i just cried because of maths

[u/canipleasegetout]

Im in my second last year of high school now. My maths grade since the start of hs has been terrible, but I have decent grades for all my other subjects. I'm in a very competitive school where maths is basically mandatory, and most students have been tutored from a young age. I never had any tutoring until this year, when i got a private tutor after consistently scoring 50-60% in every test. My grades still havent improved because i can't retain information when it comes to maths for some reason. The biggest problem is doing maths gives me the worst feeling of anxiety like I'm about to be attacked. After my tutoring session today idk why but i just broke down crying. I felt like i was about to cry a few times during the lesson but i held it back. This is my first time crying in years, and Im not usually a very emotional person. I feel like Im going to have a panic attack the next time I try to do maths. My university exams are in a year from now. I feel trapped, it feels like I genuinely have no more hope. What can I do?

[u/RubPublic3359]

If your country is anything like Brasil then you most likely have a bad math foundation and that is why you are feeling like that. Next time youre doing any math exercises and you see you are struggling stop the exercise and write somewhere what part was hard and then work from there

[u/Haunting_Meeting_530]

Algebra I early is pretty common for advanced students, but make sure the online course actually counts toward your school’s credits before enrolling.

[u/Southlander24]

It sounds to me that you might have 'maths anxiety'. It's a real thing; just search it up!

The key thing I want to say is that although it might feel very limiting, it's not linked to your intelligence, ability, or potential at all. Rather, it's fairly common among students because of formulaic maths teaching (carry out these formulas without ever understanding why), exam pressure, the fear of getting things wrong in front of your peers, tracking students into accelerated and slow pathways at too early of an age, subliminal messaging that maths is 'too hard' / 'too messy' / 'too complicated' for girls which becomes internalised, neurodiversity and sensory processing issues, and possibly dyscalculia. In short, students being forced into a particular structure of maths education that doesn't see them as the individuals they are.

Have you since tried telling your tutor about your anxiety / negative emotions in general whenever you're having tutoring? You could write the tutoring centre an email, if that's too hard to say out loud. (It might also help to communicate with your parents about this so that they can figure out a way for tutoring to work better for you.)

Hang in there! I hope you can get through this! You have the rest of this time at your secondary school, so that once you get into university or a career that doesn't require maths at all, you can leave all this behind.

[u/canipleasegetout → u/Southlander24]

hi, i have heard of dyscalculia but i dont think i have it for several reasons, i dont struggle with arithmetic, and i was able to learn my times tables when i was 3 years old. i was actually very good at maths in elementary school, but once i started learning maths in a competitive environment i immediately started falling behind. i am probably going to get tested for adhd as i have many inattentive tendencies. currently ive asked my tutor for breaks during lessons to calm down and regain my focus, and its certainly helped. im just worried about exams where ill struggle under time pressure unless i can get some sort of special provisions to do the test in a separate room or something.

[u/LeoMaths]

Les mathématiques demandent de gros efforts cognitifs. Il faut d'abord ne pas vous dévaloriser parce que vous avez des difficultés dans cette matière. Ce n'est pas de votre faute. Les neurones de nos cerveaux sont reliés en réseaux. Des réseaux peuvent être très performants dans certains domaines et moins dans d'autres. Je pense depuis longtemps que la sélection faite sur les mathématiques est une aberration. Comment voulez-vous ne pas être stressée à cause de cela? Comprenez ensuite que les mathématiques ne sont pas votre ennemi, c'est le système éducatif qui l'est (dans certains cas). Il ne vous a pas mis en confiance en valorisant ce qu'il y a de bon chez vous. Les mathématiques ne sont pas l'alpha et l'oméga de l'intelligence, et c'est un vieux matheux qui a une grosse expérience dans cette matière qui vous le dit (mes cheveux blanchissent). Essayez de prendre les mathématiques comme un jeu sans conséquence sur votre valeur (qui ne se mesure pas à votre capacité de résoudre des équations). Dieu n'exige pas d'être bon en maths pour entrer dans son Royaume 😊. Tranquillisez-vous. Il faudrait que vous trouviez une personne bonne en maths qui vous aide avec beaucoup de patience et de bienveillance. De telles personnes existent. Refusez la toxicité des personnes qui ne vous aident pas ou vous dévalorisent. Dans tous les cas, je suis sûr que vous pouvez avoir une très belle vie sans les maths.

[u/Kawlinx]

Stop going to a hyper competitive school. You won't get a better job just cus you went there. You have more of a chance getting into college but thats it.

[u/IcyBluebird93 → u/Kawlinx]

They are in high school. They may not have an option as to which school they attend.