. A lifetime of using neither one just proves how useless that stuff was to me - obviously I'm not in a scientific profession or anything

i aced both

but i sucked at grammar

When I paid attention in class I understood both.. But I was usually to busy passing notes or writing songs or dreaming of Duran Duran to be bothered..

Deadcake said:

I don't remember what either of them was any more. A lifetime of using neither one just proves how useless that stuff was to me - obviously I'm not in a scientific profession or anything

tinaz said:

glad to see youu wizzes braggin

after next semester i have 3 semesters

of nothing but MATH and will be contactin you

with shedules and instructions...

BobGeorge909 said:

tinaz said:

Bullshit.....both of yall use both of them on a daily, maybe even hourly, basis. Uve u ever walked diagonally thru a location instead of going to the corner and turning, Pythagorean theorem(a combo of algebra and geometry) ? Ever deduced what your account account balance by the amount of a purchase? have u ever figured there's more regular/normal people then there are extremist? That's a parabola....kind of... Algebra and geometry are kind of like parts of speech....we all use them, usually correctly, we just don't know what it all called.

I knew how to cut across a field before I ever took algebra. Most of the stuff that you mentioned is surely stuff we use or do, but most of it is common sense and didn't require a class to learn it.

However, I definitely support high levels of math for ALL our kids. The thinking processes they must develop to solve problems is what will really hellp them in the real world.

Maybe finding the area under a curve isn't useful to many people, but knowing how to think in a way that makes that possible is useful to everyone.

tinaz said:

When I paid attention in class I understood both.. But I was usually to busy passing notes or writing songs or dreaming of Duran Duran to be bothered..

I was too busy repeatedly writing things too and being unable to turn my mind off MJ...it didn't help that my after school tutor was an mj fanatic too with a bigger collection than mine at the time, and he was nice enough to lend me some stuff after I begged and he was being possessive Was already into him for years, and he had the missing stuff I needed!

BobGeorge909 said:

tinaz said:

Bullshit.....both of yall use both of them on a daily, maybe even hourly, basis. Uve u ever walked diagonally thru a location instead of going to the corner and turning, Pythagorean theorem(a combo of algebra and geometry) ? Ever deduced what your account account balance by the amount of a purchase? have u ever figured there's more regular/normal people then there are extremist? That's a parabola....kind of... Algebra and geometry are kind of like parts of speech....we all use them, usually correctly, we just don't know what it all called.

I have never ever used a formula like 2a x 3b (5a+3b)=44 EVERRRRRRRR in my adult life! Just like Rodeo said, I knew diagonally was a shorter distance before I ever went to school.. And figuring out whats in my checkbook is called general math... Its the formulas we are talking about, not basic math skills!!

I love both! I even enjoy tutoring kids in them both now.

Probably prefer algebra though since I didn't like doing the stuff that required a graphing calculator in geometry.

I was much better at algebra than geometry! I had to take the math regents 3 times because I sucked at geometry so bad I did get a 95 on my 3rd try at least

tinaz said:

BobGeorge909 said:

tinaz said:

I have never ever used a formula like 2a x 3b (5a+3b)=44 EVERRRRRRRR in my adult life! Just like Rodeo said, I knew diagonally was a shorter distance before I ever went to school.. And figuring out whats in my checkbook is called general math... Its the formulas we are talking about, not basic math skills!!

I think yall think algebra and geometry r far more complicated then they actually are. I probably came across wrong. Admittedly I sounded assholish. My point is yall shouldn't sell yourselves short. If u know it, u know it. Pancakes r easy to make. Is there a way to make a complicated pancake...a crêpe even....sure...u still know how to make the pancake if u can crêpe or not. In my head I was feeling positive but I came across like a dick...I'm sorry. U probably do that kind of bolded stuff in your head not even thinking about it. Does it look like homework with all the steps written out...no...is it always accurate. Usually accurate enuff. I see a situation like I have 44 dollars and my kids news underware with it. 5 pair at 5 dollars for draws...2 pair at a dollar each for panties...but each kid is gonna want a snack from the snack bar and things there r like 3 bux...what can I scare up. U been there? [Edited 5/8/12 16:53pm]

I get cha now!

Thank you for the apology, but I didnt think you came off as a dick... Maybe a hairy sweaty ball, but not a dick..

Christ, I did get A's in spelling edit!

[Edited 5/8/12 17:06pm]

I was so lost in geometry

tinaz said:

Once I got the hang of trigonometry, I really liked it, but once we got to trigonometric functions, I was so lost and no amount of help could revive me. Anything that required drawing on graphs after 10th grade lost me, though I could handle triangles okay. I forgot all about graphic calculators, don't know how I survived using that thing!

I sucked at both of them.

I did use to nail art and English/creative writing, though...

I did really well in geometry.

But it really depended on the teacher for all my math classes. I literally went from A to F when I switched teachers in 10th grade Algebra. And my amazing school never asked why a student might go from A to F. They just let me fail.

NDRU said:

I did really well in geometry.

But it really depended on the teacher for all my math classes. I literally went from A to F when I switched teachers in 10th grade Algebra. And my amazing school never asked why a student might go from A to F. They just let me fail.

That's what happened to me. I got really good at it from middle school through grade 9 getting A's , and suddenly got bad marks and nearly failed in Grade 10 and got help with it since until grad. I could have stopped taking it, but wanted to be a teacher at the time and wanted to include math, though it brought my average down to B when it could have been B plus or A at the end. My teacher in Grade 10 was giving quizzes on homework everyday and I thought that was very unfair cause I had trouble with understanding the homework and lesson and had no way of getting help yet, and I was motivated to do well but was set up. I was so relieved when she went on maternity leave, and I ended up passing with a cool teacher and a tutor helping few times a week. But ever since I couldn't do it like before and believed I was horrible at it and lost my ability to understand all units, and I worked better with numbers than graphs/pictures with the exception of a few units. Geometry got harder, and functions are the devil

When I went back to my highschool reunion, we got a tour by the principle. They had just rebuilt the school and only a small part of the original school was left (Thank goodness.) Anyway, we where waiting for this tour when I asked the group to raise their hand if the had any use for algebra in their lifes right now. Nobody raise their hands. Then the Principle busted in on how vaulable it is-yada yada-To which when he was done. I said that I did use it daily.

I did well with both. I struggled with algebra at first by getting an F. But I took the class over with a different teacher and got an A. I didn't like the first math teacher at all. And my parents where completely lost at Algebra-so no help there.

NDRU said:

BobGeorge909 said:

NDRU said:

I did really well in geometry.

But it really depended on the teacher for all my math classes. I literally went from A to F when I switched teachers in 10th grade Algebra. And my amazing school never asked why a student might go from A to F. They just let me fail.

I did well untill trig. I got A's untill then. My teacher was middle eastern. I don't remember exactly what country, but I suppose he hadn't been here long because his accent was so fuckin thick I couldn't understand it. And the fool wrote in chicken scratch...all I had was the book. It was a lost cause. Sorry Mr. Hattar, just telling the truth.

Yes, trig was the class I went from A to F.

Then the next year, in pre-calculus I went from A to C when I got another teacher second semester. It's just not right!

kewlschool said:

When I went back to my highschool reunion, we got a tour by the principle. They had just rebuilt the school and only a small part of the original school was left (Thank goodness.) Anyway, we where waiting for this tour when I asked the group to raise their hand if the had any use for algebra in their lifes right now. Nobody raise their hands. Then the Principle busted in on how vaulable it is-yada yada-To which when he was done. I said that I did use it daily.

I did well with both. I struggled with algebra at first by getting an F. But I took the class over with a different teacher and got an A. I didn't like the first math teacher at all. And my parents where completely lost at Algebra-so no help there.

I'm really beginning to believe with age and time that maybe math isn't hard, it all depends on who is teaching it and if it's hard, they don't explain it well. What they have in their head and how they express the lesson verbally is different.

One thing I really enjoy are logic puzzles, that's how I have math in my life as an adult it's fun and passes time