My ninth grade math class is the hardest class I’ve ever taken. It was Algebra two/trig taught by Mrs. Derickson. On the first test, I scored around a sixty. That was the lowest grade I had ever earned on a test. But I didn’t let that failure define the rest of my high school career, I improved my grade through after school tutoring, hard work, and dedication. Mrs. Derickson stayed after Wednesday and Thursday, so I stayed after Wednesday and Thursday. Other kids from my class stayed back and we would arrange the desks in a circle and do our homework in a large group. We would work the problems together and help each other get to the correct answer. It was tedious, and sometimes we would talk instead of doing work, but it helped us learn.
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Derickson usually assigned twenty or more problems per class. Knowing that it would pay off in the end, I forced myself to do the work- even when I wanted to pull my hair out. Doing the work diligently improved my grade and my understanding of the material, which helps me understand the upper level math I take now. That class taught me that hard work does pay off and that homework is always worth the extra effort. The last thing I learned from that class was dedication. Many of my peers would give up on tests because they “couldn't” complete a question when they just weren't connecting what they had learned to the questions. They were more content giving up and accepting a failing grade then putting in a little extra effort. On the other hand, I never gave up. If I thought I couldn't solve a problem I worked it out anyway, because I would rather get something wrong than never attempt it at all. The values I learned in that class I still practice today. For example, I studied all summer for my SAT. I set three alarms each day to remind myself to practice and I studied for thirty minutes every day. The practice sessions were often frustrating because I didn’t always see the results I wanted, but I kept going. All summer I practiced and when the real test came along I felt prepared. In the end, I got a 1530. At any point I could have given up and accepted my previous score, but I dedicated myself to the practice and I couldn't
Derickson usually assigned twenty or more problems per class. Knowing that it would pay off in the end, I forced myself to do the work- even when I wanted to pull my hair out. Doing the work diligently improved my grade and my understanding of the material, which helps me understand the upper level math I take now. That class taught me that hard work does pay off and that homework is always worth the extra effort. The last thing I learned from that class was dedication. Many of my peers would give up on tests because they “couldn't” complete a question when they just weren't connecting what they had learned to the questions. They were more content giving up and accepting a failing grade then putting in a little extra effort. On the other hand, I never gave up. If I thought I couldn't solve a problem I worked it out anyway, because I would rather get something wrong than never attempt it at all. The values I learned in that class I still practice today. For example, I studied all summer for my SAT. I set three alarms each day to remind myself to practice and I studied for thirty minutes every day. The practice sessions were often frustrating because I didn’t always see the results I wanted, but I kept going. All summer I practiced and when the real test came along I felt prepared. In the end, I got a 1530. At any point I could have given up and accepted my previous score, but I dedicated myself to the practice and I couldn't