[abercrombie_guy_38]

I took algebra 3 years in high school and once in college. I will never understand it or be able to do it on my own. At least I had a good teacher in high school were who able to “dumb” it down for me and explain things step-by-step (how I learn). When I was on my own, I was lost.

Geometry, on the other hand, piece of cake.

[piroque]

" At least I had a good teacher in high school "

As you said as with math or any other subject in school is the teacher , some are and some are not , I was lucky to have Mrs. Rhodes , and yes I use algebra almost every day.

[knarf]

My 9th grade teacher, Mr. D .. (that's what he wanted to be called .. DiPasquale ) told us rather emphatically, "Don't understand algebra, learn the rules and do it ... you'll pass"

I did and I did and I have no clue what I did nor why.

[ops33]

My math skills are almost the exact same. I could never understand algebra but Geometry was a breeze. In later life I became an air traffic controller and geometry, especially seeing converging and diverging angles, became very useful.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I took algebra 3 years in high school and once in college. I will never understand it or be able to do it on my own. At least I had a good teacher in high school were who able to “dumb” it down for me and explain things step-by-step (how I learn). When I was on my own, I was lost.

Retired engineer here. In grade school when the arithmetic assignments for homework were announced, and it was a page of number crunching examples was assigned, we all groaned - me not the least. But if it was a page of “word problems,” the rest of the class reallywailed over it - while I was delighted. Interesting puzzles, not usually hard - and only a handful of them.

Geometry, on the other hand, piece of cake.

I found algebra tedious in high school, and - like you - thoroughly enjoyed “Plane G.” Again, interesting puzzles. My understanding that I was "cut out for" math dates to geometry class, not before.

I’m convinced that that was because your typical grade school teacher takes up the profession because she is a “people person” who likes dealing with kids. And does not necessarily have the slightest interest in, or much facility with, mathematics. She is likely to think like the three football jocks who were talking about how they couldn’t handle college math:

• Jock #1: “I couldn’t handle Calculus at all. That’s when I quit.”

• Jock #2: "Trigonometry got me. That stuff was really hard."

• Jock #3: “Any of you guys ever hear of long division?”

If your highest aspiration and appreciation of math doesn’t go beyond long division, you will not really help, will not even recognize, the kid whose abilities in math will enable him/her to become a good math teacher or an engineer.

But hey - even multiplication was hard for the ancient Romans. And it would be for you, too, if you were trying to multiply Roman Numerals!

An interesting sidelight - I placed third in my HS class, and the Valedictorian and saludadictorian both went to Yale and became professors - but both struggled mightily with math in their Freshman year. They complained bitterly to our HS administration over their inadequate math background. I OTOH went to Engineering school - Drexel Institute of Technology - and at that time they didn’t start out directly in Calculus, but started with a surprisingly - to me, and I wasn’t alone - challenging Algebra course. Followed by a challenging Trig course and, only in the third trimester of the Freshman year, a Calculus course. My progression thru the Math curriculum was much smoother - tho hardly a cakewalk - than those of my two HS classmates, one of whom switched majors because of his math woes.