{"id":84,"date":"2005-06-14T20:50:41","date_gmt":"2005-06-14T12:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/?page_id=84"},"modified":"2014-05-27T12:26:56","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T04:26:56","slug":"ten-ways-to-survive-the-math-blues","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/ten-ways-to-survive-the-math-blues","title":{"rendered":"Ten Ways to Survive the Math Blues"},"content":{"rendered":"<ol class=\"postList\">\n<li><img src='\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2012\/04\/earth.jpg' alt='Earth' width=\"123\" height=\"121\" style=\"float:right; margin-left:5px;\" \/><strong>Figure out the Big Picture: <\/strong>Find out why        you are doing this math. How does it fit with your other        courses (science, geography, English, engineering)? You could do  some Internet        searches on the math you are studying and include        &quot;application&quot;. Get a sense of where you are        going and why you are doing this. Mathematics is        compulsory in most of the world - there has to be a        reason...<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get on top of it before it gets on top of you.<\/strong>        Yep, mathematics is one of those things that builds on        prior knowledge. Yet many students learn things only for        an examination and then promptly forget it, setting        themselves up for later difficulties. Learn for the        future, not for tomorrow's test.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Read Ahead.<\/strong> It is strongly advised that        you read over next week's math right now. You won't        understand it all, but you will have a better sense of        what is coming up and how it fits with what you are doing        this week. Then, when your class goes through it later,        your doubts and uncertainties will reduce - and you will        understand and remember it better.<\/li>\n<li><img src='\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2012\/04\/book.jpg' alt='books'  style=\"float:right; margin-left:5px;\" \/><strong>Use more than one resource.<\/strong> It often        happens that you can't follow the teacher's explanation and your textbook is very confusing.        Borrow 2 or 3 textbooks similar to your own from your        library and read what they have to say about the topic.        Often they will have a diagram, a picture or an        explanation that gives you the &quot;Ahhh - I get        it!&quot; that you desire.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don't join the Blame Game.<\/strong> Teaching        mathematics is tough. Teachers really have to work hard        to make math fun, interesting and engaging. It is easy to        blame a teacher for a bad grade, but who is really        responsible for <i>your<\/i> future?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Practice makes Perfect.<\/strong> You don't expect        to be able to play guitar or drive a car without        practice. Well, learning mathematics (unfortunately)        involves some slogging away and doing exercises. Don't        get bogged down, though - use your other resources to  help you through the homework.<\/li>\n<li><img src='\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2012\/04\/clock.jpg' alt='clock' style=\"float:right; margin-left:5px;\" \/><strong>Time Management.<\/strong> Start homework        assignments as soon as you get them. There may be some        things on there that you haven't done in class yet        (because maybe it is not due for a few weeks). That's        good - it helps to focus your thoughts so that when you        are doing that section in class, you know that it is        important and you'll know what you don't know. Nobody        plans to fail - but many fail to plan...<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don't fall into the trap of copying from a friend        to survive.<\/strong> They probably have the wrong answer        anyway. Besides, a lot of students resent being asked for        their assignments for copying - they are too afraid of a        ruined relationship to say no. Hey, you can do it - have        the confidence in your own ability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Never, never give up.<\/strong> Math uses a        different part of the brain than most other things in        school. It can be stressful when you can't figure out        something. Work on something else for a while and come        back to it later.<\/li>\n<li><img src='\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2012\/04\/smiley.jpg' alt='smiley' style=\"float:right; margin-left:5px;\" \/><strong>Keep a sense of humour!<\/strong> Don't lose the        ability to laugh at yourself and your own mistakes.        Mistakes are not the end of the world - they are the        beginning of real learning!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/images\/HOME.gif\" border=\"0\" width=\"30\" height=\"27\" alt=\"home\" style=\"position:relative; top:6px;\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/\">Interactive Mathematics<\/a> for free math lessons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"alt\">See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/ten-ways-to-survive-the-math-blues#comments\" id=\"comms\">48 Comments<\/a> below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fear math? Here are 10 useful tips to survive your next math class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}