Perhaps the most blatant time that I can remember where I was struggling with a class was actually last semester at my school, Cuesta College. The class was Calculus two and was incredibly difficult and abstract. It entered into a new world of mathematics that I have never been familiar with before.
More specifically, this world had to do with taylor series and their relationship to normal functions. I must say, even though it was a wild and confusing idea at first, I now look back at it and think, “wow, it’s beautiful, it’s poetry.”
Nevertheless, along with the awe and wonder it generated, it also gave rise to struggle and stress. My goal was to get an A in the class. Anything less was a failure in my eyes, and I absolutely needed to succeed, for me. After getting a B- on the previous exam on the introduction to differential equations, I almost began to panic. I felt frustrated anytime the material was confusing to me because I expected myself to understand it. The truth is, I didn’t.
Therefore, I began searching for ways to understand the material. I joined forum sites, I asked classmates questions, and I even joined Calculus groups on Facebook. This all brought progress but still not quite satisfactory.
A little later, as the threatening exam date came closer, I realized that my college offers free tutoring in a place named the “Math Lab.” These tutors were other college students who have taken these classes before me. One tutor, Mohammad, was very helpful and friendly. It was really impressive that he was able to answer every question I had with practically no effort. I began spending two hours there every Tuesday and Thursday. I was able to complete the recommended book questions and I began to truly understand the material in detail.
The math lab proved to be success as I actually aced my next exam. And it helped me achieve a high score on the final exam which solidified my sought after A in the class.
No other class has proven to be so challenging to me, but no class did I appreciate more. I often surprise myself with the realization that I somewhat miss the class. Something about that light bulb going on in your head after weeks of struggling is just irreplaceable.
