Maths And Other Subjects

[tiggerblue10]

I went to a maths parental engagement session at sons school earlier. The head of maths gave a presentation about how maths is portrayed and that many people say they hate the subject. She said she loves maths and would like parents/guardians to not be negative about it when talking about homework to their children as it may put them off and to encourage them instead.

Son is doing algebra at the moment and is finding it difficult however, at the session, we were told that students can email teachers if they are having problems with any subjects and/or homework. Students are so lucky to be able to communicate with teachers on Teams on their tablets and get help. He's also been signed up for Leadership Skills run by a company called Reaching Higher and I really hope this will boost his confidence given the problems he faced last year with bullying. It's still occurring but not as much now. He had an incident on Tuesday where one of the main bully's tried to trip him up on the stairs. This could have had serious consequences so I have raised it with the school.

Anyway.....what subjects did you like and what didn't you like at school?

[novalis]

Maths was my best subject to O-Level but wasn't my favourite. I did languages A-Levels as I much preferred them and finished up doing my degree in German.

[DTCwordfan]

Maths, Geography, Chemistry, Geology.

My love of History, English and French before aged 13 was destroyed by the abysmal teaching. I did As in Chemistry, Biology, Geog & Geol....if I had gone back to my earlier love and O levels now, it would have been Geog, Geol, English & Art.....maybe H.of Art - and a very different career. It all comes down to the teachers.

[Hazlinny]

My report card always said "Maths and Science a problem here"! I have to say that neither have been much use to me during my lifetime. Arithmetic was OK but Geometry and Algebra were difficult for me.
Favourite subjects were French, English and Geography.

[Toorak]

I hated maths and physics but got good results. My favourite subjects were geography and chemistry. I had to give up geography after O level but took it as an option at university. I enjoyed languages but struggled with history - I have always found it difficult to remember dates. My school subjects have borne no relation whatsoever to my subsequent career.

[tiggerblue10]

I was in the very last year that did O levels. It changed to GCSE the year after that.

[gness]

For me, Tiggs, I loved English, Art and Geography. The geography ended when we were starting on a project and had to discuss different homes around the world. One pupil said the Irish live in thatched cottages. The teacher said....Oh, I thought they lived in pigsties. I took no part in his lessons after that.
Maths was a failure. The teacher would put a load of simple sums on the boards, tell us to talk amongst ourselves but if anyone came in start doing the sums. He lit a ciggie and got out his racing paper. I found a way to remedy his bad teaching and love playing around with numbers now.

My daughter was just okay with maths until she got the most brilliant maths teacher. Mrs Ablett, you if you're looking in. Every child thrived in her classes and the daughter got brilliant results helping her to a fantastic career.

What a difference a great teacher makes.

Hope you get some satisfaction with the school. x

[Captain2]

Favourites for me were Maths, Pure Maths and Geography.
Did French for 5 years to O Level, German for 5 years to A Level, yet when I sat General Studies A Level (anyone remember that?) we had a choice of 3 languages to do a translation - I 'did' it in Spanish which I'd never seen or done - needless to say I failed. :))

[DTCwordfan]

I graduated with a First in Geog, a minor in Geol, and then went onto a 1 year Masters in Glaciology - before turning 90 degrees and going for a MBA - when they were trying to persuade me to go for a PhD in Fluvial Hydrology at the Uni. of Georgetown......Could have been a career in academia though I shall never know. Things keep flooding back!

[Patsy33]

My favourite lessons was English, Geography, Music & Spanish. Not so good with Maths, physics..

[tiggerblue10]

Yes, having a good teacher always helps. There were a couple of teachers in my school who were terrible and us kids were always mucking about.

I spoke to the head when I attended the session and she said she was going to make sure it was dealt with, Gness x

[gness]

My mother threw me out at 15 so I had no chance to finish my education....poor Catholic one though it was.
I sorted myself out and did quite well.

Working in a Comprehensive School in my thirties I complained that there was only one male student doing A level English Lit. with two male teachers. They needed a female perspective to broaden it!
Big mouth....:-(.
The head called my bluff and enrolled me in the class so I did the course and exams. Resulted in a phone call from a University offering me a place as a mature student. Illness prevented that but it'd have been fun. :-)

[gness]

I hope so, Tiggs. Let us know if you can...x

[DTCwordfan]

Not thinking of doing it now later in life, gness?? Perhaps it's worth considering, an enphasis on Kerry authors? - excluding Dave unless he is breaking open that new bottle of Mont Blanc ink....which wouldn't surprise me at all!

[Toorak]

Gness, it’s never too late to take short university courses. I am doing one at the moment on art history. there are also plenty of MOOCs (free online courses) from many providers including the Open University.

[DTCwordfan]

English Lang failed - emphasis not enphasis!!

[gness]

Ireland....especially here in rural areas....is great for free education and courses for older folk.
I won't be doing a university course though. Far too far away and I'm really busy enough here with all that goes on in the village. Plus I'd never get back in time for the Friday evening pints at the Holy Well. ;-)

[Tilly2]

Priorities sorted, Gness.

[DTCwordfan]

- which is where 90 percent of the material for research work into comntemporary Irish literature, philosophy and logic is being created - or well worth considering a book on the lines of Peter Mayle's 'Toujours en Provence' - or, in your case, 'I gCiarraí i gcónaí'

[pastafreak]

English, History, and anything Art. I was the darling of my favourite teacher, Mrs DelaRosa. Absolutely hated maths and failed Algebra twice. My brain just did not work that way. Enjoyed Biology somewhat.

[Toorak]

The short university course I’m doing is online, which is a bonus. The last one I did involved a weekly commute.