Students who do not do well in school
@Happielady85 (384)
United States
March 5, 2013 8:31pm CST
I feel very bad for students who try to do well in school but because of some learning problem they seem to fail in certain subjects like Algebra. Infortunately, Algebra is a required subject. I feel bad whenI hear of students who drop out of school because they fail in their Algebra class. Some of these students who fail, really try hard, but this subject seems to be difficult for some students. It bothers me when I hear these students get so discouraged, they drop out of school. Some of them join gangs and get into trouble. Unfortunately, teachers are sometimes to blame for kids not being able to learn. I feel that this is not always the case. Some kids try hard but they have learning problems. Being a retired teacher, I know that there are special classes for these type of students. Not all students who fail Algebra have learning problems. Something should be done so that students who have trouble with one particular subject will not choose to drop out.
5 people like this
16 responses
@jiiiiin (586)
• Philippines
6 Mar 13
I can relate to those students who have failed even if they tried their best. I am a sophomore college student and taking differential calculus now and guess what my prelim grade is? I got a failing grade, well all of the class where I belong has a failing grade. No one has passed the differential calculus subject. It's really hard to learn a subject if the professor is not willing to teach us well. Of all the subjects I am taking now, only mathematics subject is the one where I am in trouble. I HATE MATH!
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
YOur not alone 'JAY' lots of people hate math. Elementary teachers are trying to make numbers more logical by saying for example the number 25 is 2 (10's) and 5 (ones). When I was a kid Math was a lot easier. None of this breaking down stuff. I'm sure glad I went to elementary school at the time I did. And by the way, you can't always blame the teacher. Teachers have to folllow certain rules if they want to get a good rating.
@jiiiiin (586)
• Philippines
6 Mar 13
I love mathematics when it is just pure numbers, like 1+1 2+2 and I got awarded best in mathematics when I am on pre-school. But when I entered to high school and started to find the "x" of "y" (algebra) I started to hate it. I am thinking, why do we need to study the other branch of mathematics? We didn't use them to our daily lives right?
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
7 Mar 13
YOu are so right. There are a lot of subjects that we have to take, but it is not necessary in our daily lives. Language for example. I took a semester of French. I thought it was a pretty language, but I NEVER had to use it. I guess, when I think about it, knowledge expands our peronalities. The more you know, I guess, the more you want to know. Sometimes you may not like a subject, but later on you realize that it could be interesting. Maybe eductaion is wasted on the young. I hated Political Science and I still don't like politics, but now thst I'm older I like it better.
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
That's interesting. I lilked Algebra, but not Geometry. YOu fall asleep because you're bored, huh?
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
6 Mar 13
I hate Math, Algebra or whatever subject that deals with numbers. When I was studying. I was wishing this subject does not exist anymore. I am not really that bad in those subjects but it is just that I hate them. They don't interest me at all. But it is part of the curriculum so I had no recourse but study more on the subject so I won't fail.
I think the best way to avoid dropping out is to study the lessons whether you like it or not. There is nothing hard if you study and give your full attention to it.
I think the best way to avoid dropping out is to study the lessons whether you like it or not. There is nothing hard if you study and give your full attention to it.@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
YOu have a good point there, salonga. This is true of everything. If you have a job that you find difficult, you have to do the very best that you are able to do. You can't complain about it either or you'll get fired. This is the same with school work. If you complain, the teacher can give you a bad report on EFFORT or whatever is marked on your report card. One advantage of really puttiong your best foot forward is that others appredciate it and admire those who try their best....this is true in everything that we do in life.
@celticeagle (166911)
• Boise, Idaho
6 Mar 13
These learning disabilities need to be addressed. And , if they really want to suceed, they need to get a tutor. I think there is always a way if people really want suceed.
@celticeagle (166911)
• Boise, Idaho
6 Mar 13
Yes, feeling good about trying our best is a plus. Must keep a positive feeling about ourselves.
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
Very true. You have to put your best foot forward in everything we do in our lives. It also is gratifying to know that we did the best that we could. If nothing else, we can be proud of ourselves for trying our best. By knowwing thagt we did the best that we could, we can erase inferior feelings that we may have about ourselves.
1 person likes this
@ARIES1973 (11426)
• Legaspi, Philippines
6 Mar 13
Hi happielady!
In our country, the grade of a particular subject is being divided in to several parts, the attendance, participation, examination, character. If I am not mistaken, examination is 40%.
So in my analysis, even if a child is not good in a particular subject, there is a possibility that he/she can pass as long as he/she fulfilled other requirements.
Although having a tutor can really help.
Have a great day!
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
I think that's great---I wish they would have that system here in California
@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
6 Mar 13
Hi,
The students who fail in Algebra have some learning problem or they have fear in their mind about this subject. They need one teacher who should teach them softly and try to remove the fear of this subject. I think these students require soft and kind teacher rather than strict teacher. Some students who have less grasping power will not score more marks but they can pass in this subject. But they should get perfect teacher.
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
Let's put it this way, no one is perfect, but they should be able to perform better if they want to get good results.
@checkmail (2039)
• India
6 Mar 13
Hello Happielady85 and think do know an solution to the children's problem failing in Subject of Algebra.
They might be trying to do it directly means only technically and not willingly(from heart)somehow make them enjoy calculations, let them love calculations first than they would start to like a little more complex calculation(maths magic) and thus finally can be able to concentrate properly on algebra.
The children's should learn step by step, they can(hard-work) but their mind won't jump directly to any subject.
For instance we learn first A-Z than we learn to form Words from it.
Try to make small part of the current equation and later add it to get the complete equation solved, there is your solution.
Hope this helps.
@Happielady85 (384)
• United States
6 Mar 13
YOU have a good poin there, checkmail. It's difficult for student to like every subject though. We all like some subjects better then others. the best thing to do is to be able to get at least a passing grade. Students have to work harder on the subjects that they find difficult.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
6 Mar 13
I was never really good in Math. And I admit failing in Algebra, too. SO what our school did was give removal exams so that we may be able to redeem ourselves. Luckily, after such exam I was able to pass. But really, dealing with that subject was so hard. That is why I always tell my kids that they should study well most especially in Math. I can teach kids any subject regardless of the level except Math.
@AidaLily (1450)
• United States
6 Mar 13
I LOVE math. I am going into a math related field - accounting. Algebra wasn't that hard. Calculus was admittedly confusing.
No the first class I ever got a bad grade in was English. I was born in the USA, english is the only language I know and yet somehow... it felt like a different language to me. I picked up on speaking foreign languages easier than I could figure out the english language especially with grammar and the like.
I had to get an English tutor in my junior year of high school to help me with writing papers and the like. I can read very well, but I can't quite speak very well or have an odd way of speaking.
@TrinityDownpour (790)
• Liechtenstein
7 Mar 13
Maybe teachers should try a different approach in teaching their students. Each student has different way of understanding so maybe a different approach might help.
But the type of students you are talking about are the students with special needs right? To me Algebra is a lot of practice, I think the student might do better if they have someone to guide them and they did tons of Algebra practices.
@doroffee (4222)
• Hungary
6 Mar 13
I think every child should be made to take a test to notice learning difficulties. After that, the teachers should actually care about their students, especially in subjects where you don't just have to learn data, but you have to have a sense for that, and if you don't, and you don't get enough help, you're doomed. The teachers should offer free consultation and help and stuff like that.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
6 Mar 13
Most kids here seems to do bad in school because they dont like school. many teachers need to make it fun for kids to learn these days.
@Mavic123456 (21893)
• Thailand
6 Mar 13
In some areas I know some subjects are not part of the curriculum anymore. These subjects are just going to be taken if a certain student would want to pursue studies in Engineering and other math related professions in the future. Some instances I know in Australia, students in High School level were taught subjects that will help them productive and where their talents are inclining. this has been a long time debate though whether school should force students to learn subjects like this.
I agree with you these subjects may cause frustrations to students, thus leaving them no options but drop out. sad to know this.
@silverfox09 (4708)
• United States
6 Mar 13
I think not everyone is made for academic and sometime if we look more closely we will see that we have different skills to offer . If we fail something we should always revalue our self and see if we are doing something wrong are that is not what we are meant to do .
@else22 (4317)
• India
6 Mar 13
Now I am not a regular student.I have completed my graduation and am doing my own business.Initially I was a back bencher.Teachers treated me as an average student.I was good,or rather the best in my class in literature[Hindi literature],but extremely weak in maths.When I failed in the fifth class,my eldest sister gave me a book in which there was an article on the life of Dr.Shrinivas Ramanujan,the legendary mathematician.The article was written so nicely that it inspired me to study maths.I studied maths on my own.No teacher was there to help me.Still I fetched the highest marks in the class.
Algebra was introduced to us in class 8.I found it very interesting.Our maths teacher was not good at teaching.I now think if good teachers are appointed to teach students maths,the students would develop an interest in maths.Much depends on the teacher.
