My Mathematics Journey: My Mathematical Journey In High School

My mathematical journey begins in the fifth grade. Obviously, I have learned how to do math before this point in my life, but this is the farthest back I truly remember content and my experience. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Keller, unfortunately was pregnant and in time left on maternity leave. However, I enjoyed her as a teacher and understood what we were learning in math when she was present. The substitute that filled her place was not the best thing to occur. Unfortunately, my understanding in math took a downfall. I was not the only one! I know it is almost cliché for someone to use to excuse that everyone else “failed” a test also, but this was certainly factual this time. I believe this led to me having a harder time enjoying math

There were many reasons I did not do well this year. It was my first time at a public school, the class was large, and the teacher did not explain things very well. I remember how hard it was learning how to factor, when later on in a different math class, I learned how it should not have been difficult. Since I didn’t do well in Algebra 1, it almost set me up for failure for the rest of high school. I never got anything anything less than a C, but grades have always been important to me. Luckily, my senior of high school I was scheduled to be in Mr. Bates’s Algebra 3 class. He took his time explaining each lesson, didn’t mind answering questions, and always had a real-life example to compare. He was also very enthusiastic while teacher, which made the class more enjoyable. This was my senior year and I wanted to finish strong. I ended up getting an A in this

I knew that I was going to have to take the Praxis Core Tests since I did not score high enough on my ACT. One problem with me learning mathematics is that I tend to forget everything once the class is over. This was shown to be true when it came time to take the math portion of Praxis. I took practice tests, but it was not enough. I tried twice and did not meet the score requirement. I talked to my advisor and she said Ohio Dominican allows students to take two math courses passing with a B or higher in place of the math Praxis test. You can either take the test a third time or take two math courses. I chose the second option, because I had a feeling I was not going to pass it the third time, even though I was super close the second time! I was nervous that I would be taking two more college level math courses, but it was the best option for me. Last semester I took MTH 102 and ended with an A. I was proud of myself, because I have struggled with math on and off throughout