Can you like Algebra AND Geometry?

@reinydawn (11643)
United States
November 17, 2007 10:25pm CST
I replied to a discussion about Algebra the other day and it got me remembering when I took Algebra in school. I loved it, I did well with it, and I think it makes total sense to me. Now, Geometry... I had to have a tutor! I do remember thinking that most of the people who did well in Algebra had problems with Geometry, and the other way around also. Which one were you better at?
3 people like this
10 responses
• United States
18 Nov 07
Hi Dawn, I think I was a little better at Geometry. I hated math regardless and either one of them was hard for me, but algebra really did my head in, and I had to take the class over again. :( Also I think it was the teacher I had too, he was foreign and sort of mean. I would ask a question and he would tell me "I just went over that, didnt you take notes?" Im like "thats why Im asking for another example, I dont get it." lol He acted like I was bothering him asking for another example. I passed the second time around with a different teacher. :) Bay Lay Gray xx
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
18 Nov 07
Hey, I barely recognized you!!! Not sure what it is yet, I'll have to take a closer look... I had a couple teachers like that too. They thought they were such great teachers that there was no way you couldn't understand what they were trying to teach you. We all learn differently and a good teacher will try to teach with that in mind.
2 people like this
• United States
18 Nov 07
You mean to tell me you cant see my avatar?? Wonder how come? I can, easily. lol I had up a different avatar once and someone else asked me what it was, they said it was too little too see. Hmmm I see it just fine. I wonder if its the screen resolution or monitor size? Anyway, yeah I didnt care for it, and I had to learn a bit different from the other students. Bay xx
2 people like this
• United States
18 Nov 07
I made it bigger, so let me know if you can tell now Dawn. Id really like an avatar that everyone can see. I REALLY like this one too, its more funny than the bloody typing guy. LOL Bay xx
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157050)
• United States
18 Nov 07
I was much better at 1st and 2nd year algebra. I took Geometry and Trigonometry, my grades looked okay, but I had much better teachers for Algebra, and actually learned the work there. I would have liked to have seen what Geometry and Trigonometry would have been like with a decent teacher.
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
18 Nov 07
I breezed through the Algebras, but just did not get the Geometry. There was NO WAY I was going to try to tackle Trig....
1 person likes this
@blueunicorn (2401)
• United States
18 Nov 07
Oh, I'm not good at either one! LOL I had tutors and extra help in both subjects in High School and barely squeeked by with a C in both classes. Now here's the funny thing. In college Algebra I got an A and with extra credit points even got a 100% in the class. I still can't figure out how I did that!
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
18 Nov 07
Well, from what I remember, high school had just a few distractions... And it was FREE... so I think it would be much easier to blow off some studying... But in college, someones actually paying for it - me in my case - so you have a vested interest in trying to actually do a bit better. That's just how I felt about my studies, even though school stuff came pretty easy to me.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Nov 07
I know that it had nothing to do with High School being free and college being paid for. I spent HOURS with tutors and helpers in High School. My parents shelled out some big money, and I was well aware of that. I just COULDN'T get it! I could get the right answers, but I couldn't tell you how I was getting there. I think that was actually the big problem. In High School the teachers would mark points off for not showing each step. I would sometimes skip steps but still come up with the right answer in the end. Yet, because of that I would only get half the points awarded to me. I'm thinking (though I can't remember) that the college Algebra teacher only cared about the right answer. I'm a pretty black and white person, and there is just TOO much grey area in Algebra. Geometry was tough, I think, because I already had set my mind that I hated math.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
19 Nov 07
Hmm... That's pretty wild... I do remember the whole "showing your work thing" and my son even got mad at a college professor because he got a bad grade on a test because of that. My son got all the answers right but showed VERY little work, and it probably looked like doodling. But it made sense to him and he got the right answer. I have to have it all mapped out to get the big picture. I still love math though!
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
1 Feb 08
I still love Algebra and Geometry. I tutor local kids whenever I can just so that I can keep my hand in. They like to change the terminology sometimes so I try to stay up to date. I make a lace called tenerife lace. It is not made much any more and I am not sure if it originated in Spain or England. Spain I think, but you have to know a bit of geometry to do it so I have been teaching kids as a way of showing them geometry in action. It is so much easier to understand something if you can see it in an actual life application. Shalom~Adoniah
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
1 Feb 08
You are so right - it is MUCH easier to understand if you can actually see how it's applied in every-day life.
• Canada
31 Jan 08
I was the complete opposite. Geometry really came easy to me even when we got into things like conic theory i could still follow along in my mind. As for algebra i really had to work at it to get by. I did alright in algebra but out of all that hard work came and appriciation for algebra.
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
31 Jan 08
Ugh, just the sound of conic theory makes me cringe! I just didn't get it... But give me letters and tell me to add them - I was all over that one!
@katmaier (52)
• China
31 Jan 08
I am much better at algebra than Geometry. I don't know why. Maybe it depends on the structure of one's brain. I believe it's one's talent to learn math well.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
31 Jan 08
I think you're right - everyone's brain is built a bit differently.
@SViswan (12051)
• India
19 Nov 07
I liked BOTH Algebra and Geometry when I was at school and I still find it interesting. But Calculus is what drove me crazy! Anyways, Maths was one of my favourite subjects at school and I enjoyed learning it.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
19 Nov 07
I have always liked math too, but for some reason Geometry just really stumped me.
@bam001 (940)
• United States
4 Dec 07
If you can't like algebra and geometry both, then my life has been a big lie! I love both areas of mathematics. Geometry is more abstract and you have to be able to work with something that you sometimes can't really see. Geometric proofs are quite interesting and if you really try and put yourself in the problem, can be easy. Algebra is the math course that most people have to take...I think that many times, the course gets "watered down" and this really doesn't help anyone. I am not "better" at either of the two math areas --I am very good (exceptional actually) at both of them. Of course I am a math teacher too! :)
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
4 Dec 07
That's cool that you're good at both! I just remember doing so well in math until I took Geometry. It just really lost me. I found that most of my Geometry classmates did great with Geometry, but horrible with Algebra.
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
19 Nov 07
I liked Algebra and Geometry. Had zero problems with it. And if you ask which I was better at, I'd call it a tie. Calculus and Trig were okay. Not completely flawless, but still pretty good.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
19 Nov 07
Whew! Never got as far as Calculus and Trig. Dummy me figured I had all my credits, so why take more classes???
• Pakistan
27 Nov 07
yes i like algebra and geometry bcuz it is a very easy and interesting subject it does not requires a lot of effort and u can easily have ur response in a very short time
1 person likes this