From spcraleigheas: throughout the year, math has been extremely difficult for me. i often find myself calling myself dumb and an idiot and the work just makes me wanna kill myself. i dont know what to do. i’ve tried summer school, after school tutoring, homeschooling, NOTHING FUCKING WORKS.
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From listening2day: I can so relate. Back in the day, I was told “you are capable of doing better”. “You should be good at math.”
And to be fair, looking back, I probably was not bad at math; just didn’t come easy to me. And other things surely came more easily.
And, when I got to college, even graduate school, I had to take more math! D:
Looking back, in my case; I really don’t think my teachers were presenting it in a way I could understand it. And when I was in college and learned it could be used to learn about things: how physics works, predicting and seeing trends in statistics? I can’t say it was easier for me but it was more interesting.
And? I think sometimes back in school, I wouldn’t do so well because I would stress myself out about it. Which would make things worse.
Not being a math whiz; I have no other suggestions. But I know I would literally write down steps on how to solve types of problems. Then make lists of the “math rules” to just have in one place I could check; when I forgot. And when I recognized the problem at hand; I would just methodically work through my steps. It took longer, but eventually I got a bit better at it. And it helped. So I had to sort of invent my own way to work through it.
Hang in there. It can be challenging learning. For sure.
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Hi there spcraleigheas,
That’s so valid – math IS hard! But, as you likely know, this doesn’t mean that you’re any less brilliant than your classmates – it just means that you need to put a bit more effort into this difficult subject than others.
A fun fact: I worked at a summer school for the past two years and teaching staff were generally assigned to teach subjects that they hated in middle school. Why? Because those challenges promote stronger understandings and growth in the long term, even though it sucks in the short term.
But guess what? None of the above really matters right now because right now math sucks. And I can imagine how much it hurts to feel like you’re banging your head against a wall as you try to solve these seemingly impossible math problems! Plus, you’re putting in the effort to seek external resources, which is amazing, but can just make things feel more hopeless when the results aren’t what you’re hoping for.
This is all a really long convoluted way of saying that what you’re going through is tough, but you aren’t alone in it. It stinks right now and may feel hopeless, but you still will be able to push through it and surpass these challenges.
Wishing you all the best,
Tuna
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Hey there, I’m really sorry to hear that you’re struggling with math and the impact it’s having on the perception of yourself. Math can definitely be a super frustrating subject and please know you’re not alone in having a hard time with it. I can understand how easy it can be to blame yourself and take it out on yourself when perhaps those around you seem to understand math more easily. I was always bad at math and was put into classes specifically for people who were bad at it, which made me feel dumb, especially being surrounded by people who were inpatient with me and made my relationship with math worse. While our situations are in many ways different, just know that I understand on some level what you’re going through.
While math isn’t for everyone, having a teacher, mentor, or tutor that is patient with you can make you much less harsh on yourself as well. But at the same time it’s easier said than done to be kind and gentle to yourself, especially as you learn a subject that is especially challenging. I know you expressed that this makes you want to kill yourself, and I just wanted to say that if you ever reach crisis, you may want to consider reaching out to one of these crisis lines. Please know that there are people out there that love and support you, and your life is worth far more than the frustration of learning math.
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