Jose Pontejos Math 101 Reflection Before the semester even began, I was on the verge of breaking down

because I never liked lgebra! "hat was the subject in which I was alwa#s on the border of failing! I had good terms with the rest of the subjects, e$ce%t for those that involved a lot of e&uations! I'm assuming a lot of m# block(mates des%ise Math, but guess what) Most of us have math an$iet# and we'll just have to deal with it forever! *ike the rest of us, I wasn't born with +hinese blood to answer the hardest Math &uestions! ,omehow, the stereot#%e of +hinese Math geniuses seems to be true! "ake a look at Bea -ng or +hisen +hou) the# alwa#s get the highest grades whenever it comes to Math! I'm not like them! .o matter how hard I %ractice m# sub(%ar Math skills, I alwa#s end u% dissatisfied! It's either I %ass or I fail! Rarel# do I get the high grades I want! "he onl# &ui/ I %erfected was the diagnostic test! ,%eaking of the diagnostic test, what ha%%ened to it0 It was su%%osed to be a test to show if we needed immediate remedial classes or not! bunch of %eo%le failed the diagnostic test and surel# the remedial classes ma# have been something of an aid for them to getting higher grades in class, though no diagnostic test was ever given to them! "he course, Math 101, was the hardest! .ever before have I ever been this determined to get at least a 1!0 in the subject just to %ass! It can reall# make #ou cr#! It's one of those subjects that show #ou if #ou have the skills or not! ,ure, %eo%le %ractice and %ractice to get more consistent answers! But the rate and skill at which %eo%le a%%roach certain %roblems ma# be significantl# different! I learned that #ou reall# need to be accurate with each se&uence that follows from each e&uation! It is ver# eas# to make a mistake if #ou alwa#s have the mind( set of rushing to the answer of the %roblem! 2or e$am%le3 4$567 8 1 can be solved in man# different wa#s if approached with an illogical mind-set and reasoning, though the fact is that there is onl# one answer! In the %rocess of solving this e&uation #ou might think #ou're correct! Because of the thrill and adrenaline #ou have while solving an e&uation, #ou will ignore the fact that #ou might have done a sim%le mistake in a logical se&uence! "his can be seen when #ou trans%ose 6 to the other side in the e$am%le given above! 9ou might have %robabl# retained the %ositive value of 6 at the other side of the e&uation due to ignorance and this will #ield #our e&uation wrong! 9ou have to consider that solving Math e&uations is ver# crucial) in this essa#, I can make all the mistakes I want and get a grade for it, but in solving Math e&uations, one tin# error can wrong the whole e&uation! It's either #ou have it or not! ,olving more com%le$ solutions will re&uire an eagle e#e for each and ever# number that will be subjected to addition, negation, s&uare root, and etc! :hile solving these e&uations with careful accurac#, #ou might waste a lot of time checking ever# ste% that %recious time is wasted! ,o, in solving e&uations #ou have to consider the time and the accurac# at which #ou solve e&uations! Rarel# do we see %eo%le having both of these skills, it's either the# are reall# accurate but slow, or reall# fast but inaccurate! "hese reasons are what I consider to be skills that %ose as an im%ediment to solving e&uations in lgebra! I'd like to conclude b# sa#ing that Math 101, des%ite its being a tedious and difficult subject, is something from which one can learn) not through the %ossible a%%licabilit# of these e&uations in real life, but through the mind(set driven b# Math to develo% such accurac# and s%eed, both factors that can be a%%lied in most life situations! I ho%e I %assed this semester as I worked reall# hard for this subject!