My Math Experience

I hate math.
I haven't always hated math. I learned to hate math. My math teacher taught me to hate math.
Let me tell you my math story.

From Kindergarten to grade 6 I went to a small school in my city. We had about 20 students in each grade, which was below average. Then my parents decided that we were going to move. They wanted to move because they wanted me to go to one of the best public high schools in the province.

So we packed up, moved across the invisible border that determines who gets the better education, and who is left in the dust.
So grade 7 starts, and I have Ms. Chan. Not only was I bombarded with the stress of having moved to a new house, and having to make new friends... I had to adapt to a new school.

I loathe Ms. Chan. I quickly fell behind in math, and she chastised me. Blaming me for not practicing at home, saying I wasn't trying hard enough. I didn't know I had to try harder... I had always tried the same amount of hard and averaged a B grade back in my old school.

My parents were talked to during the parent-teacher meeting. A tutor was hired. And note that I loved my tutor and she helped me a great deal... but Ms. Chan kept discouraging me. Kept reminding me that I was behind. Thanks, I needed that reminder. I couldn't have figured that out on my own.

So I started high school math, and for the first three years everything went back to normal. Grade 8, 9, and half of 10 I had Ms. Johl. She was an extremely chipper and enthusiastic teacher. She helped her students along, was encouraging, and even handed out stickers. I don't care what anyone says, I am a sucker for prizes. And stickers are awesome. You should have seen my binders and pencil case.

Then, a terrible accident befell Ms. Johl halfway through grade 10. The giant projector screen (held up by screws) at the front of the classroom fell on her back. Now, I've never held one of those screens... but I know they're heavy. She was out of the running for the rest of the year.

So, since it was so short notice and it was already December, they had to call in substitutes. Now, I love me a good lenient sub. But we had a new one every week, and it's impossible to learn anything with conflicting and changing teaching methods. Our class tried, we did.

Again, I fell behind.
So I entered grade 11 with a rather stunted math experience. I missed Ms. Johl.

I had Ms. Young in grade 11. She was literally pregnant half the time she taught us. I hated her too. One of the worst memories of her involved her calling students up to her desk. We had a class of about 30, and she called up over half the students. She told us we were all failing her class.

I wish I had the gall to say what I was thinking... if I didn't want to end up in detention for being belligerent: if over half the class is failing, it isn't the students. It's the teacher. You are lacking something.

Then she told those failing students that we shouldn't continue into grade 12 math. We should drop out, to avoid failing math 12, to save ourselves the embarrassment of a bad GPA.

So I did just that. I didn't take grade 12 math. Most people, when they hear this, say, "don't you need math 12 to get into university?"
No. What is this, communist China? We don't NEED anything. There are always loopholes and workarounds and exceptions. The exception for me was that I'd get accepted due to my stunning grades, and have to take a math 12 equivalent course in university.

So I did, and I did fantastically. Because my teacher was awesome, patient, kind, and explained things clearly. I ended up taking another math class even after that. Not an equivalent course, just a university-level math course. And I did good in that as well.

Know why? Because we aren't defined by what shortcomings our bad teachers say we have. We aren't the sum of our bad experiences. We just need some encouragement, teachers who don't constantly get pregnant, and teachers who don't tell us to quit.
This isn't Las Vegas. We aren't a town build from the money of losers. We succeed and do well and overcome because we keep trying. We don't listen to those discouraging sayings. We go on to prove all those idiots wrong.

So suck it math. I win! And I can't put that on a parabola for anything.