im so terrible at maths :(.

LegacyUser

Hi i would like to go to college again next year and educate myself.I been before and had to drop out because i could not grasp the basic notion of maths in the subject.I have a terrible problem with maths.Im so bad i cannot even do basic multiplication or division.Even adding or subtracting numbers leaves me to freeze up and stare into space in confusion.

The last college course i did i was given remedial support but i was so bad i even struggled at that.

I was hoping to do a business course but maths in it seem to be complex again.I am in my early 30's and have worked my life but would love to have an college education.Is there any hope for me or should i give up?.

greenprincess

Most courses will have some element of maths in it. You'll need to just work really hard at it or do a couse that has very little maths in it

Taltos

Can you go get grinds in the specific type of maths you need for the course?

Failing that - as harsh as it is maybe you need to rethink the course or maybe speak to some of your tutors.

Well people always say you should pick your college course on the basis of what you like the most, and if you really have your heart set on business then you should go for it, maybe in addition to getting some tutoring/working on maths at home beforehand.

But slightly more realistically, business would seem to me to be a very maths-involved course, would there not be something else you'd like to do where the basic level of maths needed isn't quite so demanding?

You say you would love a college education. Maybe it's not your maths that's the biggest hurdle but rather the course choice? If business is important to you than there's no point doing anything else; you'll just have to get some maths help in the lead up to the college year, but if it's not so important to you then maybe you could make life a bit easier for yourself and choose something else?

symbolic

Im so bad i cannot even do basic multiplication or division.Even adding or subtracting numbers leaves me to freeze up and stare into space in confusion.

Could you get some grinds or "1 to 1" with someone and focus on Maths for a while. Have someone explain patiently and effectively the basics of maths from the ground up with no other distractions (other subjects), putting all other subjects on hold until you get comfortable with those basics in whatever way is necessary.

I definitely wouldn't give up.

cafecolour

Can you do complex math with a calculator, or is it even the concepts?

Business is math intensive - financials, algorithms for determining resources, efficiency, etc. Most of it is done in excel, but you need to understand the concepts.

You can get by without math in some language-based courses (English language/literature, communications, Irish, foreign languages) and maybe some fields of history. But honestly, even most social sciences will require some math in the form of statistics.

So you can try and do something language-based, or you can, as stated by other folks, try and redo basic math.

Firetrap

If you're as bad at maths as you say, maybe you should have a re-think about the course you want to do. One of the most important things anybody can do is to identify their strengths and weaknesses. I'm speaking as someone who's pretty terrible at maths as well; it meant that when I was picking university courses, I steered well clear of ones that I knew I'd struggle with. Why put yourself through the misery of doing a course that you're ill-suited to and will struggle to do well in? Would you not be better to pick something that suits your talents better, you'll enjoy and will do better in? The same applies to the sort of career you have your eyes on after you finish college. Life's too short to do something you hate, especially if you can do something about it.

token56

If its something you really want to stick with,

http://www.khanacademy.org/

this is a pretty brilliant site when it comes to maths and helping people learn. Everything is there starting with the basics, look at the developmental maths section for this, and go the practice tab on the top to do some examples.

But if its something you really struggle with like others have said maybe re think what would be best. My advice for anyone thinking about going to college or applying for a course is apply for whatever you think you will enjoy the most and which you have a genuine interest in. If you enjoy something and are genuinely interested in it, learning becomes a lot easier.

mikemac1

Buy the racing post and head to Leopardstown for the day, you'll be working out odds, getting sharp and doing calculations in no time

Anyway, the grinds is something to look into. There's someone in your area who will be doing them and you can work out a plan and go at your pace.
Might get expensive though so haggle hard over the price, especially if you're going to book multiple sessions

LegacyUser

hopelesscase1 wrote: »

Hi i would like to go to college again next year and educate myself.I been before and had to drop out because i could not grasp the basic notion of maths in the subject.I have a terrible problem with maths.Im so bad i cannot even do basic multiplication or division.Even adding or subtracting numbers leaves me to freeze up and stare into space in confusion.

The last college course i did i was given remedial support but i was so bad i even struggled at that.

I was hoping to do a business course but maths in it seem to be complex again.I am in my early 30's and have worked my life but would love to have an college education.Is there any hope for me or should i give up?.

Have you been assessed by an educational psychologist? I was utterly hopeless at Maths - I got an 'F' in Ordinary Level in the LC (they didn't have the LCA then). I went to college as a 23-year-old (mature student), did really well in my final year, won a doctoral scholarship and now have a PhD. The trick in my case was to find the subjects I was really interested in, and focus on them. Somebody above advised you similarly. That's really solid advice.

As it happens, the LC was a load of overhyped nonsense in my case, even though at the time I went into a huge depression, felt humiliated and hopeless. However, the reason I would ask have you had an educational psychologist assessing you is that despite my obviously poor awful at Maths, I was always good at that rather different and much more useful thing: sums; adding, subtracting and the like. I was thrown by equations etc, never by sums. And the reason I'm asking about the psychologist (there could be a more relevant professional) is also because he/she could identify your problem and all the colleges could then get their 'Assistive Technology' expert to find a software which has been developed to help you overcome this. These people certainly have several really helpful programmes for people who suffer from dyslexia (TextHelp springs immediately to mind) which has made the life of dyslexic students so much easier. I am certain there are similarly developed programs for people with maths difficulties, although I currently can't recall them. If you want to study Business, I would make it my business now to investigate the IT learning supports available to people with difficulties in maths. A simple Google should tell you much more.

On the other hand, I never encountered a single mathematical equation in my entire time in university. Perhaps focusing on your strengths is good advice, although I can certainly see the personal motivation one might have in tackling and putting to bed old ghosts which have undermined one's confidence. I'm currently doing a degree in a language which I also got an 'F' in in the LC and it's so much easier now that my confidence is much higher. Focus on building your confidence first, and that usually means focus on the areas where your natural ability is strongest.

Best of luck; it all gets easier!

seamus

I am not a doctor of any kind and this is very strictly not a diagnosis of any kind, but difficulty with maths which is as severe as yours would indicate to me that it's something more than simply being "hopeless".

Dyscalculia is a learning difficulty specific to maths, particularly around the simpler concepts of addition, multiplication, etc. It's typically described as "maths dyslexia" to describe the nature of it - it doesn't mean that you're stupid or incapable, it's a specific learning difficulty which can be overcome with specific training methods.

If you're in your 30's then it's likely that any such difficulties would not have been spotted when you went to school and instead you were just written off as "hopeless".

I would urge you to get in touch with the Dyslexia association of Ireland that I've linked to above. They can give you advice on getting assessed (to see if you have a specific learning disability) and from there finding people who can help you overcome it.

Again, not a diagnosis, you may not have any learning disability. But with remedial assistance, most people should be able to grasp the fundamentals. So the fact that remedial tutoring could not help you, says to me that before you do anything else, you need to get assessed for a learning difficulty. Otherwise you could be wasting your time getting more tutors or grinds or whatever.

Janet1986

I'm the same OP

Useless at maths

I need ordinary level leaving cert maths for the job i want to do.

I sat leaving cert maths last year and failed it. :eek:

G-Money

I'm atrocious at mathematics myself. I can work stuff out with a calculator and do basic addition and subtraction in my head but that is it. I've always been bad with numbers. I'm from the north and when I was doing my GCSE's I was put in the basic maths class and I remember my teacher telling me the highest grade I could get was an E which is what I got. I remember her saying I did well as it was as highest grade I could have got in that class but I told her "yeah, but it's still an E".

Anyway I've not tried to do anything about my maths skills since, although I have considered it from time to time. I live in Dublin now so I don't know what the education system is like here but I've seen adverts on the TV up home for courses aimed at adults who've got bad mathematics skills and the like. Is there something like that you could look into in your local area?

While I believe I'm not great at mathematics, in a way I feel the teaching system for me was a little flawed. I reckon I could grasp the concepts now if I sat down and studied them for a while. My overriding memory of being taught mathematics in school though was the subject being explained very quickly and within about 10 minutes, us being given examples to work out and I still hadn't understood the theory part.

Good luck with things.

Neyite

Op, I am hopeless at maths - always have been, probably always will be. I suspect that I have some form of Discalcula but never bothered being diagnosed. I can just about use a calculator, and developed tricks to figure out how to work out what 20% off was in the shops, but I still dont know most of my times tables and if you asked me to do long division manually, I would struggle.

Yet I am studying accounting. I do see that the rest of the class grasp the new concept quicker than I do, but I just work harder, and get it eventually. I grasp computer programs quickly, and have became a bit of a whizz on Excel doing formulas by self-teaching, because I can see the "why" behind it, so I know I am not stupid. If its theoretical, I am lost.

Depending on the business course, Accounting is the most likely form of sums you would encounter. I would suggest that before you sign up to a business course, borrow a maths/accounting text book and see if you can get your head around the first few chapters - I found that if the books didnt explain it, I turned to another book or even you-tube or online resources to find someone who explained it clearer. I got brilliant grinds in first year, but now I'm too poor to afford them so the interwebs educate me instead.:p

They actually encourage you to use calculators over doing it in your head or manually, because under time constraints in exams the potential for human error costs you valuable marks. I would suggest that you see if you can meet a tutor in your intended college to discuss the maths element of any course you are interested in. Discuss your concerns and see if you think it is do-able with a bit of extra effort, or if its a course you should avoid.

LegacyUser

Hi OP!
I lecture 3rd level business and maths.

There's a couple of ways of looking at this:

Firstly there is a severe problem with the way maths is presented and taught at second level in this country. There has been a huge shortage of second level maths teachers so people who are not really qualified to teach maths to LC level are being put in charge of large classes. This is resulting in more and more students opting for foundation level maths, then finding that this is not acceptable to the majority of 3rd level institutes when applying to the CAO. This is being dealt with and a new maths initiative has been launched in most secondary schools already and new third level programmes are being designed to make maths more appealing and hopefully bridge the gap in the shortfall of qualified maths teachers.

Secondly you are choosing a programme with a high intensity of maths built in!!! You are looking at studying Accounting, Business Maths and Statistics at least depending on the programme you choose. I haven't met you, and it's possible that you may be strong enough to pass with some assistance, you can contact the access officer in your college about this, however from what you've described I'm guessing that you have failed your LC maths. This of course doesn't exclude you from acceptance under most mature applicant schemes, however I wouldn't be accepting you on my programme without at least FETAC maths. Take 1 more year to do at least a level 5 FETAC programme which includes a maths module and I guarantee you that it will make all the difference.

Conor108

token56 wrote: »

If its something you really want to stick with,

http://www.khanacademy.org/

this is a pretty brilliant site when it comes to maths and helping people learn. Everything is there starting with the basics, look at the developmental maths section for this, and go the practice tab on the top to do some examples.

+1 to this!

example

LegacyUser

Hi all thank you for your replies some very good info there.Getting assessed would it be possible to have it done on the med card?.Last time i thought about getting assessed i was quoted a good bit for the test.

I know realistically due to how bad i am i would have to avoid courses with maths involved but i can say i went back to college and educated myself.

David09

Kinda similar story here. I left school after junior cert and went working in a factory doing a repetitive job.

I wanted to go to college and study but everything was against me, especially maths as I was extremely weak at calculations, etc.

I applied for engineering courses that I had aspired to do and was turned down. The advice given was to go do leaving cert as a mature student.

I defied this advice, well slightly. I enroled in a foundation access course at NUI Maynooth which was aimed towards mature students which were early school leavers and may not have the necessary requirements for a third level course.
It took up an extra year for me but was really well worth it as everything was explained from total scratch.

At present, I'm in my third year of an engineering degree course which at one time I had thought would have been almost impossible for me to do. I still struggle a little with maths but with practice I overcome it.

The way I see maths, (rightly or wrongly) is like a set of rules and instructions. One isn't expected to know the answers outright but how to apply the rules and follow them and therefore get the answers.

If you need any info regarding course contacts, feel free to pm me.


Best of luck..