Calculus makes me feel stressed and stupid

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youngsterat16

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I should be studying more for my test tomorrow but I keep getting so stuck on problems in Calc II, I can’t take it anymore right now. I have been struggling all year to get my grade up to a passing. We’ve had 3 days called off due to snow, cramming in 3-4 days worth of calc into the schedule. I have just spent the past 3 weeks catching up on homework and tests, but my grade is at failing. I’ve been hoping this next test I could do better in and pull it up to at least a D grade and work on the test after, but looking over the one I have tomorrow I feel like I going to do horrible.

I’ve never dealt with failing classes before, or even C’s. Calc 1 last semester I was able to manage a C and I was proud of it, but I fear I can’t make it that far this semester. The stress is making me feel sick right now and I can’t focus.

I am a senior (thank goodness I did not take this as a junior), so at least when it affects my GPA it won’t be as critical. I just feel so stupid that I can’t pass this class. On top of this test, I have another test is Statistics the class right after that I have not prepared for either.

I don’t know the point of me posting this on here. I’ve been wary of posting on here lately because people can get a little harsh with there responses, and I don’t need that on top. I suppose prayers wouldn’t hurt? Or just… how much will this matter?

Thanks in advance for reading my rant.
 
Fact of life, calculus makes a lot of people feel stressed and stupid. It’s ok, no one has died from it 🙂

If you’re feeling sick and stressed you can’t study right now. You’ve got two choices: do something now that will calm you down so you’re in a better place, or scrap it and go to bed so you’re rested and can think straight tomorrow.

If you haven’t already, I suggest you see your teacher for help tomorrow. It’s calculus: you’re not the first and you won’t be the last.

I’ll pray for you 🙂 whatever happens on your test, it’s not the end of the world. May the dear Lord bless and keep you always!
 
Once you get into college, literally no one will care unless you’re majoring in something very math heavy. Once you finish college, no one will care at all.

I’m coming up on 30, and no one cares about anything past the fact that I graduated.
 
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  1. Use this experience as a chance for improvement. What steps can you take to avoid this situation in the future? Sometimes things are just unavoidable–maybe you have things going on in your personal life, or maybe your courseload is just nuts. But, if you think this situation could have been averted, think about what you can do better next time. Can you meet with the teacher to ask question through the semester so that you can stay on top of the material as it comes? Is there something you can be doing better in terms of time management (this takes just such a long time to get good at)? Would you benefit from looking over the class notes each day and looking up supplementary info online to reinforce the material you’re confused about (Khan Academy videos; online courses with free videos)?
 
Ugh, sorry. There’s also a first part to this, but for some reason the site told me it needs to be approved by a moderator. (???)
 
I never took calculus and, fortunately for me, it was not a requirement. If I had taken it, it would have made me feel stressed and stupid too!
Is there anyone who could help tutor you? A more advanced student perhaps?
 
Do the best you can. Study as you much as you can, get a tutor if necessary and some professors can even give you a reference for someone or a resource for free tutoring. Maybe someone in the class could hepy you with problems?

Wuen you try your best you can rest easily knowing that you did so.

Good luck; I hope you get the grade you need, and God bless.
 
Math is hard for average people, which is like 90% of us. Even people in math-intensive fields (like chemistry) struggled with it in school. Talking to someone, not online but someone you trust in real life about your struggle can help relieve stress.

I don’t know how you’re studying. I don’t know what your school year is like and how school work is weighed but if it ends in June you likely still have time.

I don’t know if @catholic4ever 's moderated reply mentioned this, if so I apologize.
If practice questions are assigned, definitely take the time to do all of them. Not rushing through them. If you get wrong answers, take the time to find out where the mistake started with the aid of someone else preferrably. It’s important to familiarize yourself with them because they will make you think about them and you will start noticing patterns. The objective here is to understand and recognizing general concepts and reapplying them. Math for the average person requires a lot of time, most teachers and professors recommend 12 hours a week studying that subject alone, going through notes and practice questions thoroughly. Allocate that time evenly if you can because most people lose the ability to concentrate after 20 minutes if they hate the subject.
 
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In high school, I was always really freaked out about doing well in school. In a way that I made school an idol. I gained some perspective in college, and even more so now as a grad student.

Here’s what I’d say:
  1. This is how I would reason about your situation if I were in your shoes: The test is tomorrow. There’s only so much you can do to prepare given the amount of time you have now. Don’t think back to what you “coulda/shoulda” done. All you have right now is the present moment. Study hard with the time you have left and get a good night of sleep (or as good of sleep as you can–I honestly have never thought that sleep has impacted my performance on a test (I have enough adrenaline to keep me awake during the test. Just don’t pull an all nighter.)
  2. Oftentimes, when things seem really hard, they’re also hard for a lot of other people too. It’s totally possible that everyone else in your class is also freaking out right now. Your teacher may have to curve the exam. (Especially because it sounds like s/he has done a poor job planning–s/he should not be cramming material.)
  3. Consider the possibility that you fail and learn to accept it. I know this is really hard. I had a really busy first semester of my graduate program, to the point where I really thought I might fail a class because I simply didn’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I needed to do. I had never been in danger of failing before. It ended up going fine, but I really, really learned to accept the possibility that I might fail. And once I realized I was ok with that, I wasn’t stressed anymore and I was able to get a lot more done. Think about it: you can’t do anything but try your best. You have a limited amount of time to do things; you have other classes to balance. Worst case scenario, you fail. But God still loves you. Failing a class won’t damn your soul. 😉 You can re-take the class at a later point (and it’ll probably be a lot easier the second time). If failing the class interrupts your projected life path in some way, it’s because God has a different plan. It’s really hard to trust God in this way, but He will never disappoint.
  4. Worried about a test? There are saints for that! St. Joseph of Cupertino is the go-to guy for exams. Ask him to pray for you, that you’ll only be asked things you know on the test. St. Joseph of Cupertino apparently had a lot of trouble in school, and he was worried about passing his exam for the priesthood. He somehow lucked out and was asked the only thing he knew how to answer. And then he became a priest. And he could levitate. Pretty cool. Also, consider Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. He was an absolutely amazing guy–but he struggled a lot in school. He failed a lot of classes and had to repeat grades. But he kept pushing forward!
 
If you’re struggling, seeing a tutor could be beneficial. If you’re in high school, odds are they’ve got a tutoring center with students acing calc II that could help you out, if not your teacher can definitely help.
 
Calculus is stressful and vexing for almost everyone. Don’t beat yourself up about it, just do the best you can. If you talk to your teacher, I bet they could set up some after class tutoring with you or recommend someone who could help. There’s no shame in needing some extra help in a difficult subject. Usually only STEM fields require calculus, so if you’re not planning on taking it in college don’t sweat it. If you’re going into a STEM field, you can always choose to start with Pre-Cal in college and catch up.
 
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