talking with the rents

[HondaRacing83]

ive got a bit of an issue here. My parents are like REALLY strict about grades. im in algebra 1, which is accelerated for my grade. im in accelerated science to. in my school, science in math go together, accelerated one, accelerated both. last year i did OKAY. in pre algebra. made the cut by getting the exxact percent in math i needed, and science i have no problem in. have an a in it this year, had an a in it last year. im failing algebra right now. i have been since the beginning of the year, im a good student, i take notes, do all my homework, and just bomb tests. highest grade ive gotten on a test is a C. if my parents new this, theyd kill me without a good expanation. i wanna drop back to pre algebra, its easy all i have to do is go to guidance and they spit me out a new schedule. my parents wouldnt be so agreeing. i was grounded a lot last year for getting a c in pre algebra. i study, and bust my *** in that class and still dont understand a damn word of it. i dont see the point in taking this class and keep getting punished for something im not ready or capable for. i dont know how to approach them and propose the idea of dropping down a math level, which pre algebra is acedemic for my grade. but this would mean id have to drop accelerated science to, which i dont want to but id have to. they are gonna flip out the minute i say im failing algebra, they think im capable of much more and that im not working hard enough, which i am working hard and just dont get it. ill probably get grounded for even telling them about failing, grades close for the first quarter next week to so theres no chance of getting it up to an acceptable level. i studied all weekend, took a test monday and got a 21% on it. teacher said i should stay after school for homework help, well i dont have that kind of time and i dont see the point in dedicating myself and ditching every other activity i have to barely get an acceptable math grade. the standards even higher, i have to have a 90%average to move on to algebra 2. last year it was 80% and i just got it. so what do i do here guys,

[derekhonda]

Well, for starters, I definately would not hide this from them.

Sounds like you are a good student and are taking notes, but just not quite grasping the concept. It happens....

I would maybe go to them and talk to them, tell them that you are trying but struggling. Propose that you are either going to need to drop back to pre-algebra, or you are going to need a tutor or some outside help.

Taking a little initiative like that and a proactive approach ALWAYS works best.

Secondly, if your teacher advised you to stay after, and you didn't because "you have more important activities" then you are dumb. Who do you think gives you your grades? You know how many times I had grades raised in highschool and in college just because the teachers knew me from doing additional study sessions and new I was really, really, really trying?

Thirdly, quit comparing yourself to your other classmates. Just because algebra is advanced for your age, doesn't warrant you a free ticket back to regular math. I'm sure your parents are well aware you are in advanced classes, and I'm sure they enjoy knowing that.

[m0t0xk1d]

Take this advice from a senior this year looking into colleges next year.

Freshman and sophemore year I was took a regular schedule regular classes. I failed english freshman year and failed a pop culture class sophemore year. and to go with it my average grade was about an 85. Junior year was about the same just not failing. Now being a senior I hate it. I wish every single day of my life that i could go back and smarten up and just do the work and get good grades. Im not trying to be arrogant here but I know im smarter than 75% of my class. I got the highest school based math score in a school only wide test 3 years in a row i was just lazy.

now looking into college im really going to get held back. I wont be able to go to a school that I want to or that i could use my real potential too. or even a school that is very good. I have to work my *** off this year to just make it look like ive grown up from being a kid.

If you need extra help get it, advance classes will help you so much when your going into college and how they look at you. take the time to do the work and do it right. High school is some of the most important time of your life. dont mess it up like i did. i regret every single bit of it so much. Senior year in highschool your going to want to be able to apply to any college you want to and know your going to get accepted. i know its stressful and hard now, but when your graduating from a very good college and know your going to have a high paying job lined up in this economy, youll be thanking yourself everyday and thinking it was all worth every second of it.

[bens250ex]

stay after class, sit down and read the chapters you are going over. Practice practice practice. Math generally builds on itself so once you get behind you have to play catch up.

[HondaRacing83]

i do re read the chapters, and i didnt just tell her that. i told her id see if i could arrange something for a ride home.

[CJM]

Please heed my advice, the below could be your future if you dont take control of life now!

Just so you have some background on what Im about to tell you:
Im a horrible math student so bad that I was in the lowest math you could get in HS and only in basic science. Were talking about the math class with like 15 kids in it and a helper teacher. My problem was I cant remember all the steps to do the problem and cant grasp the material. All thru HS I took lower level courses and finally worked my way up only to be shunted by a HORRIBLE teacher and I dropped the class and gave up since I passed the req'd stuff.I was a good student at everything else, but math drags you down no matter what.

When I got to college I had to take remedial courses, it stunk but I did till i got to the real courses (btw you gotta pay for these things and they dont count as your credits!). I finally hired a tutor and worked my butt off. Changed to a 4 year school after 3 years at a community college and had a tutor again cause I had to take more math. I passed somehow but at least I passed

Listen to me when i tell you this:
Im 26, I currently attend a 4 year school part time and work. I finished the math part of the requirements WAY ahead of everything else PURPOSELY. I found out in life that I wish i was better at math, Im just not despite all the studying I did. I chose a career path that doesnt involve math to much-criminal justice. I wish I had been smarter and also took more classes and tried harder both in HS and in college. Cause now when many friends I had have grad and got real jobs I still go...and will still be going till im 28 more than likely. This is pathetic imho but I realized I need that 4 year degree to get ahead. Maybe you dont, but having that paper is your foot in the door in many higher paying jobs. Without it people can and do make it, but it sure as hell helps. It starts in HS, dont be lazy, what you do now effects everything later. Currently I work, attend 3 classes a semester cause I cant afford more and hope to finish before Im 30 ffs. Pathetic I know but sometimes it takes awhile.


Anyways heres the bottom line:
Struggling will get you nowhere. Man up and tell your parents. Like I said they will be mad but so be it.They will get over it. Frig after school activities, bone up on what your having trouble on and try the hardest you can. It only gets tougher as time goes on. I also suggest depending on what career you want that you strongly consider something WITHOUT a mathematical background-lets face the facts, your not gonna be a rocket scientist and you know it-so unless you need it dont take stuff. you have 3 more years to get somewhere-use that time wisely!

Id hire a tutor, drop to a lower level course where your more comfortable and work hard..

[HondaRacing83]

thanks guys. i will tell them, but math is deff. not my strong suit. neither is spanish, but my parents dont really care about any of the encore classes. just the core classes, except shop. my dad cares about that. i really wanna get into machining, but im not great at math, i ddont know how thats gonna work.

[HondaRacing83]

i deff. wanna go to college.

[CJM]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
thanks guys. i will tell them, but math is deff. not my strong suit. neither is spanish, but my parents dont really care about any of the encore classes. just the core classes, except shop. my dad cares about that. i really wanna get into machining, but im not great at math, i ddont know how thats gonna work.

Your parents might be obsessive about grades, some are some arent. Mine knew that I tried alot but was just a poor student so as long as I got a C good, anything higher of course was great. Talk to your parents, make them understand your trying but just cant do it. Like I said they are gonna be mad but they will get over it.

Might not be in the cards for you to go into machining then. My grandfather is a retired tool and die maker (highest level machinist) and he used things like calc and trig all day-to the tune of working on equations (remember no graphing calcs way back) for up to weeks at a time and checking them over and over for errors. He had no real formal schooling (came from WWII europe) but back in the 50's they would teach you. I can understand a little but he has to help me if we want to make complicated stuff.

Anyways perhaps look into another profession your still young and have tons of time to figure it all out.

[wilkin250r]

Math, especially at the algebra and high-school level, is actually really easy. The problem most people have is getting bogged down in the "rules". If you do "A", you have to do "B" to the other side. You have to do this before you can do that, ect ect.

If you can't keep that kind of stuff straight, it means you haven't practiced enough, you haven't done it enough times that it's second nature. It doesn't mean you're dumb, it means you need to buckle down and practice more. If that means after-school tutoring, then so be it.

In my opinion, you need to do two things. First, you need to realize your parents aren't clueless. They've been through it, they know what it takes. They have seen the big picture, and they're trying to get you through it on the best path possible. YOU can't see the best path because you don't know the big picture. They know, they've seen it.

Two: You need to stop settling for "average". Anybody that has hit the real world will tell you, average doesn't cut it anymore. Just floating along on the bare minimum is going to sentence you to a life of struggle and poverty. Do you really want to look back at your life at 40 yrs old, working your a** of for 12 hours a day, in constant pain because you're breaking your back just to afford rent on your 2 bedroom apartment, no toys and no life because you spend every ounce of energy just to put food on the table, all because you didn't think you could find a ride home for extra classes in high school.

This is your first taste of real life, and it isn't even a real taste at that. Real life requires hard work, buck up and start now and you'll come out ahead. Start making excuses now, and you'll be making excuses for the rest of your life.

[beastlywarrior]

Wait what grade are you in? I took it in 8th grade. See if some of your friends in the class will make a study group and make sure you read the book, take notes and do all your homework

[finsteratv]

i took algebra 1 in 7th grade and it was probably the worst for me compared to other math courses. my teacher was horrible! nice guy, not my learning style. i talked to my friends and they had some little tricks. i averaged a B in that class geometry i went from A to C to A and algebra 2 as a freshman has been a B and my teacher is a nut! dont stress. study. find tricks.

[slightlybent47]

Looks to me like you shouldn’t worry about science or algebra and take more spelling and grammar classes! Or at least learn spell check! lol

[Lasher]

Coming from a parent how you handle the situation is more important to me. I see you are already admitting defeat and trying to take the easy way out of a situation.

"I want to change to a lower class I took last year, how do I tell my parents?"

Not everything in life comes easy, and there are times when you need to put in alot of effort and make hard decisions and sacrifices. If you need to stay after school everyday, stay off the internet to study more, what ever it takes....just do it.

Think I can go to my boss and say, "This project is too hard, can I have an easy one?" Yeah...that would go over well.

[lasher45]

Coming from a Senior who has had plenty of situations like that, work harder is the best advice I can give you

I failed math in 7th grade, took summer school, then failed math junior year. However this time I opted out of summer school so now I'm taking the same course this year as I did last year. The only reason I failed was because I didn't do any of the homework and didn't study. Now that I am actually doing my work school is a breeze and I'm extremely close to making Honor's roll for this quarter. This is coming from the kid who failed a handful of classes and never did any work.

Talk to your teachers if you're really struggling that bad. My school has a whole "math lab" program (I don't go), however it's very likely your school has some sort of system to help people after school. If not then make an appointment with your math teacher to stay after school. He/She can't say no.

Trust me, you don't want to have to work your @55 off during your first two years of college or senior year like I have to in order to raise your GPA. Also if you don't fail any of your classes then you can have a free schedule your senior year. All business classes with only English and Math as the only "normal" courses is easy as anything.

Whatever you do, take all the business/accounting/finance related courses available that your school offers. You may not be going for you're MBA/CPA/CFA etc... but it will give you skills that you will actually use in the real world like book keeping, reconciling your check book, different types of bank accounts, investing/saving etc.... You said you're into machining? Well what if you ever decided to open up your own machining shop? Did you know that over 50% of small business fail within the first 5 years? Even a basic knowledge of business can help prevent that.

[400grl]

My daughter began to struggle a bit with math her Junior year, and we caught it REALLY early because I pay close attention to my kids' grades. It's much easier to get caught up if you admit you are having an issue early, than if you wait.....

I got my daughter a math tutor to help bring her back up to speed. The problem was her teacher wasn't teaching in the way she understood things the best.....her tutor presented things to her in a way she understood much better. After about a month of tutoring - twice a week - she was back up to speed and her grades were good again. More importantly - she understood math from that point on.....

I also tell her if she ever feels she doesn't understand something that was taught in class that day, to see if her teacher had any time before or after class to go over anything she didn't quite grasp in that day's lesson. Any decent teacher will WANT their students to do well....so usually they are willing to find some way to help you out.

Good luck - be honest with your parents. Tell them you want your grades to go up as much as they do, and see if you guys can discuss options......

[HondaRacing83]

well, i told my parents. they kinda spazzed out, and chained up my 400 and took my phone and ipod. i actually have a 66, grades end next week for the quarter. wow, there is actually a lot of insperational posts in this thread. im trying to get my parents to set me up with a tutor. i think ill tough out algebra for the year. even though ill most likely have to take it next year to oh well. all my other grades are great, cept for algebra.

[quad2xtreme]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
well, i told my parents. they kinda spazzed out, and chained up my 400 and took my phone and ipod. i actually have a 66, grades end next week for the quarter. wow, there is actually a lot of insperational posts in this thread. im trying to get my parents to set me up with a tutor. i think ill tough out algebra for the year. even though ill most likely have to take it next year to oh well. all my other grades are great, cept for algebra.

What's your number? Was thinking I could talk to your parents about buying your 400ex to help cover the tutoring costs. LMAO! :devil:

[HondaRacing83]

Originally posted by quad2xtreme
What's your number? Was thinking I could talk to your parents about buying your 400ex to help cover the tutoring costs. LMAO! :devil: nice try :p
if your serious it probably will be up for sale soon anyways.

[quad2xtreme]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
nice try :p
if your serious it probably will be up for sale soon anyways.

No, I got enough now already. I was just kidding.

So your parents likely fall into one of two camps. Are they so smart that they could in fact tutor you? Or, are they constantly struggling to succeed and wish they did better in school?

[wilkin250r]

Hell, let's cut out the middle man. Gimme the 400, and I'll tutor you!

[lasher45]

Your parents are way over reacting.

Go get some bolt cutters, free that 400ex up then rip it around at 1 in the morning holding your report card that you lit on fire. That should get their attention :D

Seriously though, they are over reacting. Your a freshman right? You have another 3 years if you really do that bad in math. Not to mention you still have another 3 quarters left in the year.

[honda250xrider]

I would recommened you cut out the accelerated courses. Math in an accelerated course can cause nightmares. If you don't fully understand a concept and move onto another concept it generally sets you up for failure.

I hated math and to this day still hate math. I took the least amount of math while I was in my undergrad and grad that I could.

[HondaRacing83]

i thought they overreacted a bit to, they gave me my phone and ipod back when they calmed down. haha, im deff not gonna rip around at 1am with my burnt report card. i couldnt get it started without them noticing :p so cold blooded! haha they just want me to do well and get into a good college. i understand they only want the best for me, but id think they could lighten up a bit. they could prob tutor me myself. another reason i wouldnt be doing so well, ive been working ALOT lately. mainly just weekend. im never home on the weekends, im always somewhere doing odd jobs mainly cutting wood. ive earned a lot of money actually. this may be a little cold but workings more important than school to me. i need to find a way to balance my schedule with working and school and sports.

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
workings more important than school to me.

You're setting yourself up for a life of hard, hard labor and regrets.

[Scro]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
You're setting yourself up for a life of hard, hard labor and regrets.

x2

[Honda5]

Hay! Don't be down on him because he is having a hard time with school and likes to work. I took all the advanced classes in high school for nothing. I went to college for a few weeks and hated it. Not everyone is cut out for higher education. There are some good paying trades out there.

[quad2xtreme]

Originally posted by Honda5
Hay! Don't be down on him because he is having a hard time with school and likes to work. I took all the advanced classes in high school for nothing. I went to college for a few weeks and hated it. Not everyone is cut out for higher education. There are some good paying trades out there.

Like being an electrician in the coal mines. They make more than the average medical doctor.

[HondaRacing83]

or an underwater welder

[crlt250r]

If I could go back and do high school over again, I would do it right.... In a heartbeat. The real world without the proper education is HELL. I started out my sophomore year in advanced English, science and chemistry, and at the same time, failed pre- algebra through my junior year. Then, started hanging with the wrong folks and " classes" ended up off school property, and consisted of lots o' beer, more beer, pounds of weed, sprinkled with acid and other junk. I dropped out obviously..... Now, I'm a service plumber for a nationwide corporation. Yeah, I made over $100,000 last year, but Damn. I got lucky by never getting caught, but not at 34 years old, I'm a family man, completely clean of the crap that I used to do, and my body is beat!!! Hard labor in the right trade can certainly pay well, but when your body pays the toll, is it really worth the money????

[honda250xrider]

I think money is revelant to a certain extent. If you look at some pro motorcross figures that only make 6 figures and the amount of strain and hurt they put on their body. To them it is worth it.


I know people that have Ph.D's and only make 60-70k a year. This took 6 years of schooling to accomplish and piles of debt. Whereas trades can start out fresh out of school and usually no debt.

Lets make a comparative. Would you trade your 100k year trade job for a desk job that took you 4 years in college and make only 50k?



Originally posted by crlt250r
Yeah, I made over $100,000 last year, but Damn.Hard labor in the right trade can certainly pay well, but when your body pays the toll, is it really worth the money???? [/B]

[crlt250r]

When you consider that by the time I'm 50, after two rotator cuff surgeries, one major knee surgery, thousands of dollars in chiropractive care for a trashed back.... No, I would have definetely gone the desk job route.

Also, to think that anyone will come immediately out of school, get in a trade, and make 6 figures is rediculous. I was supposed to graduate in 95, and its taken YEARS to build the reputation that has warranted the 6 figure position... 35,000 is the average in service plumbing in my area...

[wilkin250r]

You could indeed get into the trades and make $100k, and there's always the option of hitting the lottery.

I'm not saying that making $100k as a plumber or electrician is as unlikely as the lottery, but it's pretty dang close. And I'm sure that crlt250r will tell you, as somebody that has actually DONE it, you gotta put in a lot of hard, hard work to get to that point.

I'm just taking a shot in the dark, here, but I would imagine if he's not willing to buckle down and put in the work now, he's probably not going to be willing to buckle down and put in the work later on in life.

[HondaRacing83]

you can make bookhoo bucks in any union. my dads in the union, and works at th general electric in erie. my buddies dad is in the elctricians union, and my grandpa is in the pipeliners union. all excellant jobs with excellent insurance. anyways, back when i was smit i bet we all know how i woulda faced this situation :p making a "?????????????????" why aam i failing math????????????????????????? thread. haha, but yeah, ive got 2 math finals next thursday and friday. ive been studying my *** off. if i can pull this off theres still hope. i admit, on my part i did slack a little, not in class but not putting the effort forth at home, if i knew i had a test sunday,i wouldnt quit working that sunday just to study. and if i busy one day i wouldnt drop it to study. i probably shoudve. i will from now on. plus its getting to winter, like theres anything to do then anyway :p