My 14 year old freshman daughter has a D- in Algebra

[Anonymous]

At the college tours we've been on, they have said not to worry if the child's h.s. freshman grades weren't the greatest, that what they looked for was a trend upward in the later semesters. Unfortunately, it will affect her GPA, though. It sounds like you are doing what is necessary, and if she doesn't end up with a great grade, maybe she could retake the class in summer school.

[Anonymous]

I never really liked math and am in communications now but the one thing I do use all the time is algebra. Show her how ratios are really useful IRL, how you can figure out percents and missing numbers using algebra. Algebra is useful-- geometry on up is not useful for most people, IMO.

[Anonymous]

I'm a forester, and believe it or not, geometry is actually very useful in my field. So you never know.

[Anonymous]

Well, I use math through differential equations regularly...and sometimes vector calculus is my daily job. Math is the language of science.

[Anonymous]

I failed math in 8th grade. It turns out I needed glasses but didn't figure it out until a year later. I thought everyone saw the board blurry and were just able to listen better. I eventually got glasses and was an economics major (lots of math) from a top school.

[Anonymous]

I was always terrible in math, all the way through high school. The best day of my life was learning that I didn't need to take any more math in my senior year of high school.

Twenty years later I decided to apply to graduate school and needed to take the GRE. I had to teach myself math -- algebra, geometry, fractions, percents, ratios, etc. all over again. Actually it felt like the first time I'd ever see the stuff; that's how little I retained from high school. To make a long story short, I ended up getting a decent GRE math score -- enough to get me into a PhD program (not in math, but still...).

Moral of the story, I guess, was that when I needed to learn math as an adult for my own purposes I did so. Until then, it was rough. Still, like others here have said, even with poor math grades I managed to get into a decent college (Ivy League, actually). So there's definitely hop for your DD.

[Anonymous]

Do not worry. She can get a STEM job if she wants. Just hang tough and persevere, with whatever grades. I know. We have lots of these at work. It doesn't take a genius to work in STEM.

[Anonymous]

I took Algebra twice (and so did my daughter) and went onto major in finance, and now have a career in finance. Sometimes it takes a bit to click. Don't put to much pressure on her. She might need to repeat it to get it to sink in.

[Anonymous]

I had to take a remedial algebra class freshman year of college - i finally "got" it and almost got an A in the course-
I honestly don't think that part of my brain was fully developed in hs- and i was finally ready 4 years later

[Anonymous]

Some kids really struggle with algebra. I sure did. Abstract math is tough and it takes longer to click for some than others. Let the tutor help and DDs brain work on it a bit. I'm sure it will be okay. HUGS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp MD requires 4 years of math because that is what most colleges require.

OP hopefully the tutor will make a difference. My 11th grader has been going to a weekly math tutor for over a year. It has been very helpful and he's gotten As in math since going to the tutor.

Can you recommend a math tutor?

[Anonymous]

C or lower is basically an F by previous year standards. You need to act now, tutor, boot camps, quit all activities, ground her etc... she is destroying her future.

[Anonymous]

Dalby Tutoring (you have to go to them in Mclean) was good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alot of kids who struggle in Algebra never really mastered some of the basic middle school math (proportion/ratio/fractions, etc.) Might be worth reviewing some of that with her. My understanding of research on kids who don't do well in Algebra/Cal is that many of them have some underlying misconceptions about basic math that get in the way. Focusing on the actual algebra may not be the answer. Hopefully a good tutor will understand that but I would consider it....

Khan videos are quite good.

As a former math teacher, I agree with all of the above.

This right here.^^ I'm a former math-bomber who somehow went to college and had to re-learn a bunch of stuff now that I'm somebody's mother. I had some holes in my fundamentals that really hindered me from learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:C or lower is basically an F by previous year standards. You need to act now, tutor, boot camps, quit all activities, ground her etc... she is destroying her future.

You would ground a child who is trying very hard and struggling, as OP says?

What exactly are you punishing? That's no different to me than grounding a child who can't hit a certain time in a foot race or can't master a difficult piano piece despite trying. I'm not saying do nothing, but punishment? She's not DOING anything wrong.