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Author | Topic: Math classes... |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Is it just me? Every single math class that I take is completely borring. I used to sit in the back of the room and read books (sci-fi and fantasy of course) but then the teachers started getting mad as I progressed. In seventh grade, my class was un-able to understand for 2 months why x + x is 2x and why x*x is x^2. In algebra no body knew what the heck the pythagorean theorum is. I just sit there with our 80 year old math teacher (retiring this year) starring at the black board, and then I ace the tests. Is it just me, or is every math class like this? ------------------ IP: Logged |
GameMaster Assimilated ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 429 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I am currently in a situation like that. Since I changed majors to Computer-Science, I have to take a diffrent college allegbra from the one I'd already had... It is still the same stuff that I had since 8th grade.... Find the slope of the line, factor 2x^2+4x+2, and the like. The problem is that so many people are taught to fear numbers by their their parents fear of numbers (and the fact that you don't need to know the definition of i to do the kinds of jobs that most people have. The other thing is the way that children are taught math, they don't move fast enough. What grade did most people learn to multiply? How long was it before they taught division. The other thing that bothers me is that in the lower grades they sugar coat it "I need a number that I add to 3 to get five," so when they see x+3=5, they can't just "2" they have to go "What is x? This is math not english." Now, in college algebra, the other students are having trouble with word problems.... Why do math if not to solve real problems? Why weren't we all taught with realistic word problems instead of "Johny has apples" and "Three times a number...." Which are just as simple to translate as "You have 1000 in your acount and you need to buy carpet for a room whose dimentios are... Will you bounce the check? If te bank pays the overdraft and chages intrest of...." So that non-geeks have a reason to like math (money!!!). Personally I think that we geeks should use our math skills to swindle these math-phobics, teach them to love math and get rich at the same time. I wish math had moved a lot faster, I have sat through the Since I am thinking about it: I have this problem, I think a lot of geeks do, I only do what is required of me (the bare minimum) unless something excites me or challenges me. I typically find myself falling behind in homework because "I know it already," because I have a high retention. I wish there was a way that I could find some challenge in doing a million problems that have no meaning (Why do I care what X is if it is just the answer to number 27? and who cares if sally does the same work as John in twice the time?) I need a way to make it motivate myself to do the problems that seem meaningless... I guess the major reason I'm not the top of the Dean's is because I am too arrogant, I need to see a reason to apply myself beyonf just what I need to do to pass... "Hey, I got code to write, you solve for X! I already know how, give me something harder." I am done ranting. ------------------ IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: lol.... i use factor pad on the palm for factoring, our teacher won't shut up about it and i did a php app for quad. formula... hahahah actually, lately though i have been lucky, i have math last period of the day, and my math teacher is getting angered by the heat and is giving out detentions by the barrel, and at least he realizes that i know how to do this stuff better than he and has been sending me to deliver detentions to people. what really gets me annoyed is they made me take this damn pre algebra class. it was practically algebra, it had 95% of what we did in algebra (repetition, great, and now i find i'll be doing the same things in college... great....) ------------------ IP: Logged |
Janeway Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 299 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() GameMaster, I totally agree... The school system (not just the math) sucks. When I was in first grade, I had already started teaching myself the multiplication tables, even though the rest of the class was still on adding two-digit numbers.. and most of them could not tell you that four quarters equalled a dollar. In sixth grade, I wanted to take pre-algebra (since all we were doing in math was the same as the year before, which was the same as the year before...ad nauseum) but the principal wouldn't let me, said I had to be at least a seventh-grader, so I checked out books on algebra and started teaching myself algebra. Unfortunately, by the time seventh grade did roll around, math was the last thing I was interested in...and unfortunatly, things stayed that way till I got to college and started programming...and suddenly understood why stuff like functions and matrices(sp?) were important. I wish I had paid more attention in my high school math classes, though... And can you believe my school didn't even offer Calculus?!?!?! I could go on about other curriculum flaws... I absolutely hated Reading...but I read constantly on my own all the time and by fourth grade I was reading on a college level... Science, in junior high I got really into rocket engines, antimatter, quarks, photons, etc. I was convinced I'd be the first to find the top quark...lol, not your typical junior-high fantasy. Oh, how I loved Discover magazine! At first, though, I was convinced it was all a hoax, since we'd never learned about any of that stuff in school...but the more I read, I realized that it was real--and I wondered why the hell weren't the teachers telling us about all this cool stuff. Meanwhile, they were teaching science that should have been taught in elementary... I won't even get into the subject of social studies, except to say that one year my mother taught our history class (due to a teacher shortage that year) and she was, by far, the best history teacher that school has ever seen... (Even if she did cast me as Mahatma Gandhi in one of our class skits. That was embarrassing!) The rest of the history/social studies teachers SUCKED. ...English was okay, we had a really good teacher who was geniunally interested in the subject she taught. She also encouraged creative writing, which, IMO, was not only fun, but very important in developing language skills. Let's see... PE sucked, all they ever did was play basketball...not even a respectable sport like soccer or volleyball, or *Heaven forbid* a non-team sport. Our computer class was a joke. The teacher did not like the fact that I knew more about computers than she did. One day she asked me to find out what was wrong with one of our word-processing programs, so while everyone was at lunch, I sat there at the computer, figured it out, and fixed it. When she got back, she yelled at me, "I could've fixed it, I just wanted you to find out what was wrong with it." WTF? ... and I won't even go into what life was like being a geek in those school halls...one word, HELL, sums that up pretty much. Anyway, due to my schooling experience, I've decided my child(ren) will *never* set foot in a school, but instead will be homeschooled. Just my ten cents worth. IP: Logged |
quantumfluff Uber Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 872 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Am I missing something here? Why are CS majors (e.g. GameMaster) taking algebra in college? Why is anyone in the sciences? That was taught sometime in 8th through 10th grade when I went to school. My kids are seeing the same thing. By the time anyone interested in the sciences gets out of high school they have taken Calculus, or at least pre-calc. Is my school district that far above the norm? If so, then it's a real shame. BTW. I totally agree with GameMaster that word problems should be based on things that people will someday really use. The carpet problem was a perfect example. I think part of the problem is that curricula are designed by "educators", but the people we pay to actually help our kids learn are "teachers". Our society likes to think they are one group, but they are really two sets of people with very different motivations. IP: Logged |
GameMaster Assimilated ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 429 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() QF, new GERs... To do real math I have to take stuff I've already taken b/c not every high school grad has what they need. When I took placement tests, I took the one for college algebra (thinking pre-calc was college algebra) and now it's just easier (cheaper and less run-arround) to take it in a summer semester (3 weeks to cover 14 weeks of matrial... Which is killing everyone who should be in the class.) I plan to be done with the calc series by Fall of next (2003) year. This fall I take the first of the calc series. I am way behinf in math classes (though I know the stuff) because I was a music major for 2 years. As for the state of the school system, the survey of science and history are ineffective... The sciences are taught in the wrong order (my high school taught them in this order: earth science (What the ????) bio, chem, physics). Personally I think that the sciences should be started earlier, be precluded by a philosphy class (covering among other things the mind/body problem so the students know they can learn about the outside world) followed by Physics (the most basic and fundimental of the scinces) then Chemistry (which will naturally follow) and lastly Biology (which should eliminate the need for "HEALTH" class). I think that push kids by getting them intrested instead of punishing them for acting out when the teacher's are too boring (granted, there is a place for dicipline, but the runaway medication and suspention (yeah, that's a real punishment... "You were bad, you get two days off"). My problem isn't that I can't do the math, it is that I can. I just don't see the value of preforming the same operations on different sets of problems for the simple reason of "solving for x." I guess it is the programer in me that says "why do the same work twice, when I can just run pass it through function f. Besides, the ability to write an abstraction, such as a program or function to complete the pattern (problem solution pair) should demonstrate that I have the mastery over the subject to do the higher thinking involved. The machine will just do the lower level thinking a lot faster than I can and is less likely to forget to carry a one. Perhaps for my exam, after I'm done with the actual test, I'll write the code to do the things we've covered and a breif rant about that very thing.... nah, I'll just spend some time teaching CS and spreading this philosophy to the next generation. Following that, I will write a popular program and retire off the royalties ------------------ IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() now this is just terrible.... i'm the only one in 2 algebra classes who was able to finish our final... very scarry IP: Logged |
TheAnnoyedCockroach Highlie ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 560 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I'll be... An algebra related thread and Twinkle Toes hasn't posted to it... ------------------ IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: yeah, and it's been a while tooo now IP: Logged |
AnyoneEB Newbie ![]() ![]() Posts: 6 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "what really gets me annoyed is they made me take this damn pre algebra class. it was practically algebra, it had 95% of what we did in algebra (repetition, great, and now i find i'll be doing the same things in college... great....)" ilovemydualg4, what are you complaining about? You know very well that you took a test to see how well you could learn algerbra and got under a 90, you're just mad that others *cough*me*cough* got to skip pre-algerbra (not that getting to take Algerbra I sooner is good...)
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ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: yeah, we learned bases bac then too, and i wrote a basic program to do it... lol and dan, i was absent the day of the placement, and the damn math person (benevinto or watever) wouldn't let me take the placement (remember, i was absent a lot that year? i thought the year was worthless) ------------------ IP: Logged |
AnyoneEB Newbie ![]() ![]() Posts: 6 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ok, that's why. BASIC? ha I wrote a pascal program to do it :-D. ------------------ IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: yeah, and the pre-algebra teacher gave me chocolates (when she monitored the hallways and was eatign expensive chocolates i comented that she shouldn't be eatign in the hall... and she gave me one she gave me doughnuts and soda tooo for helping ppl.... re to pascal: pascal sucks anyways, and i only had a basic compiler ------------------ IP: Logged |
AnyoneEB Newbie ![]() ![]() Posts: 6 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "yeah, and the pre-algebra teacher gave me chocolates (when she monitored the hallways and was eatign expensive chocolates i comented that she shouldn't be eatign in the hall... and she gave me one ![]() There: a reason to take pre-algerbra ![]()
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ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() this just makes things even more disturbing..... this 80 year old math teacher apparently has a tatoo my english teacher (im damn sure she wasn't lieing) said that he has a tatoo that says "math matters" very scary ------------------ IP: Logged |
Twinkle Toes Highlie ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 506 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote:I hadn't because it's too much writing for my pleasure ![]() Now if you'll excuse me... ------------------ IP: Logged |
GameMaster Assimilated ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 429 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() BASIC COMPILER!?!?!?! sheesh, hope it was a Vissual Basic program, else what do need a compiler for? Q-basic doesn't need a compiler, but you have to run the program through Q-basic, but you can do that with a batch file like this: @echo off Programing in Pascal isn't impressive, because it is such a "high" level language that the code for most mathmatical functions is easy to write. I'll be impressed when I see one of you two write an Assembly Program that solves diferential equations, or lists information about quadradic and logrithmic functions. ------------------ IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: /me has a mac, i use future basic which the camp that i used to go to "purchased" for "me" lol now i do the things on my visor or my ti-83+ and i can do them with out the teacher knowing ------------------ IP: Logged |
GameMaster Assimilated ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 429 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Ah, Mac, that does explain it. ------------------ IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: oh yeah, my username doesnt express it ------------------ IP: Logged |
FatGnome Super Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 239 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I took college algebra this last semester for the easy A and besides I never finished algebra 2 in high school. I am not as you may have heard in other posts a math class person. I never get bad grades in any of my math classes except one that had the requirements of algebra 2 to get in and when the prof said I asume you have all been through advanced calc I dropped it. I will now take the same class again because I have gotten to know the prof and he said if I didn't understand anything to come to him and he would help me out. That was a class called discreate mathmatics. I guess if you have been through calc you are used to all of the terms he used but he says he explains them as he goes along so that even if you haven't had it you can understand what he is talking about. This Discrete mathmatics class is a prerec for C++ so I have to take it either paralell to or before C++ and since I will be taking that next year. (easy class I have been told that I should fly through as I know most of what they teach in there by a guy I learned C++ from a book with) I hate vectors btw even though I have never gotten one of those wrong and Geometry should be banned in civilized countries =-) j/k but I do hate it. IP: Logged |
GameMaster Assimilated ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 429 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() C++ II is the class my university uses to weed people out with...It's not hard stuff(for anyone who can program), but it is a TON of work... The big project at the end is The MUD, which I understand is going to published and sold for other Universities to use... After you get done with the MUD everything is easy. ------------------ IP: Logged |
Migrant Programmer Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 263 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Yeah, bad teachers suck.. I had a teacher like that in grade 8. But don't let it get you down! If you want more interesting things to do in math, you have to look for them.. there must be a good math teacher in the school, seek him/her out and ask for enrichment material. Maybe your grandpa teacher will notice you doing advanced problems while sitting in class, and figure it out =). Here are some contests you might want to try for next year (at the least, the practice problems and old tests are a good challenge): At my university, CS is part of Mathematics, and a Math/CS degree requires a Math core of: Besides the CS courses, those do a pretty good job of knocking out those that are not mathematically inclined -- and we actually use some of the stuff we learn in them for later courses =) IP: Logged |
ilovemydualg4 Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 309 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() yeah, there is some sort of local math contest, and I was part of our school team last year, and we did great, but this year we don't have a team ------------------ IP: Logged |
GameMaster Assimilated ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 429 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Here Math is part of Engineering, and so the major only math requires are: Stats, Calc I+II+III and Discrete Inforamtion Structures... Personally, I want to get a team together for Top Coder and ti work on a certian speicail project... ------------------ IP: Logged |
EngrBohn Uber Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 822 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() One of my professors this quarter is *boring*! I need some theory credits, so I decided to take a couple classes from the Math Dept during the summer -- One in combinatorics, and one in cryptography. I was warned that attending lectures by the combinatorics professor is about as exciting as watching astroturf grow. And it's true. And looking at the syllabus, the first half of the class is graph theory (which, by necessity, I'm quite familiar with), and it's almost enough to make me want to count ceiling tiles. (sorry -- just had to express that) ------------------ IP: Logged |
Migrant Programmer Alpha Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 263 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() quote: Oh yeah? I had a boring and crappy prof for an ENTIRE term of Graph Theory! Take that! Some of the bad profs I've had: Some of the great profs: IP: Logged |
neotatsu Super Geek ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 150 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() aye, I hate public school systems..I've been reading at college level since I was 7 years old, and I was always in the top of the class in math classes..since last year I've been doing things with Gamemasters point of view...I just can't stand to do such pointless things...I've given up on highschool english too...I only wish my school district would let me take creative writing as credit for my senior english next year, but they won't...*sigh* oh well, one more year to go, then it's all over...unless I get into a college that's the same way...there should be some way to prevent such things from happening to geeks, but then there are VERY few below my generation that are geek....it's sad, we're a dying breed...though I think it skips a generation, my grandpa was a lit geek, but my dad is dumber than shit, and I am a G.O.T. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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