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Not in my right minds

NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
edited November 2010 in General Banter
Something happened to me. Something bad. Yesterday I had a math test that, at first impression seemed too easy. On the other hand, it had two exercises ( out of four) which you could have resolved either if you were a maths genius , either if you learned mechanically. Well, the thing is, that I had the exercises solved in the notebook, tried to memorize them, but at the test, I nearly failed (I was also feeling really sick that day, and I went to school just to do the test ). I came to the conclusion that I can't learn anything right now. And I got six months to work really hard to prepare for the final exam ( high-school graduation exam) and the College admittance exam. My "cup of tea" ( you know the old story with the cup filling , as the new disciple said to the master what he knew) is already full, and if I add one more drop of ...tea...it will spill. What should I do ? I tried to calculate and recalculate strategies of learning..but...nothing...

Comments

  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    edited November 2010
    At high school level, there's nothing you can't learn in one all-nighter. Especially something like high school maths... it's all logic, all you need to do is know the rules.

    I don't understand what the problem is. Are you saying you don't think you can learn everything in 6 months or what?
  • DogStarDogStar
    edited November 2010
    NomaD Buddha wrote: »
    Something happened to me. Something bad. Yesterday I had a math test that, at first impression seemed too easy. On the other hand, it had two exercises ( out of four) which you could have resolved either if you were a maths genius , either if you learned mechanically. Well, the thing is, that I had the exercises solved in the notebook, tried to memorize them, but at the test, I nearly failed (I was also feeling really sick that day, and I went to school just to do the test ). I came to the conclusion that I can't learn anything right now. And I got six months to work really hard to prepare for the final exam ( high-school graduation exam) and the College admittance exam. My "cup of tea" ( you know the old story with the cup filling , as the new disciple said to the master what he knew) is already full, and if I add one more drop of ...tea...it will spill. What should I do ? I tried to calculate and recalculate strategies of learning..but...nothing...

    Take it easy Old Mate. :)
    Big deep breath.
    Exhale slowly.
    Bite off bite sized bits and before you know it, you'll have eaten the lot.
    Yum! :)
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited November 2010
    ShiftPlusOne wrote: »
    At high school level, there's nothing you can't learn in one all-nighter. Especially something like high school maths... it's all logic, all you need to do is know the rules.

    That's the problem...if I try to learn it logically, meaning that I only learn the rules , which I've done, I only cover like 50% of the matter. As for the rest, I see myself forced to learn things by heart in order to promote the exam ( and after that I will forget all I've learned by heart).
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited November 2010
    Dog Star wrote: »
    Take it easy Old Mate. :)
    Big deep breath.
    Exhale slowly.
    Bite off bite sized bits and before you know it, you'll have eaten the lot.
    Yum! :)


    I don't have time to breathe. Parents and teachers together make my life a hell. And on top of that, I can't eat bite sized bits, when I have to cover all of the matter I learned in high school in six months :(.
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    edited November 2010
    What do you have to learn by heart? There are lots of little tricks to memorize things. What are the specific topics you're doing? Calculus I am guessing?
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    edited November 2010
    Seriously, stop panicking. You have 6 whole months. What's stopping you from doing it right now is thinking you can't. Maths may look complicated, but it's actually really easy once you understand it.
  • karmadorjekarmadorje
    edited November 2010
    This one is easy to fix. I am serious. The key to learning anything is repetition. Memorize the rules that you need to know one by one. Go over them in your head in order reciting them out loud. Then go do something else for five minutes. Then try to remember them all again and recite them again. Keep doing this until you have them all in your head. Don't worry about the big picture, it is just made up of lots of small parts. Memorize the parts and they will begin to work almost automatically within you.

    Try this with any small problem for a couple days. I think you will be surprised by the results.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited November 2010
    If you can get them, the best approach is to work through old exams from the same course, under exam conditions. When it comes to learning mathematics, whatever exercises you do, go through your work and document your mistakes carefully afterward. This approach is described in detail in Misteaks and how to find them before the teacher does, and it worked like gangbusters for me.
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited November 2010
    ShiftPlusOne wrote: »
    What do you have to learn by heart? There are lots of little tricks to memorize things. What are the specific topics you're doing? Calculus I am guessing?

    Yep, calculus it is !
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    edited November 2010
    Feel free to add me on MSN, I'd gladly help. I've done all of that high school stuff and advanced maths at uni, so I should be able to recall everything. If there's something specific you're struggling with, just ask.
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited November 2010
    ShiftPlusOne wrote: »
    Feel free to add me on MSN, I'd gladly help. I've done all of that high school stuff and advanced maths at uni, so I should be able to recall everything. If there's something specific you're struggling with, just ask.

    I'll do that, thanks ! :D
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    edited November 2010
    My daughter has not found mathematics easy to grasp - she is always looking for the other angle and as a deep thinking individual she finds it difficult to accept there can be one process which reaches a correct answer ! - lol ( wonder where she gets that from !) Finding a tutor has been very helpful and she has acheived a good understanding since having weekly tutoring sessions - good investment for me as a mum.
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited November 2010
    I found a tutor,and he explains things really well. The problem is that I can't absorb any information at this moment, and my brain just rejects any ammount of useful school info ( that can (only) be understood mechanically, not logically).
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