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Here goes...suggestions, please
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| Shadowfax |
Posted on June 10 2008 03:21 AM
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Member
Location: Ga.
Posts: 10
Joined: 2008-05-30
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So tomorrow I start math modeling as a transient student. The professor has stated in his syllabus that generalized statements such as "I just don't get any of this" relfect a "gross lack of effort" on the students part, and "will earn his sympathy, but that's all."
The syllabus also states that the professor "Assumes that we know our fractions, basic rules of algebra, and factoring."
As already having been diagnosed as a dycalculic operating at about a third grade level, to say that this is 'a bit' overwhelming for me would be a severe understatement. I've tried tutors galore. It's just not there. The testing center recognizes that, but the USG Board of Regents is adamant that no matter how severe the LD, the student MUST complete the Core a math.
Not to mention the class is filled to capacity with about 28 other students...
My concern is that I literally "Dont get any of this". What to do?
I know that it's through no fault of my own, but I also know I need this one class to get my BA.
Can anyone PLEASE offer any suggestions, or possible coping mechanisms to help me get through the next two months?
Also, just out of curiosity...are there any LAWYERS on this forum? It seems to me as though it would be quite advantageous to have people who can actually 'move and shake' things where they need to be 'moved and shaken'. It's all well and good to have an online community to vent... a 'sensis communis', if you will; but to actually have the ability to stand together and help one another with lawyers who know a thing or two about discrimination seems like it would be a MAJOR assest.
Edited by Shadowfax on June 10 2008 03:24 AM |
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| justfoundout |
Posted on June 10 2008 04:01 AM
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Member
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 6102
Joined: 2008-05-25
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6/9/08
Dear Shadowfax,
Your mom just got through making me feel much better with her own special brand of comfort. I would be a paralegal, were it not for those three credits of algebra. This is the reason that I can't 'market' myself to lawyers,... no degree. I'd never have the energy to drum up lawyer's support alone, but if anyone has some good ideas, I've become so exhausted with the uni system that I might chime in now. Dyscalculics are notorious for having no strategic planning ability. I feel like a sheep in "Animal House", trying to understand the rules. B-a-a-a-ah. B-a-a-a-ah. "Four legs Good. Two legs Bad." B-a-a-a-ah.
How can we get anyone to listen to us?
justfoundout
Edited by justfoundout on June 10 2008 04:01 AM |
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| Kathy |
Posted on June 10 2008 05:31 AM
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Member
Location: Bribie Island Queensland Australia
Posts: 407
Joined: 2005-04-03
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Hi Shadowfax,
It is a really interesting fact that most mathematics teachers in Australia - were appalling at English and barely passed to become the Professors of Maths we see today. I often thought it would be great if our English teachers who also found maths difficult, could teach us maths the way they would have liked to have been taught by their maths teachers. Would they have other ideas? also wouldn't we love to see your Professor's passes of English throughout his schooling, If he did have difficulty - did he find it helpful the statements from his English teachers that he had a gross lack of effort in English? did he need their sympathy? I also believe these teachers of yours - Professors even, want to see you pass, their job is to not see you fail - (makes them look like poor teachers) Do what I suggested to my 19 year old son who failed a psychology exam, his strength is statistical maths and science, he knows the facts but psychology is just not him. I told him to go and ask the question. What do I have to do to pass your class?, (remembering also 51% is a pass )- and that's all any one is asking you to do - pass. Get the help you need from them, don't let them ever say - you do not put in the effort - make them put in the effort as well - that's what they are being paid for!, this is a team effort, lets see how good your teachers are. Tell them you don't want their sympathy you just want to pass!
Best Wishes
Kathy 
Albert Einstein said: "Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count!." |
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| Kathy |
Posted on June 10 2008 05:37 AM
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Member
Location: Bribie Island Queensland Australia
Posts: 407
Joined: 2005-04-03
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Hi Shadow Fax
Just a quick extra note - who is your Professor and do we need to send him info on dyscalculia? I am amazed at this persons syllabus? I wouldn't mind sending him information - but only if it helps and not adds to your problems.
Cheers
kathy
Albert Einstein said: "Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count!." |
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| Lostinspatial |
Posted on June 10 2008 03:22 PM
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Member
Location: That would require me to know where I was
Posts: 429
Joined: 2008-06-08
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Is there any way you can take it with another professor? Do you have professor evaluations done by students in your school? If so, read up on them to find out who might be a better instructor. And you can also check this site to see if your school is covered:
http://www.ratemy...ssors.com/
If you have no choice but to take it with him, haunt his office hours for extra help and if you can't make it there (say because of work), ask him when can he meet you for extra help. Some instructors are just jerks, but many will give you the benefit of the doubt when they see you're taking the extra effort to try & grasp it. Also, are any of the experts (Shinn & Butterworth from some of what I see here) mathematicians? Maybe reading about it from a Mathematicians perspective may be persuasive.
I know when I took Geometry in high school, I was lucky enough to have a teacher (Mrs. DiBello) who offered up her valuable class prep time to make herself available to those who were having trouble. If you couldn't do the homework on your own, she'd go through it with you right there during that time and let you put it up on the board. Which she'd count as class participation It was so much less stressful doing it one on one with her, instead of in front of the class. And if I forgot when I was going over it in class, she'd help guide me through it.
She even gave up prep time during the time between finals & Regents to answer questions/assist and give test prepartion drills to those of us having a hard time. I don't think I could have passed Geometry (& I barely passed despite making use of her generous offers) without her. It was still taxing and difficult, but having a good instructor really helped. |
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| Shadowfax |
Posted on June 10 2008 07:00 PM
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Member
Location: Ga.
Posts: 10
Joined: 2008-05-30
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Thanks all. I met with the Professor before class and talked to him about the 'specifics' of my dyscalculia. He was very understanding and told me my concerns were applicable to 'most students', and he certainly will work with me (as well as finding me peer tutors) to make make me his 'special project' (by which I can only assume a dyscalculic with a passing grade in Math Modeling). Thanks again, more later... |
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| Lostinspatial |
Posted on June 10 2008 07:06 PM
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Member
Location: That would require me to know where I was
Posts: 429
Joined: 2008-06-08
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I see from your location that you're in GA. Have you also contacted the GA Learning Disabilities Association? According to their website, one of the things they do is help people learn to advocate:
http://www.ldag.o...ntact.html |
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| justfoundout |
Posted on August 02 2008 07:33 PM
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Member
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 6102
Joined: 2008-05-25
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8/2/08
Dear Shadowfax,
I found something that I thought was interesting, so I'm posting it here on the Thread that you started. Here's the link to the page on our forum and an excerpt. It's something that Sebastian wrote.
http://www.dyscal...id=120#431
QUOTE
Well, Oppenheim (1886) and Brandenburg (1887) allready focused the attention on the incongruence of 'blindness' for words and numbers.
According to Grewel (1952), it was around the turn of the 19th century that neurologists first noted specific disorders of calculation following brain damage. Henschen (1919) carried out an early survey of the area and named the disorder acalculia (literally without calculation), although nowadays the preferred name for this type of disorder is dyscalculia (literally disordered calculation), because the deficit is rarely as total as the prefix a- would imply. Thus .....
De Ajuriaguerra and Hécaen (1949) are questioning theirselves if acalculia and dyscalculia (where there is not a total unability for making simple calculations) can be found separately.
Lange (1930) thinks the basic factor of acalculia is a disorder of a sense of direction.
Krapf (1937). Calculation is action. Therefore Krapfs says that a constructive calculation disorder is the pure form of acalculia.
END QUOTE
Shadowfax, I've started trying to find out information on the difference between 'dyscalculia' and 'acalculia', so this little piece of information that I found from Sebastian was very interesting to me. I had my dyscalculia test two weeks ago but won't get the results until August 11th. When you were being (as I recall 'extensively') tested, did anyone mention 'acalculia' to you?
I hope you'll find this posting here on the forum. I've missed hearing from you and your mom.
justfoundout
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| Shadowfax |
Posted on August 03 2008 08:43 AM
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Member
Location: Ga.
Posts: 10
Joined: 2008-05-30
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Well, here's a quick follow-up. I took, and managed to pass (with a lot of 'help') Math Modeling. For those required to take college algebra and/or Math Modeling to graduate from University, I highly recommend trying to get into a class offering 'Math XL'.
The classes homework, quizzes, tests, and final exam were all online.
I was allowed to re-take each assignment, quiz and test until I was satisfied with the grade I received. This obviously alleviates quite a bit of the embarrassment of just 'not getting it' that would been made clear in a standard class. If it weren't for 'Math XL', I don't think I would've been able to pass. Hope everyone is doing well and that this is of some use to those who still need to meet this requirement...:)
Edited by Shadowfax on August 03 2008 08:44 AM |
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| justfoundout |
Posted on August 03 2008 05:04 PM
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Member
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 6102
Joined: 2008-05-25
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8/3/08
Hi Shadowfax,
Yes, that's great information for all of us. I'll remember Math XL and hope that it's available for me in Texas. Congratulations on passing it! Does this mean that you're all done with math for your college degree? I know you were studying Spanish. How is that going? Which semester of Spanish are you in?
I absolutely hated the math software that my school uses, and so did most of the non-dyscalculics, too. It's called Educo, and my school uses it for DMAT090 and DMAT091. What it does to you is only give you one 'try' on the homework. It let's you have more 'tries' on the 'tests'. On the 'tests', a nice teacher could keep the 'time limit' from shutting them down, so you could go back and retake them after you finally understood them. But the teacher had no power to open the homework back up again. Every semester, something like these rules changes on the software. My last teacher in the last semester, said that we should 'get it' and do the tests within the weeks alotted for it, and he wouldn't 'open them back up'. This was very discouraging for me, since if I can 'catch on' AT ALL, it's almost a miracle, and then by the time I'd understand the material, the test would have become unavailable.
I think that getting my math credits waived will be the best I can hope for. I'll get the results of my dyscalculia test on August 11th. Thanks for coming back to the forum with that update. Bye, Shadowfax.
justfoundout |
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| Toe_Nail |
Posted on August 03 2008 06:27 PM
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Member
Location: No value
Posts: 915
Joined: 2006-08-13
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Hi Shadowfax
You wrote:
The professor has stated in his syllabus that generalized statements such as "I just don't get any of this" relfect a "gross lack of effort" on the students part, and "will earn his sympathy, but that's all."
followed-by:
The syllabus also states that the professor "Assumes that we know our fractions, basic rules of algebra, and factoring."
.... actually, shouldn't it be the other way around?
The syllabus also states that the professor "Assumes that we know our fractions, basic rules of algebra, and factoring."
and
The professor has stated in his syllabus that generalized statements such as "I just don't get any of this" relfect a "gross lack of effort" on the students part, and "will earn his sympathy, but that's all."
There! That doesn't solve your problem but at least now you have a reason not to feel guilty. If you do not 'get any of this' it isn't because of lazyness/lack of efforts but because you do not know fractions, basic rules of algebra, and factoring... it isn't your proffessor's sympathy that's going to make you understand those better, is it? As a matter of fact, your proffessor doesn't want to have anything to do with you if you on't master/understand fractions, algebra, and etc.
His problem, not yours although he seems to want students such as you to believe otherwize. In my opinion, that is extremely irressponsible from your professor's part. Doesn't want to help you but 'sympathizes" .. one doesn't get far wit sympathy. Also, let's not confuse sympathy and empathy as those are two very different things.
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer -- Albert Einstein |
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| Lostinspatial |
Posted on August 03 2008 09:37 PM
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Member
Location: That would require me to know where I was
Posts: 429
Joined: 2008-06-08
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Glad you were able to pass! |
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| Shadowfax |
Posted on August 03 2008 09:37 PM
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Member
Location: Ga.
Posts: 10
Joined: 2008-05-30
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Guys, this program is amazing. It has a 'help me solve this' option for all problems which you can use and even if get every step to every answer wrong, it will continually 'steer' you in the right direction until you get the correct solution. That plus patience, plus the ability to take the assignments an unlimited amount of times... allowed for me to pass, even if though I made a lot of errors. (It bears mentioning that the program has a time 'tallyer', and I ended up spending about 60 hrs. total on homework...)
How much I actually 'learned' is still suspect, but for those who absolutely need to pass the class now now, I recommend trying to get into said program.
I realize that there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done as far as educating the University System about Dyscalculia, however, I also learned that until 'the educators become educated', Math XL is the only program/option thusfar attempted that has allowed me to pass. I learned long ago that the State of Georgia would not 'waive' my math requirement (at least not within this decade.)
I'm finishing Spanish and should be done by Thursday of this week.
After that, I only have to take one Final for a distance learning Early American Lit class, and thats it for my Bachelors Degree...
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| justfoundout |
Posted on August 03 2008 10:08 PM
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Member
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 6102
Joined: 2008-05-25
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8/3/08
Dear Shadowfax,
That sounds like the best kind of math software,... and only the very best kind can possible helps dyscalculics. It must have felt great to pass. Did any of the other students give you an estimate of the time they'd spent on the program? Since I'm only in Elementary Algebra, I'm guessing that the course you just took and passed is too advanced for me to get into at this time. The distance learning Early American Lit class will fly by and you'll have that Bachelors Degree in no time. Enjoy your new found freedom! I hope I get my 2-year degree soon, too.
justfoundout |
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