To College Bound Juniors and Seniors: Just Ask Why

As I have previously discussed, I went through the Montville Township School District. I have no qualms about the district, infact I am very proud to have gone through our schools. We are recognized across the state for our education and athletics, and I am honored to have been able to take part.

Throughout my entire educational career, I have never been a strong math student. I had a tutor here and there, went for extra help with a teacher every now and again, but I never really "got it".

I was initially a bit nervous that I wasn't going to get into the Rochester Institute of Technology, my current college. Technology is my forte, and technology always goes hand in hand with math, which isn't. 

When it came time to take my math placement exam I scored well under a 40%, with the median score being somewhere around 75%. I ended up being scheduled for PreCalc, which is the college version of remedial math at my school. 

At first I was nervous, I put myself down. I wished that'd I'd studied more in high school. I wished that I'd paid more attention. My level of math doesn't even count towards my major, which means I'm going to be taking even more math in order to graduate.

Well, as the first day of class rolls around and my professor starts teaching, I noticed that he wasn't just teaching the skills that were in the book. He was explaining the concepts behind them. 

I can honestly say that I am beginning to understand math, and probably would have sooner if I just asked why.

Why does this concept work?

What is the history behind it?

Sometimes in order to fully understand a concept, you have to understand where it comes from. In the highly competive college acceptance process, kids are obsessed with getting the grades and absorbing all the knowledge they can to get into college. Yet, in this whirlwind it's easy to forget to learn about why something works, and in a lot of cases, that meaning can really be the key to understanding something.

So parents, share this lesson with your college bound kids, tell them not to be afraid to ask why. That answer may help them in that very moment, or with a concept further down the line.