Which subject was the biggest challenge for you when you were a student?

@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
March 21, 2013 12:57pm CST
And how do you feel about that subject today? Do you still find it hard? Did you try to improve your knowledge about that subject after you left school? I took a math class last year. I have always been quite good at languages, but I am not good at math, and I decided to take a math class because I wanted to become better at math (especially things like budgets, currency coversion when I travel and recipe conversion). I am also very bad at physics and chemistry especially chemestry, and the chemitry assignments that we had at nursing school were a big challenge for me. If I read it really slowly and try to understand one thing at a time I can handle the basic chemestry assignments, but it will never become one of my favourite subjects!
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18 responses
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
21 Mar 13
In school, it was woodcraft and sports. I'm not very practical, so I managed to ruin the electrical saws and I don't like ball-games. Sports mostly consisted of football, handball etc. Also, I don't like running. I wish there had been more things involving strength. At university, I didn't really like quantum physics. I don't think I really got the point with the Hilbert space. I've been thinking about re-reading some of the books to see if I like it more now. Also, for some reason, optics. Which is weird, 'cause I like acoustics and you can use many of the same methods.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
24 Mar 13
At my school woodcraft was a compulary subject in the 6th grade. I was not good at it. I had to make a dish mat out of wood. It was supposed to look like a fish and on the drawings the fish was round, but I kept making mistakes and when my dish mat was finished it was not exactly round Today I usually avoid woodcraft. I didn't like sport lessons either. I like to play badminton or tennis, but our teacher loved soccer, handball and basketball. I didn't enjoy those things and I have never been good at them. I wished that we had been able to do other things like badminton, but our teacher preferred the team sports like soccer.
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
25 Mar 13
For some reasons, those who teach sports seem to like team sports. I don't like team sports, unless my team has four legs and fur and smells of horse :-) They have added quite a lot of things now, dancing, skiing etc. We did them but they were never graded when I went to school, now you have to do it to get a grade. I think I'd prefer dancing to handball and especially to basketball. I hate basketball with a vengeance. As for woodcraft, I'm quite good at chopping would etc but I never make anything anymore. As a Norwegian, I have to be good a chopping wood I suppose, especially after we've been made famous by a night long program about firewood. *hehe*
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@jiiiiin (586)
• Philippines
22 Mar 13
Mathematics and its branches is the only one that is a challenge to me. I am doing good to all the other subjects but only mathematics gives me headache. Mathematics is the only subject I am failing too.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Mar 13
I feel the same way about math, and that is one of the reasons why I recently decided to take a math class. I wanted to get better at everyday math, because I sometimes struggle with math in my everyday life for instance when when I have to convert a recipe or when I have to add some prices in a shop. I am extremely bad at calculating in my head and that is annoying sometimes. I can see from this discussion you and I aren't the only ones who struggle with math. In the responses several other people have also mentioned math as a challenging subject.
@anklesmash (1412)
21 Mar 13
At high school I found languages ok to begin with so I decided to take french at GCSE. But when I took it at GCSE I noticed a big increase in difficulty and I found it very difficult.It was the subject that I did worse at in my exams only managing to get a D grade when for my other subjects I got mainly B's.I also found chemistry pretty challenging but I worked really hard as I was good at biology and physics so I believed I had the potential to get a good grade overall,which I did an A*.
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• Philippines
21 Mar 13
Math definitely!!! I already knew even when I was in the primary years that I was having a hard time with numbers. It took time before I am able to understand anything to do with them. I was always good at languages and history. I could go on and on talking about this and that in class but when it came to Math I just got so tensed and felt so insecure. I had a very nice Math teacher when I was 9, then I started loving it until I got to high school and started not getting anything at all again. I hated my teacher so much because I thought he ruined it. In college, I had a little bit of Math subjects like Algebra and Business Math. My Algebra professor was solving problems so easily. He was so calm and so relaxed. But when it was my turn to do it then I'm gone. Until now, I hate it. I don't really need it in my job so why bother. It is just not for me. I have seen friends and other people who could do it with so much fun. But not for me at all.:)
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
24 Mar 13
We have something in common because I am also good at languages and math is a challenge for me. I am especially bad at calculating in my head, and it is almost a little embarrassing sometimes because I need to use a calculator all the time instead of adding the number in my head. I decided to take a math class some time ago because I wanted to improve my everyday math skills. I am still bad at calculating in my head, but I have learned other things that I can use in my daily life. I know that I am never going to get really good at math and I understand what you say that it is not for you at all. I feel that way, too. The math class helped me in some ways, but I think math will remain a challenge for me.
@doroffee (4222)
• Hungary
21 Mar 13
Definitely Physics. I don't really have a mind for science... but OK, I could do with Biology or Chemistry. Maths I struggled with for a bit, but it was OK. But Physics... OK, I didn't have too bad grades, because I studied for it really hard, but I did not understand it at all, and nor do I now. For me, all those physical actions and stuff going on in the world, I just can't imagine them, let alone understand. And the physical-mathematical tasks... I was like, give me a break, I don'"t understand anything from it.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
24 Mar 13
Physics is definately not one of my strengths either. From the 7th to the 9th grade physics was a compulsary subject when I was a student. I was never good at it, but the funny thing is I didn't get a bad grade. Our teacher had to evaluate our performace in the lessons and give us grades according to our performance, but he never learned our names. I got a good grade, I wasn't good at the subject at all, but he didn't know who I was I remember all of the physics experiments that we had to make, we had to predict what would happen in those situations but like you found it hard to understand the things that happened or predict the outcome.
@csauer17 (33)
• United States
21 Mar 13
Math was always my hardest subject, mostly because I'm dyscalculic. I took an special help math class which helped me pass but sadly never really helped me completely understand. I still struggle with math today. Language arts and history were always my strongest subjects.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
25 Mar 13
Based on the responses in this discussion I can see that quite a lot of people find math hard. I am also one of those people. I am extremely bad at calculating in my head. I need to use a calculator in situations where other people wouldn't need a calculator. I am also really bad at converting things in a recipe and I need help to do that. I have always been good at languages, but I think that math will continue be a challenge for me. The extra math class that I took helped me a little, but I don't think that I will ever get good at math and I have accepted that.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
21 Mar 13
There were three subjects that I hated at secondary school: Maths, Science and Physical Education. I was successful at asking the head teacher if I could stop doing Science. I did Religious Education instead and passed that subject in the exam at 16 years old. I wished to become a teacher. I had to have a grade C or above in English which I did and Maths which I didn't. I went to a Maths evening class and amazingly got the grade C to get me on my university degree at university. In my teacher training we had two terms of Physical Education training which I hated. Maths and Science were core subjects that we had a lot of. The Maths was useful for teaching children in a fun way. I found the Science lessons boring but did excellently in the exams due to reading all the books. I still find Maths hard. It is easy at level I teach though. In my first few years of teaching I found Physical Education lessons challenging. I read up on the topic before I teach Science.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 Mar 13
I think that it is great that you were able to do Religious Education instead of science. I don't think that would have been possible in my country. Science is compulsary even if you choose the language line in high school. We had a subject that was a combination of math, physics and chemistry and that was my worst subject. Most of the language line students hated that subject. Did you have a lot compulsary subjects during your teacher training or were you able to create your own combination of subjects? In Denmark you have to choose 3 subjects and one of them has to be Danish or math, but aside from that you are free to choose the subjects that you want for instance geography, history, science English, German or physical education.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
23 Mar 13
hi porcospino. we are in the same boat. i'm really bad at math...simple math, algebra, trigonometry, calculus... anything and everything with numbers, i'm definitely not good at. which is funny because i got accepted to a highschool which specialized in math and science subjects. i guess i was good enough in science to pass in that school! lol! my strongest subjects, in fact my favorite ones, were english and history. at this point, i don't think i'll be taking any classes soon on any math subject. i did entertain thoughts about possibly taking up a master's degree but let us leave that for another discussion. cheers and happy mylotting!!!
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@Frederick42 (2024)
• Canada
27 Apr 13
Mathematics was the biggest challenge for me. Even now, I find mathematics difficult. It is not only difficult, I do not like mathematics either. Sometimes, it happens that we find a subject difficult, but we love it nevertheless. But in the case of mathematics, I hated it and also found it difficult.
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• Philippines
22 Mar 13
Statistics and other math-related subjects. I still feel kinda weak at it but at least, I am not graded for it anymore. I hate studying for any math-related exam because I get bored easily and I can’t seem to make it more interesting for me. Ike you, I ma bad when calculating in my head and I always run the item twice to make sure I’m doing the right thing.
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@hunibani (720)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
Pathophysiology - was the biggest part and my favorite challenge in my college year. Its so tricky, complicated but in the end you would appreciate how it is done. A headache but worth learning. xx
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 Mar 13
I studied pathophysiology at nursing school. I found it hard but also interesting. I am not very good at that kind of subjects, but fortunately I was in a studygroup and we were able to help eachother.
@meumeu25 (917)
• United Arab Emirates
21 Mar 13
Physics and chemistry. I kind of hate and love them. I hate them because I don't like the teacher because she has favorites in the class and love them because it is challenging, we had to memorize the chemical table although I already forget most it now, while physics involves math which is my favorite subject.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 Mar 13
My situation was different from yours because I had a good relationship to the teacher, but I disliked the subjects anyway. They were too much of a challenge for me When I went to high school the Danish high schools were divided in two lines and we had to choose between the science line and the language line. I knew straight away that I was going to choose the language line, because I like languanges and I am quite good at them. I find science much harder. The students on the language line had a compulsary subject which was a conbination of math, physics and chemistry, that was my worst subject.
@Raine38 (12391)
• United States
21 Mar 13
I think that would have to be analytical geometry and advanced calculus. But I ended up dealing with numbers, stats, and projections because I am an Accountant now. Back then, I always feel nauseous and scared of the professor. But now, I still reel over the numbers and the formula but since there will be no more grades and report cards I am not as scared as I once was. Only an angry boss if I didn't turn in a good work.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
24 Mar 13
It is interesting that you ended up working as an accountant. Sometimes there is a difference things between of our experiences as a student and our experiences at work. I had a professor like one you described. I was scared of him (and so were most of the other students) He talked to us in a really bad way and often made fun of us if we made a mistake. He was good at his subject and he knew so many things, I have to admit that, but I never enjoyed his lessons at all and he made me very nervous. He taught Latin and later on when I became a nursing student the things that I had learned in his lessons very useful for me. I never imagined that during his lessons.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
Science subjects particularly Physics. I don't know if its the teacher or I just don't understand how everything else about it works. But when I was in college, I made sure I won't end up studying Physics again because I'll surely fail. So far, I haven't encountered Physics again after I graduate in highschool.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 Mar 13
In high school we had a compulsary subject that was a combination of math, physics and chemistry. That was my worst subject. At that time the high schools were divided in two lines. I had chosen the language line, but I couldn't avoid that subject. I almost felt sorry for the teacher, because most of the students from the language line hated that subject and we weren't very enthusiastic Like you I knew that I didn't want to study physics after a highschool. I would have prefered to avoid chemistry as well, but that was part of nursing school so I had to learn it.
@jazel_juan (15746)
• Philippines
22 Mar 13
During high school years, i love Science - chem, physics, all of related to science and i did struggle with Math, i guess that has something to do with my mind set that it is HARD. when i reached college, i was amazed as to how i find math easy lol.. weird but i did excel with it and was able to solve things that fast! so i guess it has to do with how i think. I took up BS Economics and it has a lot of math in it too so it was quite hard.
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@tkonlinevn (6438)
• Vietnam
22 Mar 13
No subject challenged me when I was student. When I studied at university, I hate Java subject. I learned it hard. Now, I still hate it :D
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@jdawg011 (498)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
What is your major? Nursing? Calculus is definitely my biggest challenge. I'm not sure if it is truly difficult for me, but the amount of work it requires is ludicrous! I never keep up on my assignments because they are not worth marks, they are for practice, but then I fall behind and have a difficult time catching up.
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• Philippines
22 Mar 13
When I was in fourth year high school I had a hard time with Physics and Math. I didn't have any problems with Math before and had decent grades in it, but I sort of lost interest in fourth year. No, I don't find it so hard right now anymore because I've regained the lost interest. Right now I wish I had paid more attention to the subject.Maybe I could have done better. Math and Physics were also the reasons why I wasn't an honor student during graduation. My other grades were fine. I also have difficulties in PE, because I don't like PE.
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