Is doing maths necessary? (1 Viewer)

[StrikeFere]

It just seems that no matter how hard I try, I can't do well in it. But my parents are forcing me to do it next year, despite the fact I don't want to. Also, I have no desire to get into medicine, or engineering, or mechanics or any math-related stuff.

What should I do? I just don't see how learning how to draw a parabola, or solving an algebra question is going to help me get into the course I want. It will only bring my ATAR down, but my parents won't listen to me. They say stuff like "You HAVE to do it. It's maths", bla, bla, bla. I have failed nearly all maths test this year, as well as last year. I just don't see any point in making me do something I suck at.

Thoughts? Is doing maths really necessary?

 

[Drongoski]

What year are you in? What course at uni do you plan to do? If what you choose tp pursue has no requirement for maths then it may be better for you not to be forced to do it.

 

[StrikeFere]

Im in Yr 10. As for desired uni course, not sure yet but it's not surely not going to be anything math related.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

@Drongoski I think OP is in Year 10 since he says next year which may refer to Year 11 Prelim.
@OP How bad are you failing? If you want to stick to rule of thumb (in my opinion)
If you're doing Level 3 Mathematics then you should consider either Maths Ext 1 or Advanced:
If you get around 85+ OR 90+ consistently then consider Ext 1
If you get around 75+ or 80+ consistently then consider Advanced
If you're doing Level 2 Mathematics then you should consider either Advanced or General
If you get around 60+ consistently then consider General
If you get 50ish or below then consider Applied Maths or just don't do maths

Also, year 10 isn't always an indication on whether you can excel in maths or not in year 11 and 12.
Talk to your teachers.

Also, not doing Maths won't bring your ATAR down so don't worry. It's just that maths, specifically Ext 1 or 2, provides ridiculous scaling so that's why people think they need to do it. Think hard about it and talk to others for advice.

 

[thoth1]

Im in Yr 10. As for desired uni course, not sure yet but it's not surely not going to be anything math related.

it aint goin to be english related either wiff language like that

 

[Galvez]

I'm on the same boat as you. The main thing is to revise. I myself don't like maths, and believe that most topics that you learn, you won't ever need or use it later in life; its not like I'm going to measure my backyard, or hold disco balls and triangles and try find the angle/degrees of them. This applies to most subjects, Whats the point of learning English as a subject? Some schools are limited with course subjects, and don't offer much.

Most people, whether they suck or are really good at maths, usually would keep maths, but it all comes to personal preference. Follow what you believe is right for you, don't follow what your parents tell you, because only you know your strong and weak subjects, and you are the one sitting the course and tests.

 

[Drongoski]

Im in Yr 10. As for desired uni course, not sure yet but it's not surely not going to be anything math related.

But you had better be sure what you plan to do in future has no maths requirement. Doing Economics, Commerce, Psychology, Genetics, Agriculture, etc etc requires some background in maths (perhaps in statistical analysis, experimental design etc).

I can sympathise with your situation. But do be sure.

 

[StrikeFere]

I'm not worried about that right know. I just want to get through my HSC and get the ATAR I want. And that will happen if I do the subjects I love, and maths is not something I am good at or like in that regard. Seriously, I know people who did no maths and no science in their HSC, and they got ATAR's in the mid 90's and above and I wonder why. I guess it's because they did the subjects they love. I don't care about scaling. From what I heard, it only helps if you do reasonably well.

 

[Drongoski]

s, but it all comes to personal preference. Follow what you believe is right for you, don't follow what your parents tell you, because only you know your strong and weak subjects, and you are the one sitting the course and tests.

This line of thinking is flawed. It is possible your parents are aware of points you in your relative youth have not considered. They mean well. They may sometimes be wrong or misguided of course. Why not have a good talk with your parents again and explain your concerns and try to find out their rationale - maybe they'll come round to your way of thinking.

 

[enoilgam]

Contrary to popular belief amongst people in year 10, maths is NOT essential if you want to do well in the HSC (I remember reading that wendybird got 99.95 without it, although I'm not 100% sure). You only need to do it only if you're planning on doing a uni degree where maths is a prerequisite/assumed knowledge.

 

[Galvez]

This line of thinking is flawed. It is possible your parents are aware of points you in your relative youth have not considered. They mean well. They may sometimes be wrong or misguided of course. Why not have a good talk with your parents again and explain your concerns and try to find out their rationale - maybe they'll come round to your way of thinking.

It is after all the students decision. Parents play a partial role to voice an opinion and provide support however they are not in the position of the student.

 

[Dr No]

Contrary to popular belief amongst people in year 10, maths is NOT essential if you want to do well in the HSC (I remember reading that wendybird got 99.95 without it, although I'm not 100% sure). You only need to do it only if you're planning on doing a uni degree where maths is a prerequisite/assumed knowledge.

Maths is required in a quite a large amount of university degrees. The OP should think twice about saying "not sure yet but it's not surely not going to be anything math related."

Economics, Commerce, Science, Engineering all need maths , plus more degrees as well. I told you guys, going bad at maths or dropping it because you are bad is only a temporary soln, you will most likely need it in university, and then you will struggle. Thus why I told you guys to get help/tutors at the start of the year lol

Maths is quite universal and everyone should have atleast a 2unit level of knowledge of maths (If not for real world application then for enjoyment, calculus is a pretty simple, powerful and fun concept to think about)

 

[Alkanes]

Contrary to popular belief amongst people in year 10, maths is NOT essential if you want to do well in the HSC (I remember reading that wendybird got 99.95 without it, although I'm not 100% sure). You only need to do it only if you're planning on doing a uni degree where maths is a prerequisite/assumed knowledge.

I remember she did 2U

 

[Shadowdude]

People think mathematics is about numbers and adding things and subtracting things. That's silly.

Mathematics is about clarity of thought, logic skills and is more about the way of thinking abstractly and quantitatively. And THAT is a very important skill.

 

[Dr No]

People think mathematics is about numbers and adding things and subtracting things. That's silly.

Mathematics is about clarity of thought, logic skills and is more about the way of thinking abstractly and quantitatively. And THAT is a very important skill.

hey, check the general maths section. You screwed up yet another question! Idiot.

 

[funnytomato]

It just seems that no matter how hard I try, I can't do well in it. But my parents are forcing me to do it next year, despite the fact I don't want to. Also, I have no desire to get into medicine, or engineering, or mechanics or any math-related stuff.

What should I do? I just don't see how learning how to draw a parabola, or solving an algebra question is going to help me get into the course I want. It will only bring my ATAR down, but my parents won't listen to me. They say stuff like "You HAVE to do it. It's maths", bla, bla, bla. I have failed nearly all maths test this year, as well as last year. I just don't see any point in making me do something I suck at.

Thoughts? Is doing maths really necessary?

yeah, if you don't like it, DON'T do it
fortunately, maths ISN'T COMPULSORY in senior years

there are still some really good course(AND career) options that do not involve much maths at all

 

[Dr No]

yeah, if you don't like it, DON'T do it
fortunately, maths ISN'T COMPULSORY in senior years

there are still some really good course(AND career) options that do not involve much maths at all

not a lot.

Basically everything these days is business (not the theory, just that everyone works in actual companies) . If you can't do 2unit maths then you wont survive in that type of environment, everyone needs basic maths for these sort of things.

 

[StrikeFere]

But not everyone can excel in Maths, and I'm one of those people. Oh, and I already know more than enough maths that is applicable for the real world. That's not even the issue. Actually, to be honest, I'm fairly decent at maths, but I always fail in tests for some reason, and that tells me I am not good at it/I don't do enough revision. Like for example if you tell me to solve an simple algebra question

x (square) + 6x + 8 (So I have to find a number two numbers that multiply to get 8 and add to get 6.

So pretty easy

(x + 4) (x+ 2)

But if it was a test, I would get it wrong. I just know I would. I would find some way to make an silly mistake.

 

[pwoh]

So you're saying you are decent at it but aren't doing well in tests? Then maybe you should consider taking it, and just improving your exam technique. A lot of people here on BoS can help with that. At least try it out - you can always drop it later if you still think it is useless later on. But what people are saying about maths later on is true - if you are not sure what you want to do at uni, it is best to keep your options open.

But not everyone can excel in Maths, and I'm one of those people. Oh, and I already know more than enough maths that is applicable for the real world. That's not even the issue. Actually, to be honest, I'm fairly decent at maths, but I always fail in tests for some reason, and that tells me I am not good at it/I don't do enough revision. Like for example if you tell me to solve an simple algebra question

x (square) + 6x + 8 (So I have to find a number two numbers that multiply to get 8 and add to get 6.

So pretty easy

(x + 4) (x+ 2)

But if it was a test, I would get it wrong. I just know I would. I would find some way to make an silly mistake.

 

[StrikeFere]

Yeah, the times I have tried, I have done pretty well in exams. But sometimes not even that works. For example, I studied really well for Volume and Surface Area (the subject I hate the most in maths) yet in the exam I was under the delusion that I did everything well, and when I got it back, got 40%!