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A Fear of Math!


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Severely anxious atm.

I've always had a lesser strong suit in math, since about 9th grade, or middle school pretty much. I'm not sure it's due to the fact i never did math as a kid as im pretty sure i did just the same as everyone else. Ive had tutors all my life lol even since primary, and now being in IB Math SL is really taking a **** on me. For lack of a proper analogy. Excuse the profanity. Only last year, in 10th grade did i ever severely kind of 'fail' and that was close to passing, so I wouldnt say 'I can't do maths' rather, i have a weaker foundation. I've always tried to brush the situation off, with the plause 'I can just do studies next year'. Now im worried i won't even make it.

I'm an english-y kind of person but i do respect the sciences, for their purpose in the IB curriculum. In fact, initially only allowed myself to join IB knowing that the Math Study class was an available choice! that is, until i got to year 11 and realised, that the administration perhaps forgot to mention the fact that Math Studies was only offered in IB2. So here I am, facing a Log and Exponential Test tomorrow, absolutely guttered. It is quite hard, coming from the most laid back attitude towards math, and suddenly having to strip down my ego and actually study. And with the first term a real test of my capability, I'm now in second and they just go so fast, with little time for me to catch up to the challenging concepts. i feel particularly hopeless. but there's some mystical belief that if i somehow pushed myself in every possible moment - i could do it. But now there's 7 days till exams, and i feel myself always running in perpetual cycles of pity and hope, and back again. Not to mention, i have all my subjects to finish studying for.

I really don't want to give up all of IB simply because they don't offer studies now! My other subjects are quite good, just this one. and now im feeling the anxiety. I feel like a huge dissapointment to my mother, and she's still pushing me to push the hard yards which i am often reluctant to do - or she's giving me the option of leaving IB, meaning moving schools perhaps.

Man this is hard. But i hope the admin considers something after the exams, which they said they would.

So guys, if anyone bothered to read even a portion of this load, how easy is math studies?

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As you know, Maths Studies is just intended to give an appreciation of maths to students who don't expect to need the subject in their future studies. As such, it is not even on a par with an Ab Initio language study, which does provide the basic skills to communicate successfully in an environment where the language is spoken.

Look at the subject as a kind of written international language, with its own vocabulary, rules, notational grammar and style of expression. And far fewer irregularities (and a much smaller vocabulary to learn) than a spoken natural language. Since your other subjects are good, and you can handle language studies successfully, you should not have any undue fear of maths!

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You seem like a bright person from what I can gather based on reading one of your posts and I'd bet that with the right amount of practice and determination you would be able to pass and get atleast a 5 on SL Math; but putting this amount of time into a subject that feeds no benefit to your future career may seem like a bad move, and it is so Mathematical Studies is a wise decision. Math Studies is different from Math SL in its approach to the study of math; it's target is to give you a basic understand and an appreciation for math. As it only covers the tip of the iceberg which is the Math Universe, it is easier than Math SL.

Just some personal advice, DON'T GIVE UP ON IB! Try your hardest with your subjects and don't let the problems get you down. :)

Good Luck Mate!

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Thank you so much fellow french speakers!

haha, I'll definitely take your words on.

really much appreciated you went ahead to read even a bit of that rant :P

oh & another nagging question, (lol sorry) but does anyone personally know if there is a drastic (or lack thereof) difference in terms of the math studies content to the regular SL content?

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oh & another nagging question, (lol sorry) but does anyone personally know if there is a drastic (or lack thereof) difference in terms of the math studies content to the regular SL content?

Both courses total 150 hours, but 20 hours is allocated to the Maths Studies SL Project and only 10 hours to the Maths SL Portfolio. You can make a direct comparison of the content of the two courses by downloading the syllabus for each from the "IB Syllabus" section in "General IB Downloads" in the Files section.

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Remember, none of your scores in IB1 matter. If you're intending to do Studies in IB2, and do the Studies IB exam, then don't worry about Maths SL in IB1. You're doing it, so don't ignore it, but don't dedicate time to it at the expense of your other subjects.

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  • 2 months later...

The syllabus difference between SL and studies is huge.

I've seen my classmates with studies and they don't have that much work to do,

and if you put in effort im sure you can manage SL,

and if you take studies make sure you get a 6 at least.

If you still struggle with SL, just compensate in your other subjects :D

Hope I helped, best of luck! :)

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