cathmom Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 phonics/pronunciation chemistry quantitative physical science geometry imaginary numbers (just couldn't get my mind around the fact that they were imaginary - it would be like studying Snuffleupagus for biology!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Well in college, organic chemistry and thermodynamics had me pulling my hair out! :blink::blink::blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Part-Time Homeschooler Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Trigonometry -- yuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Grammar. The whole diagramming process was painful:glare: I never did understand transitive/intransitive verbs until we did Easy Grammar :-o Algebra. Specifically, negative numbers.:glare: And I don't care, either, lol. High school only here, so I can't even fathom all those big things y'all don't understand.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I didn't get (or I guess I should say attempt to get) how history worked as a big picture. Imagine my surprise when doing SOTW 1-4 with my kids how everything worked together!! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Math. I have always been horrible at math. I remember crying over addition/subtraction flashcards. Algebra was unspeakable torture. Honestly, I think I was too young and my brain was not ready. And of course it's not naturally my good subject anyway. Mercifully, in college I was able to just barely CLEP out of the required math (I was an English Ed. major). My GPA would NOT be the 4.0 on my records if I had had to take any math courses. It's easy (sorta) to get a 4.0 when you CLEP out of most of the "freshman courses" and just about the only courses you take are in your major ; ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Quantitative Analysis. Actually, I did finally figure out how to do the computations, but I never really understood how it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Trig. I missed the first couple of weeks of that term (sick) and somehow never did catch on to what on earth we were doing. Passed and all that, but I don't really know *how*. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Grammar. The whole diagramming process was painful:glare: Awww, that's sad. I'm so sorry to hear that. I fell in love with English when I was taught diagramming in sixth grade. I think it helped that I had a fab teacher that year. As a visual learner, it made so much *sense* to me! I'm a huge fan of diagramming. Isn't it funny how different we all are?:001_smile: I'll tackle just about anything word-related. But if it's numbers? Fuggedaboudit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I never took physics at all until college, and then had to take the toughest one (for physicists and engineers). I really disliked it, especially E and M. I liked the thermodynamics part, but that was so small an amount of material. Finally, in our 5th quarter, we got to quantum mechanics--finally something fun! Engineering Graphics--I should never have taken this when I did. I had not had statics or any physics yet. I had to infer what forces were, and then resolve them graphically. I can't draw at all. It was so horrible that I actually felt nauseous whenever I opened the book. I don't know how I ever passed this class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawn of ns Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Math and anything involving it. I always thought it was because I was not a math person. Silly girl. Now I realize it's because I was missing some basic pieces I needed to understand higher math. I'm getting those now though as I go through it with the kids and I can't wait until they're old enough to be doing algebra, calculus, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Chemistry.. I had the hardest time until I became a chem-aid in 12th. When I set up the experiments and graded the test, it all of a sudden clicked. Now I understand that I'm visual kinesthetic; so sitting in class listening to lectures did nothing for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philothea Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Physics, though I skipped a grade level in science, it landed me into taking a required physics course. I actualy asked the teacher to talk to me like a 5 year old when he explained something so I could understand. I was never great in math, but that was because of fear and laziness...when we got to trig I was completly lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura W. Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 In high school: Geometry - it was different from all the math I had studied before, plus I was doing it by correspondence course, so it took me a while to figure it out. In college: Calculus 3 - I had a great professor in Calculus 1 and 2, but not for 3. I could not figure it out on my own. Physical Chemistry - This one was tough. Of course, we had to use a lot of calculus in the course. Blessings, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 My high school chemistry teacher had a high school diploma, and a few college science courses under his belt. He was the school janitor. They were desperate for a teacher, so they dumped him in our class. (No one who was actually qualified would accept what they were willing to pay.) The essence of teaching is the communication of ideas, and that guy could not communicate. That was the only course in which I ever scratched in the dirt for a C. His teaching approach was, "Don't worry about understanding the concepts. Just memorize the formulas, and you'll pass the test." For years I thought I was a moron who was incapable of understanding chemistry. Then I started to study baking and soapmaking for fun, and realized I can do it. He just couldn't teach it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 History. I know basically nothing and am aware of that constantly. I am intimidated by the thought of teaching my children and so I've planned and planned and yet have done nothing. Grammar. We were never taught beyond the basics: nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. I had never even heard of subjects and predicates until I failed questions on a college entrance exam and looked them up myself afterward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 sports any sports! still don't get it how people can find any level of enjoyment or purpose chasing any of the various forms of balls is beyond my comprehension. how people can just sit, sometimes for hours, and watch other people chase various kinds of balls is even further from my understanding I actually got an F in pe and had to repeat it over the summer in 9th grade!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakitty Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 math....just an absolute nightmare for me. I was in honors English and remedial math all throughout my school career. NOW, as an adult, I don't have nearly as bad of a mental block...and do just fine at math. I think it took really seeing how it applied to my daily existence for it to really click in my brain. It was the only subject I ever really struggled with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 math: geometry, trigonometry chemistry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Generally most everything. We moved every two years, which meant a school change. I was painfully shy and the thought of raising my hand to ask a question was more frightening to me than just dying outright. I had an undiagnosed auditory discrimination disorder which means when there is more than one noise going on at once, or loud noises, all I understand is what amounts to what sounds like the adults on the old Charlie Brown cartoons. My saving grace in life as a child was that I was a voracious reader. I also got math really well and I could write. Other than that eled and high school were NOT.FUN. Specifically grammar, book reports, essays, foreign languages, chemistry, Alg II, Geometry, and anything that I was supposed to memorize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 sportsany sports! still don't get it Oh, yeah. "Hey, let's split up into two teams, and see which team can throw this bouncy ball through that hole way up over our heads more times!" Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna in the boonies Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Geometry and Chemistry -- both of which my oldest is taking this year, so I get a daily reminder of just how hard they were (and continue to be!) for me. Fun stuff.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Phonics Algebra II Calculus And, most unfortunately, music theory. Oh, and literary criticism. Decontstruction I get ... the rest ... I think I was too naive and conservative for the class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Trig. I missed the first couple of weeks of that term (sick) and somehow never did catch on to what on earth we were doing. Passed and all that, but I don't really know *how*. ;) Yeah, trig was my nemesis, too. My troubles weren't due to illness but to a combination of shaky basics and the dreadful legacy of a teacher who preferred chain-smoking in the lounge to giving actual math instruction. :glare: :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 In high school I never really got Geometry, although now that I'm sober it makes much more sense. In college I had difficulty with Physics. But I was being taught in a lecture section of ~300 students by Dr. Heisenberg, who was probably about 70 years old at the time. His father was *the* Heisenberg of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. My theory is that he didn't remember ever not knowing physics, he was there to research, but he had to teach a certain number of sections each year as part of his contract. Consequently, I had no idea what he was talking about. I also had difficulty with Ornithology. I got the concepts, no problem; quite fascinating, in fact. But getting up at 4 am to go to the frozen seacoast is not my idea of fun. And I just don't have the visual-perceptual skills to tell more than 150 faded, stuffed, museum-specimens of little brown birds apart. Also, the professor, who was about 75 years old, grew up with the leading Ornithology professor at Cornell University for a father. Once again, another teacher who didn't remember ever not knowing his subject, and expecting us to learn his 75 years worth of knowledge in one semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Math science-any kind history-so boring! I love history now; I find it fascinating! Saxon makes math make sense for me. I still struggle with Science. It took Dh over an hour to help me understand "mass" and it's still a somewhat fleeting idea for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahli Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The only class I had a problem with was Alg. 2/ Trig. That is because, umm... I slept almost everyday in that class. I do remember thinking whoa, the Parabola is the meaning of life! :lol: I retook a Trig/ Statistics class the next year, and thanks to my love and ease in Statistics (and the fact that the teacher was livelier) I got an A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieAir Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Anything with higher math Algebra I Geometry Algebra II Chemistry (which looked too much like the above to me) I need explanations I can understand. If it doesn't make sense to me, telling me just to follow a formula or a rule won't work. It also has to be in my language with explanations and examples that I can relate to. I finally understood that two negatives equal a positive when a substitute teacher said, "It's just like in English." When I was working with my kids on Pre-Algebra and Algebra I, I understood it much better than I ever did in school. I think part of that has to do with the way Saxon explains things. It's written in a language I can understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Algebra. I LOATHED algebra. But looking back on it now, I think I really only loathed the teacher. I'm kind of looking forward to approaching mathematics all over again with the kids. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Grammar. We were never taught beyond the basics: nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. I had never even heard of subjects and predicates until I failed questions on a college entrance exam and looked them up myself afterward. :iagree: We never really learned to diagram sentences when I was in school. Now I am taking a gradschool course in linguistics (it is a requirement for my english lit major) and the grammar portion is making me want to cry. I am just not getting it. Also Algebra. I loved trig and geometry but algebra and I never got along. And anything sciency. I managed biology okay but only okay. Chemistry and physics I died in. I failed optics in physics. My teacher told me that no one ever fails optics. Well I guess I proved him wrong:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laylamcb Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Another vote for chemistry. :glare: I distinctly remember an essay question for which I was expected to explain and distinguish the differences between ionic and covalent bonding. My answer? Love! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I despise grammar. This is the one subject I fear teaching DD. She is only doing basic 3rd grade level stuff, and I already have to check the answer key most days. I have never liked history although I was able to memorize well enough to pass it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Me Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Chemistry - I just couldn't get it. My teacher gave me 3 points so that I wouldn't fail the class for the year. Of course, my dh had the same teacher, and was failing by only 2 points, and received the failing grade. The same year of school. We never did figure out why I was given points and he wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna in the boonies Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Another vote for chemistry. :glare: I distinctly remember an essay question for which I was expected to explain and distinguish the differences between ionic and covalent bonding. My answer? Love! That's great! (I'd rep you for it, but I'm out!);) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 In math I struggled when I came to learning the multiplication tables, then again with the "foil" method in Algebra, then with proofs in geometry. In English, I always felt a little lost when it came to grammar beyond the basic parts of speech. I think it was because we moved every few years and I missed some things along the way. Also, because of moving, I never got any world history,just US. I had the most trouble in art class in elementary school. When we were asked to choose materials for certain projects, I would totally become paralyzed because the perfect thing wasn't among the choices available. How can you tell that to a teacher? Lol. I couldn't bear to make something that was junky, I wanted beauty and perfection. I wrote a lot of lines in that class. I will bring my art supplies to class. 1000 times. I was sick a lot on Thursdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Economics was my downfall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcjlkplus3 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 In high school I could not get Chemistry or physics. I loved the concepts (esp. Physics), but could not do the math or apply it. I barely passed them. Hopefully I will learn as we go and can handle it for 3rd and 4th grade. We will be finding good curriculum for both of those.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Awww, that's sad. I'm so sorry to hear that. I fell in love with English when I was taught diagramming in sixth grade. I think it helped that I had a fab teacher that year. As a visual learner, it made so much *sense* to me! I'm a huge fan of diagramming. Isn't it funny how different we all are?:001_smile: I'll tackle just about anything word-related. But if it's numbers? Fuggedaboudit. I had diagramming even in my senior year of high school. Doing Easy Grammar, which requires no diagramming at all, with my dd has helped me understand diagramming better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Chemistry - I just couldn't get it. My teacher gave me 3 points so that I wouldn't fail the class for the year. Of course, my dh had the same teacher, and was failing by only 2 points, and received the failing grade. The same year of school. We never did figure out why I was given points and he wasn't. Was the teacher male or female? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna in the boonies Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Economics was my downfall. Oh, I totally forgot about Economics! I took it during a summer session at a community college the summer before my senior year of college. I was lost from day 1 and never got any better at it. Our final exam was an open book take home essay which consisted of exactly one question -- and I didn't understand it! After agonizing over it all week long, my desperation got the better of me. My essay consisted of something along the lines of, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're asking. I'm only taking this course because it's a requirement in order for me to graduate. My degree will be in special education, and I will not be using these principles in my career. It is my hope that you will have mercy on me and give me a passing grade based on my consistent class attendance and effort." I was hoping for a D. When my final grade was posted, I was shocked to see that I had gotten an A.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Math. I'm talking basic math here, I did not even get to algebra. Phonics were also confusing - yet I was, and am, a voracious reader. I think because I could read well already phonics confused me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Phonics were also confusing - yet I was, and am, a voracious reader. I think because I could read well already phonics confused me. Yes, I think that was my problem too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Math. I'm talking basic math here, I did not even get to algebra. Phonics were also confusing - yet I was, and am, a voracious reader. I think because I could read well already phonics confused me. I think this is my problem with grammar. I have always read tons of books so I know when a sentence is wrong and how to correct it, I am just not getting the Why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 My list could go on forever, but here's the Reader's Digest version: Chemistry -- the teacher didn't teach it well (IMO). No one did well in this teacher's classes. I went to Guidance, and told them, "Mr. So-and-So doesn't actually TEACH." I was told, "We know this, but he has tenure." I am NOT kidding. Geometry -- ditto. Another teacher who mumbled at the board while erasers and paper airplanes flew around the classroom. And this, in 10th grade! Algebra 2 -- this was just me. :confused: The teacher was good. I took this class two years in a row, and finally managed to understand it, at least well enough to earn A's and B's. Don't ask me about it now, though! French verb tenses -- which were explained poorly in French. How was THAT helpful? We were not allowed to speak in English, and the textbook didn't have explanations in English, either. And I had never studied English grammar in school, so I was truly lost. Drug Education -- since I didn't "partake," I had a hard time memorizing lists of barbituates and um... well, I remember barbituates, so there! History's chronology/World history -- this was probably difficult since history was not taught chronologically in the first place, and I don't remember studying much world history at all. How to Climb the Rope Ladder -- I never did make it to the top, in spite of Mr. Spit (the coach) screaming, "Get it up there, Landis!" Throughout my life, whenever I have a hard time moving (like when I was 9 months pregnant with the twins), I say to myself, "Get it up there, Landis!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I had a terrible teacher. Actually he was a long-term sub and had no idea what he was teaching... nice enough guy, but way over his head. The regular Economics teacher had been injured over the Christmas break (he had made his millions playing the stock market -- not teaching in PS! -- and tore a ligament playing tennis at some schmancy resort in Hawaii or someplace) and didn't come back for like three months. I have a feeling he would have been a really inspiring Economics teacher! LOL We had a terrible computers teacher too, but I'd done enough of that on my own that it wasn't a problem, and a terrible AP Biology teacher (but I enjoyed the subject and did fine on the test so I guess I got it... LOL) But Economics was something I had no experience or interest in, and needed a teacher who had one or the other himself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncmomo3 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Writing. I absolutely loathed it. It seems all too subjective and I never seemed to do it correctly. Now I'm flooded with horrid memories teeming with red ink all over my essay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I managed a B+ in algebra I but I really didn't understand it and I still utterly fail to get geometry. Also physics and chemistry. I am a visual learner and have a hard time with things that I can't visualize. Have you ever tried to picture force, energy or negative numbers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Organic Chemistry was the first class that tripped me up. The cranky, almost totally deaf old teacher (yes, as in: you could cheat on tests with her right in the room) might have had something to do with it, though. lol I was never *interested* in history and therefore my understanding of how historical figures and events have shaped the world is pretty poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Oh, I totally forgot about Economics! I took it during a summer session at a community college the summer before my senior year of college. I was lost from day 1 and never got any better at it. Our final exam was an open book take home essay which consisted of exactly one question -- and I didn't understand it! After agonizing over it all week long, my desperation got the better of me. My essay consisted of something along the lines of, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're asking. I'm only taking this course because it's a requirement in order for me to graduate. My degree will be in special education, and I will not be using these principles in my career. It is my hope that you will have mercy on me and give me a passing grade based on my consistent class attendance and effort." I was hoping for a D. When my final grade was posted, I was shocked to see that I had gotten an A.:lol: :cheers2: I remembered another class that I absolutely loathed. Speech. It was mandatory in college. I'm a very shy introvert. I spent most of that class nauseous. I think the instructor gave me a pity pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutmeg Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Electricity, batteries, magnets, the color spectrum....basically anything that I could not really 'see.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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