ok so im failing math....?

Question

i am an honors student in my skool and im failing math A...oh but wait im not the only one...17 other people in my class are failing in this subject...im doing pretty good in my other subjects but not math..i have told other teachers but they dont listen....the teacher cannot teach and i have asked for extra credict but he says no...what should i do now??

Answer 1

Make sure you let your parents know what's going on, and that you've tried to get extra credit, so that they don't get surprised when your report card comes out. They can also talk to your teacher and try to help you out. Maybe you can get someone to tutor you. Math is hard if you don't understand the way your teacher teaches it. You may need someone to explain it to you another way. There is usually more than one way to solve a math problem, and sometimes one way makes more sense than another. Ask your teacher or your parents to help you find a tutor. They can't fault you for getting a bad grade, if you're truly trying to do better.

Answer 2

It takes a lot of work, but students have a lot of power if they use it correctly. First, be respectful, or no one will take you seriously.

Second, GATHER INFORMATION. There may be a lot of things going on that you are unaware of. Have you made an appointment to speak to the teacher privately? If not, that is the next step, no matter how distasteful it may seem. Don't make it personal, make it about the subject. Ask how they explain so many people failing. Ask about last years classes.
Have a specific list of questions written down or better yet, memorized. And read between the lines.

Sometimes teachers get "stuck" with classes by their bosses - I was an excellent chemistry teacher but I had an idiot (not even a science teacher) for a supervisor - one year she scheduled me to teach a biology course, and when I objected that I didn't know the first thing about bio (I had it in ninth grade, twenty years before lol) she said, "just do it, you'll be fine." I had to write a letter to her superior, pointing out that "I'd love to do it, but it happens to be illegal, due to certification issues, so could I please be reassigned back to chemistry".

So what I'm saying is your teacher might be in the wrong place because he/she has no choice. This does not excuse bad teaching, but it may affect how you should approach the problem. Find out how long has he/she been teaching at your school and what level classes? It's kind of late in the year now, but see if last year's class had the same complaints. Get someone a year younger to go to a guidance counselor and say, "what do you think about the different math teachers, I am trying to decide what to take next year."

Next, get together with two or three others and form a well worded, respectful petition. Maybe ask for a group meeting with the Principal, but make sure you have all your information.
You can't just say "our teacher sucks, so we are all failing" you need SPECIFIC EXAMPLES. Does the teacher assign homework problems and not go over them in class? Is he always looking in the "solutions manual" or just reading you the answers? Does he make his own tests or use the books?

Finally, run it by your parents and get them involved. They can forces a meeting with the principal, but they will probably need to meet with the teacher first ( which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Finally, be prepared to cover your bases, and answer some tough questions - have you been doing your best since the beginning of the year? Did you seek out help as soon as you started struggling? Have you been behaving properly in class? Do you do all your homework and follow directions? If you are on shaky ground on any of these, but still think it is the teacher, make sure you have evidence to show that it was more the class room environment that was making you not do well.

Lastly, were you in the right class? Advanced math, like chemistry, is not for everyone. One year the guidance councellors decided "everyone should take chem, it helps them get into college!" WHAT A DISASTER. In any case, even if you get a passing grade, I suggest you backtrack the following year in math. Much better to have a firm background than to just "push on". good luck, hope this was helpful

Answer 3

Your teacher doesn't sound like a very good teacher...but there's not very much you can do about that. I'm very happy for you that you're doing well in your other classes, but math is a difficult subject because the material is cumulative. Often, new concepts build on old concepts. If your basic understanding of math isn't good to begin with, then it will be very difficult for you to learn anything advanced. My suggestion is then, that it won't be enough for you to try hard and do your math homework. You need to get extra tutoring to build up your math foundations. You don't have much time left in the school year, so I don't know how much help it would do but what you could do is hire a private tutor. A private tutor would probably be more patient with you and willing to help with the basics. Math also takes a lot of repetition, so don't get discouraged if you have to do a lot of practice problems before you start to understand it.

Answer 4

hun go to your school counslor and see if you can change math classes. In JH and HS i wish i would have wisened up and switched math classes cause im struggling a little in college with it. In college there is always at least 1 math class to take if not more and now is the time to be on your P's and q's. If my suggestion doesnt work then get all the failing students to sign a request for another teacher because his/her teaching style isnt working out.

Answer 5

First of all stop focusing on others who are failing in your class, you should strongly talk to your parents about this teacher because they may infact not know how to teach. Believe me i've been in that situation. Ask your teacher when they can stay after school so you can have some 1 on 1 time and study.
You can do it!

Answer 6

that's the same situation i'm in
i'm in honors and i still get an a
he way i do it is that i ignore the teacher
then when i get home i read the lesson
over in the book a bunch of times
it kinda helps that i like math though

Answer 7

I know how you feel. I've had my share of sh***y teachers and honestly, I've never found a solution. Maybe go talk to your councellor or complain to the vice principal. Something's got to be done with those retarded teachers out there.

Good luck.

Answer 8

I'm not a math person, either. I passed every math class I ever had by the skin of my teeth. I feel your pain.

Answer 9

My math teacher is an idiot to. i just cheat in his class.