What maths course can I get onto when I'm REALLY bad at it?

[MathsStruggle]

Hi all,

I should've done this years ago, but not having my maths GCSE is actually limiting me from starting a career I'd like to do.

I'm just wondering what course I could get onto which would be for beginners but where I could eventually go on to do my GCSE. There is no way I'd pass the maths test to get onto a GCSE course.

I've seen a 'Maths for Work and Study' course but I'm worried I'm just so bad that no course can help me :(

Any advice?

You are not stupid. Your brain just isnt wired the way that makes maths easy. But you can learn it!

Keep on going. You will get there!

Well done op and keep going! I took my maths gcse last year (I'm 51) and it was difficult for me but I passed are you doing functional skills or gcse atm?

I can't believe I'm only seeing this now!

@MathsStruggle I'm so chuffed for you - taking that step to enrol is the hardest bit! And the fact you're doing it now will help your children so much too.

I'm one of those that English comes more naturally to than maths. I got an F in school in my maths GCSE and when I repeated it a few years later at night class, I scraped a D (which wasn't acceptable on any job application)

I got a first class hons in my chosen degree, went on and passed a city and guilds in another subject as well as a two year OCN course which I passed with distinction.

Last year I had a really tough year and wanted to challenge myself again, so I signed up to do my GCSE Maths. I finally finally in my 40s passed it. I did the foundation level which meant to highest grade I could get was a C* - and thats exactly what I got!!!

My teacher was amazing, it was a small class and we all struggled, he was absolutely a dream teacher, everyone at school should have someone like him.

I hope you keep updating this thread - we're all invested now!

You're not a lug, you've just believed what you've been told. Just like I did, but you know what? I'm not stupid either, out of all my certificates, my GCSE in maths is the one I'm most proud of.

💐

Hello everyone! It's me again!

My teacher told me a few weeks ago that I'm "coming out of the weeds!" So that must be a good thing 😅.

I'm massively in struggle town with some homework at the moment and I would appreciate some help!

Area and Perimeter - all fine, until I get to the Borders part and now I'm fucked. I just can't understand it, and when I think i do? Um. Nope! I don't!

Right. In the workbook it says "To calculate the area of the border :

(Area of large rectangle) - (area of small rectangle)

An example is a photograph with a border. The length is 12m and the width is 9m with a 2m border.

The example says:

(12 x 9) - (8 x 5)
108. - 40 = 68cm.

So it looks like they minus the border off (4m) but 1) why doesn't it say that? Is it just meant to be obvious to me from the picture?!

And 2) I'm now stuck on the questions after it and I just can't do it!

A photographer has for sale 3 sizes of photographs with a border round :

For each side find the area I'd
A) the photograph without it's border
B) the photograph and border together
C) the border

First one is 16.5cm L and 13.5cm width. 2cm border.

Helpppppopp! I need tippex.

Oh. And you might think "why doesn't she just Google it. Or even better ask ChatGTP. Well, the chat keeps getting it wrong as well! Haha. Need humans.

So the border, the bit around the edge- you don’t calculate that part. You work out the area of the big rectangle (outside) and the area of the inner rectangle (inside) and find the difference. (Big-small). It’s just the space between the 2 rectangles.

photograph- do 16.5x13.5cm
photograph + border = 20.5x 17.5 (added 4 cm for 2cm on each side.
border= (photo+border)-photograph.

You've made a (giant) cake.. 12m by 9m. You've calculated the area by multiplying the length by the width (12m x 9m) = 108m2. This the the purple rectangle on my diagram

To calculate just the area of a 2m border, imagine your kids have used a (huge) cookie cutter and chopped the middle of your cake out (blue rectangle on the diagram), leaving you just with a cakey border to calcuate the area of. Counting the squares on the paper (each square is 1m) you can see that the blue rectangle the kids must have 'removed' is 8m x 5m. Calculating the area of the removed cake (aka blue rectangle) by multiplying length by width (8m x 5m) = 40m2.

The cakey border your kids have left you with is therefore the whole cake with an area of 108m2 minus the insides the kids removed (area of 40m2), which leave 108m2 - 40m2 = 68m2.

Hope that makes sense. I do find it helpful to sketch these things out. You could draw a scale drawing using a ruler (cm for each m), if you don't have squared paper. Or if you can print some squared paper online, you could use a square per half cm for question 2.

OP, you remind me of a highly intelligent friend of mine who repeatedly failed her Maths O level back in the day. She tells me now it was always the spatial and geometry questions that floored her, and I’m convinced she has NVLD (non verbal learning difficulty - basically spatial dyslexia).

Don’t be afraid to help your understanding of questions like this by making like your kids. Get some squared/graph paper and colouring pencils and draw and colour in the diagrams in the question. Then count the squares. It’s not cheating, it’s learning. You’ll understand the relationship between the numbers and the shapes. If you do things like cross stitch, or knitting, you’ll learn the practical use of what you’re learning.

@PineForestsAndSunshine.. Yes.

In fact I would definitely make sure all basics in before moving on but I would re do maths sllubahs anyway

OP- teaching Maths is one of my favourite things to do (I am a qualified teacher!). If you'd like to do a Zoom session or something I'd be really happy to try and help untangle some of your problems.

You are so kind to draw me a diagram - and your writing is so neat! Thank you so much!

I don't think I could put you through that 😂

Oh there's no intelligence here! I struggle with Maths A LOT. I've always just presumed it is stupidity, but maybe it could be something else.

Thank you 😊

@MathsStruggle just wanted to say how pleased I am that you're still persevering with this :) well done!!

@MathsStruggle I genuinely would enjoy it and be happy to!

@MathsStruggle

Please never say you are thick because you struggle with maths.
I'm in the same boat and a leaflet came through my door offering lessons for free. I. May take it!

I've not passed it but my brain also rebels when I'm trying to work out what a perimeter is.

Because I'm late 4os and simply don't need to know.

Op I work among people who are very good at maths, I know there have been some looks sometimes when I can't understand something as if... How can she know so little.

Well, I wasn't taught it.

However I have taught myself about investing money. I'm no expert but I get the basics now from extensive research and reading and cross referencing.
Yet when I ask some of the more snooty math genius at work about it they say "oh it's too much of a gamble I don't bother" or other phrases which lead me to believe they are not interested.

Investing is apparently one of the markers of the haves and have nots in society.

Personally I think proper investment lessons would be easier to learn and far more useful than triangles.

But please never assume you are thick because your brain struggles to think in fractions. Not true.

Oh yes sorry I forgot the main part it was some Moaning over the poor interest rate on their cash isa

Probably 2% or something and I said something and I was slammed down with a maths response eg yes but that's still a return of x % against inflation at blah so blah.

I said do you not have investment, stocks and shares isa and instead of saying no in don't because it makes me nervous to gamble that money, do you.... I was told... told that its gambling and risky and there are better places to put your money 🙄.

So I wasn't then comfortable to persist and let him know my cash isa which doesn't have much in it is 3% but my stocks isa is returning around 30%.

30% and its not really moved far from that for very long! Yes a huge dip during covid, Ukraine etc but its doing well and has been for the 6 years I've had it!!

My dc are also doing far better in their stock isa which is thousands up compared to the 250 pounds we get from the cash 2% or something.

Honestly op...

Oh, yes, I recognise myself in what you describe @DancingDaughter50

I'm very comfortable with algebra and logic, I think because I can check my working out, but I do struggle with risks around investments.

Sorry @MathsStruggle I got distracted there. I'm so glad to read your update and glad to know you are continuing with your maths.

I had a whizz of a teacher who we thought we could distract from the lesson. We were all really, really engaged asking him questions. Looking back, I can see how clever ly he disguised the subject matter in a funny story which taught us the thing anyway.

He was so clever and gave me such a help with maths. My sister had a different teacher and even now would use a calculated to multiply by ten.

Finally, it's the patronising superior tone of a few people I've met toward me (I'm very open about my math struggle), as if they do think I'm stupid.

And yet at other times like above they speak like know it alls... But are actually clueless. If I had to chose my clueless I'd rather it be about trigonometry than making my money work and grow as hard as it can!

I've just read through this thread and am really pleased for the OP. And a few others along the way who've mentioned they are or are thinking of doing similar courses.

One thing that relates directly to most of the questions being asked, is that there is a big difference in maths between "knowing how to get to the answer", and "knowing why that will give you the answer". People who do very well at maths have usually mastered the "knowing why" bit rapidly, and they keep doing well as long as they have the time and explanations they need to understand the processes. Far, far too often, too many students switch to learning the processes without always understanding why. One of the reasons that most students find there is a big jump from GCSE to A level is that, if you haven't thoroughly understood the GCSE material and have memorised processes instead, you haven't got the foundations you need to keep going.

If you are trying to learn maths, get stuck on something, and someone says "you just do this" - don't stop there unless you feel you understand why "do this" is right. Diagrammes and extra steps will often be the way to get there. Once you can follow the path, then you can start to take shortcuts. But it is very reasonable to take the long path first so you know where you are going.

By the way, I'm objectively extremely good at maths, but I've also experienced the "but why?" point. I remember in a physics course (beyond undergrad level) being told "do this" to answer a question, but I couldn't for the life of me work out why that should be so. I went back and forth to the professor several times, but didn't ever get any answer beyond "do this" which was a shame because he was usually great. I couldn't do the assignment because my brain rebelled.

Do keep posting if you have problems, it is encouraging to others and interesting and illuminating to those of us who are interested in education and learning. I'm also someone who would be willing to be contacted separately.

@GrassWillBeGreener

Excellent post and point thank you!

@GrassWillBeGreener thank you for that. I am a “but why” person and at points my brain will freeze and decide it’s not doing anything further. Not particularly in maths. This can be in any area of my life and it does make me feel stupid at times. You’ve just explained so well what is going on.

And to add @MathsStruggle you are doing brilliantly and I am cheering you on.

@GrassWillBeGreener Thank you for this
And thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment and help me/ offer to help me in their own time!

I will be back later to respond more. But I am a 'but why' person, although I am sometimes happy to be a 'do it like this person'.

This is why I was not sure if I was right for this course. We don't have time for the 'but why?' And it isn't always explained in class....(well, if it is I still don't get it!)

Another thing that I don't understand is when we work out the circumference of the circle why is it pi that we multiply by? It's like "this is formula" BUT WHY? Also, why does C= 2? I still don't get it.

I have 3 hours a week in class, I have homework to try to get through and I feel constantly like I'm trying to catch up.

Maybe I should've gone for the Entry 3 course ? Maybe that would've helped with the 'why?'

Why do I want to know why?!