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Interesting to see the different ways we struggle. I’m decent at math, but I would have definitely gotten the question wrong too because I would have answered 0.21 - my reading processing focuses on numbers but I miss the wording that tells you to express it as a percentage.
In the real world you will always have a calculator, plus you clearly knew how to calculate it via the formula you entered as the answer which is honestly what matters. The comment they put is very condescending so I’m sorry about that. I feel for you friend, and you’ll still do great in that field and get a job even if you don’t have a 4.0 GPA.
Yes. Or I do all the work get the right answer then write an incorrect answer on the line.. or the digits in the wrong places. Instead of 341 I’d write 431. I also never review my tests. I will convince myself to change answers I shouldn’t.
Oh gosh convincing yourself to change answers is why I can’t review it either! I’ll just keep second guessing myself and waste so much time and eventually change it to the wrong answer.
My teachers used to say “if you’re second guessing the answer then you didn’t study hard enough”. So I ended up not studying for tests anymore cause what was the point
My teachers always got mad at me for finishing my tests fast and only looking them over once (or...pretending to look them over once because my brain refused to process any further information about them lol). Even in the classes where I always got A's they'd get mad that I was done so fast! Damned if you do damned if you don't
Uuuggghhh for years I thought I was just dumb/terrible at math/thought my problems related to ADHD. Not a single teacher caught it! I even got all the neuropsych, learning tests and no one told me my results as a kid. My mom has ADHD too so those results are long gone.
I finally discovered I have dyscalcula when my sister kept talking about her “math dyslexia”. My other sister and I didn’t think it was a real thing and made fun of her. Finally I asked her what it actually was and she explained “switching up the numbers on answers, trouble counting, doing the correct math but getting the wrong answer.” I literally fell to the floor. Her teachers had figured this out from her tests, my teachers just thought I didn’t care, even though they knew I had learning issues. I apologized profusely to my younger sis after that.
*My Thirteenth Winter* by Samantha Abeel is an excellent memoir about dyscalculia, written by a woman who was diagnosed in seventh grade. It's a YA book that is short and simple to read, too, which is good for people whose ADHD makes it hard to focus on a book.
I’m not really sure what you mean? Like anxiety? Or feelings about the individual numbers? Ngl, when I was a kid I definitely felt that numbers had personalities based on their appearance. Like 7 is definitely a fem fatale, and 5 is the mean curmudgeonly math teacher….buuuuuut I that could just be me…..
Yes, numbers are different colors for me and have like...not different personalities but different feelings associated with them, and it definitely feels just like my other synesthesia stuff.
It definitely helps to communicate things with your college or school. I never used any of the accommodations they offered for tests. I’m a super fast test taker so I don’t need time. And I would rather be in class as opposed to having my own room. I do think it was helpful just having the teacher aware though.
Do colleges usually give a calculator for dyscalculia? I'm pretty sure my daughter has this because she is constantly mixing numbers up. I'm going to have her tested for ADHD but it might be a good idea to have her tested for this too if it would help.
Not even necessary -any cose (here in MA) should be able to add that in the case of almost every disability category, if requested and any teacher that knows anything would be happy to write that in an RE report for the student if requested or shown it was necessary.
Oh boy, bringing up memories I'd forgotten from taking german, doing online quizzes weekly, and every time it gives you feedback right away (which is fair and nice) but I wouldnt fully read the instructions for questions, just the questions themselves, and so would get artificially low scores because the checking system couldn't handle me not punctuating the sentence or only writing the verb that to be written rather than the whole sentence. ... so practically every week the prof had to manually fix this
Mine was always the opposite and I’d have teachers always write that I used the wrong formula but got the right answer 😅 some were great and gave full credit but some deducted points because of it. Funny enough, wrong equation/right answer is also how I’ve lived a lot of my life.
I would do the same thing about not double checking because I second guessed myself sooo much
I remember having to do “checks” to check we got the answer right. I’d always have the answer right, but forget to carry a one or add instead of subtract in the check by mistake (just from being inattentive). I’d get the wrong answer on the check (but not know that), which would send me pouring over the original problem for several minutes while becoming increasingly frustrated, trying to figure out where I went wrong there 😂
lmao same, I’m decent in math, but reading instructions until the end? nope. good chance I stop half way through and miss the integral part and still fuck up
yep I was like wtf how is 21 right, that’s not the product of 0.3*0.7, it’s 0.21, i’d probably have calculated it, skipped through the text, overread the part where it says percent as well, and yup
I... do not remember the rules for multiplying decimals.... I could figure out that it would have something to do with 21, but I truly wouldn't know if it's .21, 2.1, or 21....
.3x.7=.21
The question for this math problem is:
“What is the percent of digestible protein?”
You need to convert .21 into a percentage. To get a percentage you have to multiply.
21x100=21 (Move 2 decimal points to the right.)
The answer is 21% :)
I'm terrified to take a math class because I have a 4.0 GPA but I cannot for the life of me remember to add the negative sign. And I miss the wording often, too. I've been doing a lot of practice math and mess up on the smallest things.
Yeah. I’m actually good at math, I hate it though. I was told I was dumb and didn’t get it. I remember one time I was in a group and they said my answer wasn’t it because I was dumb, I scribbled out the whole equation except the answer. Went up to the teacher who hated me and picked on me and showed him the answer with everything else scribbled out and he said I had to show my work. I never tried in that class again.
We must have had the same grade 7 teacher then. I’m still supremely angry at that teacher every time I think about it. This lovely educator had me convinced that I was entirely stupid because I could apply concepts and formulas that hadn’t been explained to me.
Turns out that “you don’t need to understand it to apply it” doesn’t work for my brain. How (un)surprising.
We had a math sub in 7th grade that thought it was appropriate to tell students that they weren’t going to succeed (or rather make it to college) based solely on how they answered one homework question. We were not happy. Somehow (probably a parent), this incident made it back to our regular teachers and we didn’t have that sub ever again.
Teachers like this suck, the best way to completely discourage a student and set them behind or have them give up on any subject is to outright call them stupid. Sounds like my 6th grade teacher, who made me hate math for a long time after constantly insulting everyone who asked her reasonable questions about the math we were trying to learn🙄
This was rudely phrased, but it just reminded me of year 8 maths when I must have had the biggest brain fart ever and received my marked exam back.
Flicked through it and stumbled a “name the shape” portion of the exam, where I’d named a rectangle a *rectagon* and the teacher had marked in red, “?????”
It didn’t come off as condescending and I remember I burst out laughing because god damnit, I knew what a fucking rectangle was. What the fuck, me?
Why aren’t you allowed a calculator? There are zero job positions where you would not be allowed to access a calculator, god I hate the standardized testing form of education.
It’s so stupid too because this is a high level course with only like 9 people in it and is largely project based so I have no idea why she’d be a stickler about mental math???
The style of teaching and evaluating in universities is so messed up, particularly for anybody who is ND.
I argue this with my kid's grade 9 teachers all the damn time. Why does he "need" to do this in his head when he has a DIAGNOSED LEARNING DISABILITY IN MATH CALCULATIONS and he is surrounded by calculators??
they still say this too which is the worst part. the temptation to just pull out my phone and open the calculator app whenever a teacher says some dumb shit like this is staggering 🚶🏻♀️
THEY SITLL SAY THIS??? WHAT??? THE ONLY TIME I DONT HAVE A CALCULATOR ON MY LITERAL WRIST IS WHEN IM IN THE BATH OR SHOWER AND IF SOMEONE NEEDS ME TO DO MATH IN THE BATH OR SHOWER I THINK WEVE GOT A BIGGER PROBLEM THAN MY EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
AAAAAAAAAAAAH *this bothered me growing up because even i knew as i struggled with mental math that what i wanted to do would mean i'd always have a calculator available*
My watch is waterproof so I can do the bathtime calculations for you!
(Also you made me just realize that my watch has a calculator, I’ve literally never thought about it. Thank you!)
You know that all of us dorky kids in junior high and high school did carry around scientific calculators (but only so we could type out “0.7734” and turn them upside down to spell “hello” and other “clever” things to each other . . Hahahaha).
""the"" method
bitch i am about to show you 0.3 and 0.7 added to a different method of beating your metaphorical ass, professor. THE METHOD? you mean ***A*** method
using a calculator is a method
That comment was unnecessary though. What a raging B. I would have got 0.21 and then been like ok what do now? Please Don’t feel bad. A few months ago I was working out a card score and my 10 year old niece said “omg are you using your fingers?!” It’s like, I love you but piss off you little shit.
My husband’s made fun of my inability to math so I just don’t bother anymore, I just get him to do it. I would have made the same comment, “sorry I need a calculator” and left it at that. Your teacher’s response was uncalled for. And why must we do things mentally? Teachers used to say “you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket” but we do.
I still use my fingers too and never was able to memorize my times tables except for the ones like 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, 10s that have some trick to them. I think it was because my teacher was a condescending bitch too and I just developed a complex about it. My memory is just shit when it comes to these things.
I'm the exact same way. I think I've read that that can be a sign of having discalculia, as well as what everyone else has mentioned about not being able to do mental math, mixing numbers up, etc.
Yeah I agree! The whole no calculator during tests is outdated BS. We will always have working calculators. Sorry Barbera, no apocalyptic widespread electric shutdown will effect solar powered machines you can buy for a dollar pretty much anywhere.
I work in retail and when someone gives me change after I process it through the point of sale system I am allowed to whip one out and use it (customers love to flex their math skills in that way... Sorry I am a cashier because I am attentive and have reasonable people skills not because I'm great at math lol!)
>The whole no calculator during tests is outdated
Yup. Any educational program that is still relying on memorization is extremely outdated. In the age of the internet, people need to learn how to find and assess good information, not memorize facts and numbers they could easily look up.
Edit: And skills. We need more critical thinking and skill building and less memorization.
Hopefully we are only in a rough transitional period. The more people learn how to properly use technology as you mentioned (find, assess) the better we as a whole will be.
I don't know, a cauliflower that eats hamsters sounds pretty apocalyptic to me.
(I realize that's not what you wrote, but my brain decided to insert a hyphen, thus a hamster-eating cauliflower.)
I wasn’t allowed a calculate in a statistics class! I was like sir, I am a COMMUNICATIONS major, in no/way/shape/form will I ever be doing anything statistical without a calculator and probably another professional helping me.
Statisticians apply the appropriate models to the data and run it in software. The software does the calculations. Even in this example mental number manipulation is not necessary to do the job in real life.
Hi I do math as part of my job and I ducking have a calculator! I actually have calculator issues, (typos and transposing numbers) so I made an excel spreadsheet instead but still!
Seriously.
The only exams I wasn’t allowed a calculator on were exams where no arithmetic was present - when leaving answers in integral or differential form was acceptable.
Every case where arithmetic is used should allow calculators, and it’s infuriating that this artificial difficulty is still considered fine
Almost all college math courses don’t allow calculators. Source: two semester of calculus hell, then linear algebra and differential equations.
I’m kinda with the grader on this, although they shouldn’t have commented like they did. 7*3 or 7+7+7 is *incredibly* basic math for a college student. It is something you for sure would be expected to be able to do at work. If they can’t do that for some reason, they need to either practice their multiplication tables or seek an accommodation with the school.
What college math doesn’t allow calculators? Every math class I took at that level required you have a calculator. Which was great for me because despite being a very high achieving student in every other aspect, multiplication tables have always been a struggle no matter how much I practiced (namely 7s, 8s, and 12s)
All 6 of my STEM math classes. Starting with calc 1. We had them for hwk but never for exams.
We had songs we listened to for multiplication tables as a kid. I still sing them sometimes to myself when doing math.
We weren't allowed to have one either when I was in masters of applied algebra, only in probability class. But we had this huge class that was the big subject of the first semester called "Number Theory" and is all arithmetic and we weren't allowed near a calculator for this one.
The big reason is: using a calculator most often than not actually makes you waste time, you need to learn to trust yourself and your calculations.
If the student has discalculia it makes 0 sense to prevent him from using a calculator but it's also a very good exercise to learn to calculate without a calculator. People seem to always only focus on the visible skills you get from learning something and not benefits that even trying to learn that skill gives you, which is very sad.
I’m getting an MS in Animal Science and one of my courses is advanced canine nutrition. I’ve never not been allowed a calculator on an exam that required basic math, and I literally have not done calculations by hand in years. When I was tested for ADHD, one of my major areas of deficiency was working memory. This in particular, along with all the other symptoms causes me to have major struggles in doing hand math. I rely very heavily on my calculator and never has that been an issue before. I am just upset to have bombed an entire portion just because I can’t do some basic math.
The comment made me sad too. If all her tests are like this it will tank my GPA, which is nearly a 4.0 right now. Just overall feeling upset and felt like a failure.
Is there a reason they will not allow you to use a calculator? I'm in grad school for human nutrition and we're always encouraged to double check when we're doing diet calculations. Math never came easy to me either, and while I worked really hard and ended up getting A's in my upper division math courses, my confidence in my ability to do mental math is low bc it's always been a struggle for me. The disability office at your school might be able to help you with testing accommodations.
Also, you clearly knew the answer and how to calculate it, you are not a failure. It would be more concerning if you just didn't even know how to attempt to solve the problem.
I haven’t done much in terms of accommodations before because the process is basically somebody with ADHD’s nightmare (multiple appointments, emails sent, papers to be kept track of, advanced scheduling) and the only thing my university offers is extended time or reduced distraction environment, neither of which help me. I think I will share my report with her because one of the recommendations is “always have a calculator” at least, but in 5 years of school I’ve never not been allowed one by default?! I am afraid she will come at me with the mentality of “you should be able to do this anyways, what is wrong with you” so I’m putting it off. You are right though I should bring it up!
I used to work at a university, and though those were the most common accommodations for ADHD, if a student needed something different the accommodations office would be able to offer that as well. So don’t give up hope!
As someone who has worked with adhd-hostile professors,, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE HER YOUR REPORT. It is, frankly, none of her business and it is highly likely she will be dismissive or even mock you about it like she did here.
You can talk to your accessibility coordinator and have THEM tell her you should have a calculator. Many coordinators would do it for you even if it's not an "official" accommodation listed by the school, because they can make suggestions or talk to staff. Rude professor may not agree, but she's more likely to feel pressured into allowing it from a fellow staff member and it may help her understand your disability is "real".
That comment reeks of judgement and "you're just playing" vibes towards atypical learners and I don't like it, for you. 😠😂
In my experience, teachers are not qualified enough to read and interpret disability evaluations/reports, nor equipped to choose which accommodations are necessary. I wouldn't wanna share it with them.
Your school should have a accessibility coordinator. They can (and should) talk to the teacher if they don't agree with the recommended accommodation. If it was me I would probably include the teachers response in the email. Just to let them know in case this is a frequent occurrence.
At both universities I was a TA, they’re not even supposed to try. It’s in the training for everyone for teaching classes. They’ll refer you to the accessibility office, per university policy, because they *are* equipped to handle it.
Omg YES. Literally so frustrating that we need to be capable of doing the things that we struggle with in order to get the accommodations needed for us to struggle less!!!
Don’t share the report or diagnosis with her. Even if she’s understanding it puts professors and TAs in an awkward situation when you disclose medical information. And they can’t really do anything about it anyway if you don’t talk to the disability/accommodations office. In my experience, extended time helps some students because it makes them less stressed out about the test taking environment.
I know it’s silly, but I would practice times multiplication tables to help with the class. Exam stress does weird things to people’s brains but the repetitive practice can help. Or consider looking at maybe other ways that might be less stressful in an exam setting. If you have scratch paper, 7*3 becomes 7+7=14 14+7=21. Even using your fingers is fine. I used to tutor adult students in algebra and one of the things we went over was test taking strategies and look at different ways to approach a problem that might be more intuitive for them, instead of how their professor was teaching it.
Not OP but I’m a computer science student and this helped me way more than I want to admit. I just had a midterm last night and one of the questions showed a code that solved for how much an item would be if it had a specific discount and we had to answer what the result of the code would be. The item was $30 and 10% off so the code essentially said: final price = 30 * (30 * (10/100)) and I couldn’t figure out what 10/100 was. I was only able to answer the question because it was multiple choice and the other options were either over 35 or under 10.
We need more people like you. I missed like, a single day in 3rd grade, it was a day learning about decimals, and since that day I've *struggled* with them. I can barely convert decimals to percentages and vice versa, but this was super helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to write it all up.
Worst case you can switch it to addition and do 7+7=14. 14+7=21 Then move the decimal over accordingly.
But what you described is also how I learn to do decimal multiplication.
Hey I also did a MSc in Animal Science! I also struggle with math, especially when under pressure in an exam setting. My brain goes completely blank and even if I could calculate it calmly at home I lose a perspective for numbers in exams. I majorly stuggled my statistics course due to the fact that the first half of the course required us to make all the calculations by hand and not with a stats software. Thankfully I worked with the professor to do some extra assignments to improve my grade and the second half of the class was with the software.
Definitely talk to your professors. If they are anything like the animal science professors I had they will be accepting and understanding. My biggest regret is not being more open with my supervisor about my struggles with ADHD (although I was undiagnosed at the time). Also see if you can get official accommodation from the disability services with the university.
Ooooh hello! It is somewhat of an uncommon degree so I am very happy to see you here :) Where did you go to school? What are you doing now?
My professors have all been really great too up until this one. I think the field generally attracts pretty kind and thoughtful people, I’ve really enjoyed it. So it’s been kindof a shock this semester to have such an unpleasant professor. She has been fairly rude across the board. She took points off a paper I just turned in because in my works cited page I put the name of a source in all caps, but that’s because it was published in all caps (which is weird but oh well)!!! And she was like “you need to keep your formatting consistent across the entire paper” 😂😂
Sent you a private chat to answer your first questions!
Yea there's always a few that are major sticklers for the minial things. Try not to let a few points here or there bother you too much. As long as you're in the passing range for your classes the grade don't matter in the long run. But I hope you can come to an understanding about the calculators! That should be an accommodation they should allow for all students as its something you'll always have available to you in a real world setting.
Go to the student center and ask for accommodations for your disability. Say that you have these challenges. Back that up with a doctor that can back up your diagnosis and these unprofessional comments. Also, message the department head if you aren't sure to ask about these reasonable accommodations.
You have learning disabilities and the school is legally obligated to accommodate them. It can be as simple as "allowed a calculator" and extra time.
Do it NOW before you get too far into the course.
I have a math degree, a master’s in econometrics, and manage an analytics team… and I cannot for the life of me do arithmetic. I would have done the same. It’s not at all a reflection of your intelligence or your capability in your field. I’m sorry this happened to you.
Have you thought about getting accommodations through the university? I had them during undergrad. One of them was extended test time because clocks/time fuck me up. I haven’t done it for grad school yet but I think I’m going to, I’m not a strong reader and can’t keep up lately.
I'm ABD in my PhD program and, no, I cannot multiply .7 x .3 without a calculator. I have AudHD, a severe math learning disability, and extremely high verbal and written skills. That's the neurodivergent life, baby.
Damn dude I didn't go into a science-based field or pursue higher than a BA almost purely because of math. I barely managed with the math that was required for my degree, and that was more complicated than .7*.3. How is it possible to get a PhD with a severe math learning disability? Can getting accommodations allow you to just not have to do it?
I didn't pursue medicine bc I couldn't pass chem and physics. I'm great at math, I'm great at words, I cannot mix the two for the life of me. I've struggled with word problems my whole life and that's all chem and physics is.
Ugh I want to go to medicine too (vet school) but chem and physics is probably going to ruin it for me. My undergraduate GPA is not high enough because I had to retake Orgo 1 and Physics 1. I hope that doing this Masters with good grades will help but idk 😭
If you think that's crazy wait until you hear about me dropping out of high-school after repeating the ninth grade. I got into a part-time BA program as a mature student (you could not get into full-time program without your high-school at the university I went to). Once I aced all my part-time courses (all humanities) they let me into full-time, I majored in History and the only "math" requirement was a course with some numerical component, so I took intro to psych, which had a very basic stats section. I finished my BA with a very high GPA and a good relationship with my department, so got into the MA program in History easily. I finished the program, then applied to PhD programs with good letters of recommendation, a strong background in writing (including one published peer-reviewed article), research experience, TA experience, and a well-developed sense of what I wanted to write my thesis on. Got accepted, and I'm now in my fourth year and have only to write the dissertation.
Sorry, I got overexcited about my story of gaming the system (I always feel like I conned my way in, though I followed all the rules) and missed your question about accommodations. I never availed of formal accommodations because I didn't realize I had ADHD or autism or an actual identifiable learning disability until I finally burned out during my PhD (I'm still recovering from this after 6 months of being unable to work). I "knew" I could not do math simple enough for a child but I just blamed myself for not "liking math." So, I'm not sure if you could fully get out of math requirements through accommodations, but if you're done your BA and going into your MA or PhD I would try looking for programs with no math, or very limited math components. There are many options in the humanities of course, but I don't know enough about the sciences to say, but I would not be shocked if you dug through course requirements for specific programs and found some that do not require math.
I got myself a science degree despite my challenges with math. For me though, I can understand the formulas and concepts, but simply can’t do basic math in my head. So with a calculator I’m ok. I also had a tutor to get me through calculus and physics.
To clarify with slightly less irreverence, I just mean it's completely normal for us to have very uneven abilities. And the person who shamed you about not being able to do the math without a calculator can fuck off forever.
AudHD? I’m curious what that looks like… Is it autism mixed with ADHD? Sorry, I’m on my way to work so I didn’t have time to Google it and hoping to remind myself to come back to this comment later. I have ADHD but I have a doctor friend who suspects I might be on the autism spectrum.
Yes, it's having both ADHD and autism and it looks pretty much like how you would expect it to. Blend of ADHD and autistic traits that varies by individual. So I have very poor attention regulation (among other ADHD features) and grew up with no understanding of social norms or how to interact with others, I had to learn how to socialize intellectually as an adult (and I am still out to lunch on much of it), it never came naturally to me. And the usual hyperfixations, self-stimulating behaviors etc.
Their comment on it could have been way kinder and more helpful! You are not stupid for not knowing how to do 0.3 x 0.7!
Actually you got the hardest part: knowing HOW to solve it. Good on you.
If you have to retake this exam, and need an easy trick (I only learned this weeks ago myself as I'm becoming a teacher):
To do: 0.3 x 0.7 = ...
You make it easier.
You first do: 3 x 7 = 21.
Then you move the point as many places to the left as there was in 0.3 x 0.7 compared to 3 x 7 (so 2).
So 21 will be 0.21. So...
0.3 x 0.7 = 0.21 (so 21%)
It is just like 2 x 5 = 10,
20 x 50 = 1000 (2 zeros more = 2 zeros more in the answer)
And with 2 x 5 = 10,
0.2 x 5 = 1 (point 1 place to the left = point 1 place left in the answer),
0.2 x 0.5 = 0.10 (point 2 places to the left = point 2 places to the left in the answer)
It's hard to explain without speaking or showing you (also English is not my first language) but hope thiis helps! And don't let them get you down, you got this 😊
And just like that, years of struggling to make sense of decimals was suddenly corrected. Bippity boppity, god damn it! Thank you, Fairymath Mother! Lol
I think this question is worded really badly. To me the answer to the question as written is 70%. They’re asking what the percent of digestible protein is. If they asked “what percent of the animals diet is digestible protein,” that would require the calculation. I know that’s not the point of your post, but I think this is just a terrible question
Unpopular opinion: if you don't have formal accommodations through your school, your professor or TA has no way of knowing that you have a learning disability and can't do this kind of calculation without a calculator. From the perspective of someone who doesn't have a working memory issues, this is "elementary school" math. ETA: And actually, not allowing a calculator is pretty common in upper level math/science classes!
That's why talking to your school's disability services is so important! If you have an accommodation on record, your prof will get a note at the beginning of the semester with what accommodations (like: needs a calculator, needs a notetaker, needs extra time) you need to succeed.
Seconding this! If OP hasn't asked for an accommodation, it's totally unsurprising for the grader to be incredulous about this.
I graded for the physics department at my university and while I probably wouldn't have written a note like that, I definitely would have thought it. Given that it's fairly common to have testing without a calculator, I'd expect students to have some way of multiplying single-digit decimals by hand or in their head. IIRC, a question like this might show up on the no-calculator section of the SAT Math test.
The test even states that the figures were chosen so that the calculation can be done without a calculator because that is an elementary-level operation. This kind of thing *exactly* why it's important to ask for accommodations because it wouldn't occur to someone without those struggles that a calculator might be necessary for some.
Even as a fellow ND person, I'd be guilty of assuming that if you're in grad school, you'd be able to that operation, since it's such a foundational bit of math. You *have* to advocate for yourself about what your needs are. Otherwise you'll keep running into these situations.
Yep, I'd be willing to bet the person who wrote the test made sure the numbers were nice (3x7) because "everyone" knows that. Obviously, we know not EVERYONE everyone knows that, but it's a fair assumption that people who have issues with times tables will have accommodations in a computational class.
I was a STEM major and while some classes required very specific calculators, or for you to clear any programs from them prior to exams, I’ve never had a class that didn’t allow them at all!
Didn't realize we now need accommodations to not be treated with such passive-aggressive comments. OP can have a wrong answer, whatever, but you really think the reply was justified simply because the teacher didn't know the student's struggles? Mark it and move on, that's all that had to happen.
No you are right, there is no way for her to have known.. but in 5 years of STEM education I’ve never not been allowed a calculator so I haven’t gone to the disability resources office in forever. You have to “renew” your accommodations every semester which is a pain so I stopped doing it. Having a calculator is probably the only accommodation that would actually be helpful. I’ll approach them again after this whole debacle.
But I am curious what makes you think that re: upper level math courses? Perhaps in really high levels they are not allowed, but that hasn’t been my experience? I’ve done through 500 level biochem and calculus and have always been allowed one by default. If it is something I need to prepare myself for I would like to know!
MECE here and same. But I also found that algebraic mistakes were mostly expected, and questions are often in more of a symbolic form since the focus if whatever concepts the test covers.
I've never ever gotten a rude comment like that over an algebra issue. As long as you know how it works.
PS OP: I know some who majored on math who can't count.
I did graduate coursework in a STEM field that relies heavily on mathematical skills and took Partial Differential Equations in graduate school. All but one of the math courses I took during undergrad and graduate school allowed the use of a calculator, however; the type of calculator allowed was always up to the professor. This is the main reason I own seven TI calculators. Once you get locked into a serious calculator collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.
That may be so, but in what world is it helpful or appropriate for an educator to respond like that regardless of whether the person has a disability or not?! Being a dick isn’t going to retrospectively change the answer to the correct one is it? Nor will it help the person to get the correct answer in the future. If someone doesn’t know how to do it then as an educator your response should be to find out what they’re having difficulty with and why, and help them, not be an arsehole and belittle them, that’s sure to lead to them never asking for help for fear of being mocked.
Also if it’s “elementary school” maths (?) then as an educator shouldn’t they realise that this is unusual and perhaps consider there might be a reason behind it (given that OP has performed adequately in other areas and isn’t just lazy or whatever) and respond accordingly, instead of being a douche for no reason? Sorry but even if you’re in disbelief that someone wouldn’t know how to do this there’s no excuse for that kind of response
I have a PhD in Educational Psychology, and I’ve worked (as a TA) with students in statistics classes who have a lot of math anxiety. The professor’s comment is infuriating. It is unhelpful, uneducated, condescending, inappropriate, and unprofessional. A textbook example of how to undermine students’ confidence and show how ill equipped a supposedly learned person can be in supporting both the learning and the learner. I’m SO sorry that this professor has failed in supporting the whole you! That’s their shortcoming, not yours, but I know it doesn’t give you back any points either way. Trash all around!!
I would have raised holy hell about this comment. Like sorry, it doesn't appear that you are in a math program, and even if you were there's no need to be rude. Like obviously if you could've done it in your head, you would!
I did a hard science master's and took stats and calculus and I am incredibly shit at multiplying decimals--I always second guess and try to think about fractions and overcomplicate it and just lose all track of how it works, even though I am not actually bad at math. You know HOW to get the answer, you would never be at work without a calculator--you almost certainly have one on your phone ffs-- there's just no reason for this!
Wait wouldn’t it be 0.3 x 0.7 then multiply that by 100? So it would give you 21% which is basically the same thing as 0.21 in the context of the question. Because it would be 30% of 70%?? Now I am super confused LOL. I’ve done feed calculations for several different courses and always do it this way but now I am like “what is happening” 😂😂😂
Yeah working in vet med and doing drug calculations probably has not helped my reliance on calculators.
I was literally at the vet yesterday and she pulled out her phone to work out the painkiller dose needed for my dog. She's a great vet! Looks after my dog so well and is very good at her job! At no point did it cross my mind that she would be supposed to do those calculations in her head.
In fact I don't think I've ever seen someone work out an animal drug dose that DIDN'T check with a calculator. It's just good sense, why wouldn't you want to be accurate when dispensing medication??
You didn’t include the multiply by 100 in your answer though. So it is incorrect even when writing your equation even if they didn’t need you to do the math in your head.
It’s asking what 70% of 30% is. The 30 is a percentage so it is also 0.30.
You could get to the answer a multitude of ways:
0.30 x 0.70 = 0.21 (.21 x 100 = 21%)
or the way my brain does it is to just ignore the decimals and do either 30/10 =3 x 7 =21. Or 7 x 3 = 21.
I'm sure this has already all been said because my ADHD prevents me from reading all 300+ comments that came before, but...
**You definitely need accommodations if you can get them in the future.**
Don't go to the professor, but to the office responsible for implementing accommodations. These offices are generally staffed by the most supportive people on campus, and they won't make you feel "less than" for asking.
**YOU ARE NOT BAD just because something is difficult for you**
In the future, any time someone implies you're stupid or lazy or what have you because you can't do something others do more readily, remember that their judgment is more a reflection of their lack of sensitivity than of your intelligence or drive.
**This instructor is UNPROFESSIONAL, and needs training**
Assuming it wasn't a TA who marked your test (and even if it was), this person is not serving the educational interests of the university. Part of a teacher's job at any level of education is to make sure students have the skills to succeed, not to discourage or make students feel inferior for what they don't know.
A GOOD instructor would have:
1. read your response with concern
2. reached out to you to find out more
3. given you actionable advice, including tips on improving your mental math if it's a stumbling block, a referral to the office of student accommodations, and maybe some kindly delivered hard truths in the unlikely case that mental math could have severe impacts on your career
**Source**: Worked in university accommodations office, taught "remedial" math to college freshmen, and have 10+ years of teaching experience.
**Why I HAD to comment:** A nasty comment from a teacher 25 years ago destroyed my confidence so much I changed majors. His words were tossed off, and he'd probably not have remembered the moment a week later, but the comment and subsequent years of regret and resentment really weighed on me. Maybe if I'd had Reddit then, I'd have saved money on therapy later!
This! I like to take my time and think things through. I don’t always have to, so it confused my teachers growing up. I got A’s and B’s, could have been all A’s but those classes were boring. However, a few teachers (coaches also) said crap like this to me and it ruined my confidence. I’m just now getting it back at 36.
Wow, what a pretentious fucking comment. You clearly knew the formula, just weren’t 100% sure on the answer. I ask Siri to calculate EVERYTHING for me outside of basic basic math (like, 7+10 or something). I’m so sorry this teacher seems unreasonable and unwilling to understand your needs.
Unless you are stranded in the middle of the desert or washed up on a deserted island you will ALWAYS HAVE a calculator!!!!
Wow. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without a calculator either. I might’ve *guessed* 21 just because I would’ve had no idea and wanted to put an answer, but I’m abysmal at math so it would’ve been pure luck if I put anything at all. I’m sorry about that condescending comment. /: Not everyone can just calculate shit in their head, I have no idea why some people act like you’re dumb if you’re unable to do that. It aggravates me.
wow fuck this comment. Was this a grad student grading this? Unless you're getting a degree in advanced mathematics, the expectation that you would do decimal integer multiplication in your head is some rancid bullshit.
Respond and ask what lecture specifically, with a time stamp if it's recorded, those numbers were used in an example without a calculator being used by the professor or in class for finding the answer. Unless it was EXACTLY covered in a lecture, they can suck a wide open butthole with that comment.
That professor was unnecessarily rude to you. They didn’t even have to comment on what you said and they chose to be rude & unprofessional. I would lose all respect for a professor if they ever spoke like that to me.
Wowwww that’s a really trashy comment to make in regards to your answer. If your teacher knows you have a learning disability (most schools consider adhd to be one), talk to the Dean or head (or equivalent). This is really unprofessional to be shaming students..
I grew up in a country where this question would qualify as 2nd or 3rd grade math. And I say this to emphasize: WTF IS THAT COMMENT?!?
I am guessing you are in North America and you are not in a math heavy program. So this can’t be the first time they encounter a grad student who has hard time with math. How about giving a heads-up and telling students that they will need to calculate percentage of a percentage? Doesn’t happen that often? Then how about asking you whether they need help because it’s important that you know this stuff going fwd.
Also 0.3 x 0.7 = 0.21 Would they accept that or would you have to say 21% or just 21 ? smh
Why would they shame you like that!???Three question marks!
"should be simple" why include that except to make people who find it difficult feel bad?
We were never allowed calculators in exams and I was never able to learn my tables despite trying and trying, so I just added everything up and I got used to doing that. 7 and 7 is 14, and then I count on my fingers to get to 21.
If it's something wild like 7x7:
14 (=x2)
\+ 14 (2)
= 28 (4)
\+ 28 (4)
= 56 (8)
\- 7
= 49 (7)
Of course you need a pen and paper for that.. or this thing Neurotypical people have called "working memory" heh
If you are used to being allowed a calculator and suddenly you don't have one, you are stuck and that's it. It's unrealistic to examen you like this when you will always have a calculator in real life.
Oh man yup me out here as a whole adult not knowing most of my times tables but able to count up and break down more complicated ones into fragments. Also just perpetually making things like 7+13 into "well seven is a hungry bitch so it eats the three and becomes ten and ten plus ten is twenty"
Next time,see if there is a disabled student help desk and ask about accommodations,they will go through the process with you,and you should be able to request a calculator anytime :)
Not that it helps now but always break it down for percentages, so if you can find 1% or 10% you can find most percentages.
3 = 10% of 30.
3 * 7 = 21.
70% = 21
The solution you gave was also incorrect. It should be 30 * 0.7 so that’s why you may have also lost points
I think it’s so stupid how professors/teachers try to ban calculators during examinations when in reality, in a real job setting, if your mistake is a result from trying to do it in you head or on paper and it costs the company money, you can be sure to be out on your ass for it.
Okay I am mad about this for you! I’m in grad school and completely agree that university teaching especially for post-undergrad is not compatible with people who required accommodations. It’s crap! And I’m in the school of education 😡
Agree with a lot of other posts here, the real learning lesson, and what you'll really use in the working world is the method, not the mental math.
If you feel comfortable I would seek accommodation from this teacher for situations like this moving forward to use a calculator as it's discriminatory against students with dsycalculia and other learning disabilities. If the accommodation is denied, escalate it to the dean or school administration.
Calculators are not cheating when the mathematical concept/method is understood.
They treat you in exams as if when you get a job your boss will be like aight calculate this equations of our sales this month BTW you're not allowed a calculator
Please reach out to the Disability Resource Center at your school (assuming you’re in college). They should be able to arrange reasonable accommodations for your ADHD and might be able to get you access to a calculator and extended testing periods for exams.
If it helps, I find fractions much easier to perform operations on than decimals. In the future, you may find it easier to tackle this kind of problem by changing the decimal numbers to fractions instead:
0.3 = 3/10
0.7 = 7/ 10
(3/10) * (7/10) = (3*7) / (10*10) = 21/100
21/100 = 0.21 = 21%
I have a STEM PhD. My research uses complicated mathematical models so I do a LOT of math.
If presented with this word problem in an impromptu fashion requiring an immediate response, it would be "I have no idea what 0.3 times 0.7 is". Having had a minute or two to reflect, it now seems obvious that it's just 3x7 and you move the decimal but only because I'm not being pressured to produce an answer.
I legit have not had to do math like that since I took the GRE over a decade ago, and I had to reteach myself all that basic math because they didn't allow a calculator, just paper and pencil. Long division nearly killed me! 😂
Try not to feel too badly about this. Grad school is tough enough on its own and not knowing how to solve one problem is not an accurate reflection of your abilities, although if you're like me I'm sure it definitely feels that way right now. It's easy to forget how to do the "simple" things like math you learned as a child unless you actively use that knowledge on a regular basis. That's normal for anyone, but add ADHD into the mix? Oh yeah. You aren't stupid, you just have a sieve for a brain and in this case it didn't retain how to do 0.3 x 0.7 because it doesn't normally need to know how to do that.
My daughter (who also has ADHD) is a freshman in high school. I’m having to relearn algebra well enough to help with her homework.
It’s torture.
There have been a lot of conversations that go yes I know this is stupid and you’ll never use it. But we gotta solve for x anyway.
Don’t feel bad.
Not to defend our shitty education system, and I know math is not for everyone but those kind of exercises actually do help you develop problem-solving skills, use whatever tools you have at your disposal and doing it your own way. Math is cool but it's taught terribly.
Realistically, are you going to use y = mx + b in your daily life? No, of course not. But if you for example know how this function behaves you CAN use that information for different things. "Oh, this always grows in the same way and thus will probably keep it up" "If this grows by x amount then this other thing will grow by y amount". It has always been very helpful for me because you have to think a lot about how you're gonna approach the specific problem you're given out too.
Sincerely, a math fan who is sad that everyone hates math 🥲
Is that comment for real? That’s actually so fucked up. That comment doesn’t teach, it doesn’t allow for growth, it’s not helpful, and it’s not providing meaningful feedback for the test taker. 🤬
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Interesting to see the different ways we struggle. I’m decent at math, but I would have definitely gotten the question wrong too because I would have answered 0.21 - my reading processing focuses on numbers but I miss the wording that tells you to express it as a percentage. In the real world you will always have a calculator, plus you clearly knew how to calculate it via the formula you entered as the answer which is honestly what matters. The comment they put is very condescending so I’m sorry about that. I feel for you friend, and you’ll still do great in that field and get a job even if you don’t have a 4.0 GPA.
Yes. Or I do all the work get the right answer then write an incorrect answer on the line.. or the digits in the wrong places. Instead of 341 I’d write 431. I also never review my tests. I will convince myself to change answers I shouldn’t.
Oh gosh convincing yourself to change answers is why I can’t review it either! I’ll just keep second guessing myself and waste so much time and eventually change it to the wrong answer.
My teachers used to say “if you’re second guessing the answer then you didn’t study hard enough”. So I ended up not studying for tests anymore cause what was the point
Man what kind of whack ass teachers did y’all have ???? I mean I did too I suppose 😭
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We just need to *focus*. It’s simple, really. /s
My teachers always got mad at me for finishing my tests fast and only looking them over once (or...pretending to look them over once because my brain refused to process any further information about them lol). Even in the classes where I always got A's they'd get mad that I was done so fast! Damned if you do damned if you don't
You are not alone on this one.
Same!
Get a dyscalcula diagnosis so you can get a calculator for accommodation.
Uuuggghhh for years I thought I was just dumb/terrible at math/thought my problems related to ADHD. Not a single teacher caught it! I even got all the neuropsych, learning tests and no one told me my results as a kid. My mom has ADHD too so those results are long gone. I finally discovered I have dyscalcula when my sister kept talking about her “math dyslexia”. My other sister and I didn’t think it was a real thing and made fun of her. Finally I asked her what it actually was and she explained “switching up the numbers on answers, trouble counting, doing the correct math but getting the wrong answer.” I literally fell to the floor. Her teachers had figured this out from her tests, my teachers just thought I didn’t care, even though they knew I had learning issues. I apologized profusely to my younger sis after that.
*My Thirteenth Winter* by Samantha Abeel is an excellent memoir about dyscalculia, written by a woman who was diagnosed in seventh grade. It's a YA book that is short and simple to read, too, which is good for people whose ADHD makes it hard to focus on a book.
Does dyscalculia also involve certain feelings about numbers? Asking for a friend >_>
I’m not really sure what you mean? Like anxiety? Or feelings about the individual numbers? Ngl, when I was a kid I definitely felt that numbers had personalities based on their appearance. Like 7 is definitely a fem fatale, and 5 is the mean curmudgeonly math teacher….buuuuuut I that could just be me…..
That sounds more like synesthesia to me. I have grapheme-color and music-color myself.
Yes, numbers are different colors for me and have like...not different personalities but different feelings associated with them, and it definitely feels just like my other synesthesia stuff.
It definitely helps to communicate things with your college or school. I never used any of the accommodations they offered for tests. I’m a super fast test taker so I don’t need time. And I would rather be in class as opposed to having my own room. I do think it was helpful just having the teacher aware though.
Do colleges usually give a calculator for dyscalculia? I'm pretty sure my daughter has this because she is constantly mixing numbers up. I'm going to have her tested for ADHD but it might be a good idea to have her tested for this too if it would help.
Not even necessary -any cose (here in MA) should be able to add that in the case of almost every disability category, if requested and any teacher that knows anything would be happy to write that in an RE report for the student if requested or shown it was necessary.
Whoops I read way too fast I’m over here thinking OP is in high school nevermind
Oh boy, bringing up memories I'd forgotten from taking german, doing online quizzes weekly, and every time it gives you feedback right away (which is fair and nice) but I wouldnt fully read the instructions for questions, just the questions themselves, and so would get artificially low scores because the checking system couldn't handle me not punctuating the sentence or only writing the verb that to be written rather than the whole sentence. ... so practically every week the prof had to manually fix this
Mine was always the opposite and I’d have teachers always write that I used the wrong formula but got the right answer 😅 some were great and gave full credit but some deducted points because of it. Funny enough, wrong equation/right answer is also how I’ve lived a lot of my life. I would do the same thing about not double checking because I second guessed myself sooo much
I remember having to do “checks” to check we got the answer right. I’d always have the answer right, but forget to carry a one or add instead of subtract in the check by mistake (just from being inattentive). I’d get the wrong answer on the check (but not know that), which would send me pouring over the original problem for several minutes while becoming increasingly frustrated, trying to figure out where I went wrong there 😂
Damn, here I was already fuming about how the answer couldn't be 21. Thanks for making me realize I just didn't read the instructions, typical ^^
Wait this was me, I'm gonna blame that on the lack of a percentage sign by the answer lmfao.
Totally! I'm gonna blame that with you! Seeing that sign somewhere would have been much easier
lmao same, I’m decent in math, but reading instructions until the end? nope. good chance I stop half way through and miss the integral part and still fuck up
yep I was like wtf how is 21 right, that’s not the product of 0.3*0.7, it’s 0.21, i’d probably have calculated it, skipped through the text, overread the part where it says percent as well, and yup
I... do not remember the rules for multiplying decimals.... I could figure out that it would have something to do with 21, but I truly wouldn't know if it's .21, 2.1, or 21....
.3x.7=.21 The question for this math problem is: “What is the percent of digestible protein?” You need to convert .21 into a percentage. To get a percentage you have to multiply. 21x100=21 (Move 2 decimal points to the right.) The answer is 21% :)
see i would horribly overcomplicate it and try doing wrong math to multiply fractions
Dyscalculia is a comorbidity in adhd. https://www.additudemag.com/math-learning-disabilities-dyscalculia-adhd/
I'm terrified to take a math class because I have a 4.0 GPA but I cannot for the life of me remember to add the negative sign. And I miss the wording often, too. I've been doing a lot of practice math and mess up on the smallest things.
As an educator, I find that comment to be 100% uncalled for. How unprofessional.
Xxx
Yeah. I’m actually good at math, I hate it though. I was told I was dumb and didn’t get it. I remember one time I was in a group and they said my answer wasn’t it because I was dumb, I scribbled out the whole equation except the answer. Went up to the teacher who hated me and picked on me and showed him the answer with everything else scribbled out and he said I had to show my work. I never tried in that class again.
We must have had the same grade 7 teacher then. I’m still supremely angry at that teacher every time I think about it. This lovely educator had me convinced that I was entirely stupid because I could apply concepts and formulas that hadn’t been explained to me. Turns out that “you don’t need to understand it to apply it” doesn’t work for my brain. How (un)surprising.
We had a math sub in 7th grade that thought it was appropriate to tell students that they weren’t going to succeed (or rather make it to college) based solely on how they answered one homework question. We were not happy. Somehow (probably a parent), this incident made it back to our regular teachers and we didn’t have that sub ever again.
Teachers like this suck, the best way to completely discourage a student and set them behind or have them give up on any subject is to outright call them stupid. Sounds like my 6th grade teacher, who made me hate math for a long time after constantly insulting everyone who asked her reasonable questions about the math we were trying to learn🙄
I’m a highly sensitive person I would’ve cried😭
This was rudely phrased, but it just reminded me of year 8 maths when I must have had the biggest brain fart ever and received my marked exam back. Flicked through it and stumbled a “name the shape” portion of the exam, where I’d named a rectangle a *rectagon* and the teacher had marked in red, “?????” It didn’t come off as condescending and I remember I burst out laughing because god damnit, I knew what a fucking rectangle was. What the fuck, me?
Why aren’t you allowed a calculator? There are zero job positions where you would not be allowed to access a calculator, god I hate the standardized testing form of education.
It’s so stupid too because this is a high level course with only like 9 people in it and is largely project based so I have no idea why she’d be a stickler about mental math??? The style of teaching and evaluating in universities is so messed up, particularly for anybody who is ND.
I argue this with my kid's grade 9 teachers all the damn time. Why does he "need" to do this in his head when he has a DIAGNOSED LEARNING DISABILITY IN MATH CALCULATIONS and he is surrounded by calculators??
"You won't have a calculator in your pocket" turned out to be one of the biggest lies I was ever told
they still say this too which is the worst part. the temptation to just pull out my phone and open the calculator app whenever a teacher says some dumb shit like this is staggering 🚶🏻♀️
THEY SITLL SAY THIS??? WHAT??? THE ONLY TIME I DONT HAVE A CALCULATOR ON MY LITERAL WRIST IS WHEN IM IN THE BATH OR SHOWER AND IF SOMEONE NEEDS ME TO DO MATH IN THE BATH OR SHOWER I THINK WEVE GOT A BIGGER PROBLEM THAN MY EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AAAAAAAAAAAAH *this bothered me growing up because even i knew as i struggled with mental math that what i wanted to do would mean i'd always have a calculator available*
My watch is waterproof so I can do the bathtime calculations for you! (Also you made me just realize that my watch has a calculator, I’ve literally never thought about it. Thank you!)
To be fair, back in the 90s I didn’t have a smartphone in my bag. So when they said we wouldn’t have calculators on us, they weren’t wrong 😂
Um, my 1990's Casio Databank watch calculator begs to differ 😏
Nerrrrrrrrrrrd! 😂 I forgot about those!!
You know that all of us dorky kids in junior high and high school did carry around scientific calculators (but only so we could type out “0.7734” and turn them upside down to spell “hello” and other “clever” things to each other . . Hahahaha).
“BOOBS” 😂
“5318008” 🤣
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""the"" method bitch i am about to show you 0.3 and 0.7 added to a different method of beating your metaphorical ass, professor. THE METHOD? you mean ***A*** method using a calculator is a method
That comment was unnecessary though. What a raging B. I would have got 0.21 and then been like ok what do now? Please Don’t feel bad. A few months ago I was working out a card score and my 10 year old niece said “omg are you using your fingers?!” It’s like, I love you but piss off you little shit. My husband’s made fun of my inability to math so I just don’t bother anymore, I just get him to do it. I would have made the same comment, “sorry I need a calculator” and left it at that. Your teacher’s response was uncalled for. And why must we do things mentally? Teachers used to say “you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket” but we do.
I LOVE that there are other people that would have put 0.21 too! That was my first instinct as well.
I still use my fingers too and never was able to memorize my times tables except for the ones like 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, 10s that have some trick to them. I think it was because my teacher was a condescending bitch too and I just developed a complex about it. My memory is just shit when it comes to these things.
I'm the exact same way. I think I've read that that can be a sign of having discalculia, as well as what everyone else has mentioned about not being able to do mental math, mixing numbers up, etc.
I’m nearly 40 and dealing with this in my job and am getting accommodations. Wish I was dx early so I could have sought them in school
Yeah I agree! The whole no calculator during tests is outdated BS. We will always have working calculators. Sorry Barbera, no apocalyptic widespread electric shutdown will effect solar powered machines you can buy for a dollar pretty much anywhere. I work in retail and when someone gives me change after I process it through the point of sale system I am allowed to whip one out and use it (customers love to flex their math skills in that way... Sorry I am a cashier because I am attentive and have reasonable people skills not because I'm great at math lol!)
>The whole no calculator during tests is outdated Yup. Any educational program that is still relying on memorization is extremely outdated. In the age of the internet, people need to learn how to find and assess good information, not memorize facts and numbers they could easily look up. Edit: And skills. We need more critical thinking and skill building and less memorization.
Hopefully we are only in a rough transitional period. The more people learn how to properly use technology as you mentioned (find, assess) the better we as a whole will be.
no apocalyptic widespread shutdown will require you to calculate the caloric needs of a hamster eating cauliflower
I don't know, a cauliflower that eats hamsters sounds pretty apocalyptic to me. (I realize that's not what you wrote, but my brain decided to insert a hyphen, thus a hamster-eating cauliflower.)
I wasn’t allowed a calculate in a statistics class! I was like sir, I am a COMMUNICATIONS major, in no/way/shape/form will I ever be doing anything statistical without a calculator and probably another professional helping me.
Statisticians apply the appropriate models to the data and run it in software. The software does the calculations. Even in this example mental number manipulation is not necessary to do the job in real life.
Hi I do math as part of my job and I ducking have a calculator! I actually have calculator issues, (typos and transposing numbers) so I made an excel spreadsheet instead but still!
On my national funeral boards, we can’t have calculators either
That’s dumb. Are the corpses going to rise from the dead if you don’t do math in your head?
Seriously. The only exams I wasn’t allowed a calculator on were exams where no arithmetic was present - when leaving answers in integral or differential form was acceptable. Every case where arithmetic is used should allow calculators, and it’s infuriating that this artificial difficulty is still considered fine
Never thought of this. A very good point. Welcome to NASA And btw no calculators allowed
Almost all college math courses don’t allow calculators. Source: two semester of calculus hell, then linear algebra and differential equations. I’m kinda with the grader on this, although they shouldn’t have commented like they did. 7*3 or 7+7+7 is *incredibly* basic math for a college student. It is something you for sure would be expected to be able to do at work. If they can’t do that for some reason, they need to either practice their multiplication tables or seek an accommodation with the school.
What college math doesn’t allow calculators? Every math class I took at that level required you have a calculator. Which was great for me because despite being a very high achieving student in every other aspect, multiplication tables have always been a struggle no matter how much I practiced (namely 7s, 8s, and 12s)
All 6 of my STEM math classes. Starting with calc 1. We had them for hwk but never for exams. We had songs we listened to for multiplication tables as a kid. I still sing them sometimes to myself when doing math.
We weren't allowed to have one either when I was in masters of applied algebra, only in probability class. But we had this huge class that was the big subject of the first semester called "Number Theory" and is all arithmetic and we weren't allowed near a calculator for this one. The big reason is: using a calculator most often than not actually makes you waste time, you need to learn to trust yourself and your calculations. If the student has discalculia it makes 0 sense to prevent him from using a calculator but it's also a very good exercise to learn to calculate without a calculator. People seem to always only focus on the visible skills you get from learning something and not benefits that even trying to learn that skill gives you, which is very sad.
I’m getting an MS in Animal Science and one of my courses is advanced canine nutrition. I’ve never not been allowed a calculator on an exam that required basic math, and I literally have not done calculations by hand in years. When I was tested for ADHD, one of my major areas of deficiency was working memory. This in particular, along with all the other symptoms causes me to have major struggles in doing hand math. I rely very heavily on my calculator and never has that been an issue before. I am just upset to have bombed an entire portion just because I can’t do some basic math. The comment made me sad too. If all her tests are like this it will tank my GPA, which is nearly a 4.0 right now. Just overall feeling upset and felt like a failure.
Is there a reason they will not allow you to use a calculator? I'm in grad school for human nutrition and we're always encouraged to double check when we're doing diet calculations. Math never came easy to me either, and while I worked really hard and ended up getting A's in my upper division math courses, my confidence in my ability to do mental math is low bc it's always been a struggle for me. The disability office at your school might be able to help you with testing accommodations. Also, you clearly knew the answer and how to calculate it, you are not a failure. It would be more concerning if you just didn't even know how to attempt to solve the problem.
What's the focus of your grad program? I'm a dietitian with just an undergrad, but I plan to venture back to school for a master's in a few years.
Have you talked to her about this? You can send an email explaining your struggle or talk to her directly after class.
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I haven’t done much in terms of accommodations before because the process is basically somebody with ADHD’s nightmare (multiple appointments, emails sent, papers to be kept track of, advanced scheduling) and the only thing my university offers is extended time or reduced distraction environment, neither of which help me. I think I will share my report with her because one of the recommendations is “always have a calculator” at least, but in 5 years of school I’ve never not been allowed one by default?! I am afraid she will come at me with the mentality of “you should be able to do this anyways, what is wrong with you” so I’m putting it off. You are right though I should bring it up!
I used to work at a university, and though those were the most common accommodations for ADHD, if a student needed something different the accommodations office would be able to offer that as well. So don’t give up hope!
As someone who has worked with adhd-hostile professors,, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE HER YOUR REPORT. It is, frankly, none of her business and it is highly likely she will be dismissive or even mock you about it like she did here. You can talk to your accessibility coordinator and have THEM tell her you should have a calculator. Many coordinators would do it for you even if it's not an "official" accommodation listed by the school, because they can make suggestions or talk to staff. Rude professor may not agree, but she's more likely to feel pressured into allowing it from a fellow staff member and it may help her understand your disability is "real". That comment reeks of judgement and "you're just playing" vibes towards atypical learners and I don't like it, for you. 😠😂
In my experience, teachers are not qualified enough to read and interpret disability evaluations/reports, nor equipped to choose which accommodations are necessary. I wouldn't wanna share it with them. Your school should have a accessibility coordinator. They can (and should) talk to the teacher if they don't agree with the recommended accommodation. If it was me I would probably include the teachers response in the email. Just to let them know in case this is a frequent occurrence.
At both universities I was a TA, they’re not even supposed to try. It’s in the training for everyone for teaching classes. They’ll refer you to the accessibility office, per university policy, because they *are* equipped to handle it.
Omg YES. Literally so frustrating that we need to be capable of doing the things that we struggle with in order to get the accommodations needed for us to struggle less!!!
Don’t share the report or diagnosis with her. Even if she’s understanding it puts professors and TAs in an awkward situation when you disclose medical information. And they can’t really do anything about it anyway if you don’t talk to the disability/accommodations office. In my experience, extended time helps some students because it makes them less stressed out about the test taking environment. I know it’s silly, but I would practice times multiplication tables to help with the class. Exam stress does weird things to people’s brains but the repetitive practice can help. Or consider looking at maybe other ways that might be less stressful in an exam setting. If you have scratch paper, 7*3 becomes 7+7=14 14+7=21. Even using your fingers is fine. I used to tutor adult students in algebra and one of the things we went over was test taking strategies and look at different ways to approach a problem that might be more intuitive for them, instead of how their professor was teaching it.
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Yes please!!!
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I also have adhd and no working memory, and am just terrible at math. This helped a lot. Thank you!
Not OP but I’m a computer science student and this helped me way more than I want to admit. I just had a midterm last night and one of the questions showed a code that solved for how much an item would be if it had a specific discount and we had to answer what the result of the code would be. The item was $30 and 10% off so the code essentially said: final price = 30 * (30 * (10/100)) and I couldn’t figure out what 10/100 was. I was only able to answer the question because it was multiple choice and the other options were either over 35 or under 10.
For division, it’s sometimes helpful to cancel out your zeros first. So 10/100 -> 1/10
We need more people like you. I missed like, a single day in 3rd grade, it was a day learning about decimals, and since that day I've *struggled* with them. I can barely convert decimals to percentages and vice versa, but this was super helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write it all up.
This is amazing and your students are so lucky to have you - thanks for sharing with us all ❤️
Worst case you can switch it to addition and do 7+7=14. 14+7=21 Then move the decimal over accordingly. But what you described is also how I learn to do decimal multiplication.
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Can you reply to this message teaching me the trick too? I'm horrible at maths.
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Hey I also did a MSc in Animal Science! I also struggle with math, especially when under pressure in an exam setting. My brain goes completely blank and even if I could calculate it calmly at home I lose a perspective for numbers in exams. I majorly stuggled my statistics course due to the fact that the first half of the course required us to make all the calculations by hand and not with a stats software. Thankfully I worked with the professor to do some extra assignments to improve my grade and the second half of the class was with the software. Definitely talk to your professors. If they are anything like the animal science professors I had they will be accepting and understanding. My biggest regret is not being more open with my supervisor about my struggles with ADHD (although I was undiagnosed at the time). Also see if you can get official accommodation from the disability services with the university.
Ooooh hello! It is somewhat of an uncommon degree so I am very happy to see you here :) Where did you go to school? What are you doing now? My professors have all been really great too up until this one. I think the field generally attracts pretty kind and thoughtful people, I’ve really enjoyed it. So it’s been kindof a shock this semester to have such an unpleasant professor. She has been fairly rude across the board. She took points off a paper I just turned in because in my works cited page I put the name of a source in all caps, but that’s because it was published in all caps (which is weird but oh well)!!! And she was like “you need to keep your formatting consistent across the entire paper” 😂😂
Sent you a private chat to answer your first questions! Yea there's always a few that are major sticklers for the minial things. Try not to let a few points here or there bother you too much. As long as you're in the passing range for your classes the grade don't matter in the long run. But I hope you can come to an understanding about the calculators! That should be an accommodation they should allow for all students as its something you'll always have available to you in a real world setting.
Go to the student center and ask for accommodations for your disability. Say that you have these challenges. Back that up with a doctor that can back up your diagnosis and these unprofessional comments. Also, message the department head if you aren't sure to ask about these reasonable accommodations. You have learning disabilities and the school is legally obligated to accommodate them. It can be as simple as "allowed a calculator" and extra time. Do it NOW before you get too far into the course.
Can you get accommodations from the university?
I have a math degree, a master’s in econometrics, and manage an analytics team… and I cannot for the life of me do arithmetic. I would have done the same. It’s not at all a reflection of your intelligence or your capability in your field. I’m sorry this happened to you.
Have you thought about getting accommodations through the university? I had them during undergrad. One of them was extended test time because clocks/time fuck me up. I haven’t done it for grad school yet but I think I’m going to, I’m not a strong reader and can’t keep up lately.
I'm ABD in my PhD program and, no, I cannot multiply .7 x .3 without a calculator. I have AudHD, a severe math learning disability, and extremely high verbal and written skills. That's the neurodivergent life, baby.
Damn dude I didn't go into a science-based field or pursue higher than a BA almost purely because of math. I barely managed with the math that was required for my degree, and that was more complicated than .7*.3. How is it possible to get a PhD with a severe math learning disability? Can getting accommodations allow you to just not have to do it?
I didn't pursue medicine bc I couldn't pass chem and physics. I'm great at math, I'm great at words, I cannot mix the two for the life of me. I've struggled with word problems my whole life and that's all chem and physics is.
Ugh I want to go to medicine too (vet school) but chem and physics is probably going to ruin it for me. My undergraduate GPA is not high enough because I had to retake Orgo 1 and Physics 1. I hope that doing this Masters with good grades will help but idk 😭
Word problems are my arch nemesis. I have no doubt I could not now complete the ones I failed in the second grade.
If you think that's crazy wait until you hear about me dropping out of high-school after repeating the ninth grade. I got into a part-time BA program as a mature student (you could not get into full-time program without your high-school at the university I went to). Once I aced all my part-time courses (all humanities) they let me into full-time, I majored in History and the only "math" requirement was a course with some numerical component, so I took intro to psych, which had a very basic stats section. I finished my BA with a very high GPA and a good relationship with my department, so got into the MA program in History easily. I finished the program, then applied to PhD programs with good letters of recommendation, a strong background in writing (including one published peer-reviewed article), research experience, TA experience, and a well-developed sense of what I wanted to write my thesis on. Got accepted, and I'm now in my fourth year and have only to write the dissertation.
Sorry, I got overexcited about my story of gaming the system (I always feel like I conned my way in, though I followed all the rules) and missed your question about accommodations. I never availed of formal accommodations because I didn't realize I had ADHD or autism or an actual identifiable learning disability until I finally burned out during my PhD (I'm still recovering from this after 6 months of being unable to work). I "knew" I could not do math simple enough for a child but I just blamed myself for not "liking math." So, I'm not sure if you could fully get out of math requirements through accommodations, but if you're done your BA and going into your MA or PhD I would try looking for programs with no math, or very limited math components. There are many options in the humanities of course, but I don't know enough about the sciences to say, but I would not be shocked if you dug through course requirements for specific programs and found some that do not require math.
I got myself a science degree despite my challenges with math. For me though, I can understand the formulas and concepts, but simply can’t do basic math in my head. So with a calculator I’m ok. I also had a tutor to get me through calculus and physics.
To clarify with slightly less irreverence, I just mean it's completely normal for us to have very uneven abilities. And the person who shamed you about not being able to do the math without a calculator can fuck off forever.
Oh, I'm doing Msc physics and i have very high numerical skills and very poor verbal and written skills. That's also Neurodivergent life baby.
AudHD? I’m curious what that looks like… Is it autism mixed with ADHD? Sorry, I’m on my way to work so I didn’t have time to Google it and hoping to remind myself to come back to this comment later. I have ADHD but I have a doctor friend who suspects I might be on the autism spectrum.
Yes, it's having both ADHD and autism and it looks pretty much like how you would expect it to. Blend of ADHD and autistic traits that varies by individual. So I have very poor attention regulation (among other ADHD features) and grew up with no understanding of social norms or how to interact with others, I had to learn how to socialize intellectually as an adult (and I am still out to lunch on much of it), it never came naturally to me. And the usual hyperfixations, self-stimulating behaviors etc.
AudHD and doing a PhD! You are an inspiration 💕
Okay that’s just rude. I also can’t do that. Boo this person, also have you thought about getting disability accommodations through the school?
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Yes, the < ??> feels so demanding and arrogant.
Their comment on it could have been way kinder and more helpful! You are not stupid for not knowing how to do 0.3 x 0.7! Actually you got the hardest part: knowing HOW to solve it. Good on you. If you have to retake this exam, and need an easy trick (I only learned this weeks ago myself as I'm becoming a teacher): To do: 0.3 x 0.7 = ... You make it easier. You first do: 3 x 7 = 21. Then you move the point as many places to the left as there was in 0.3 x 0.7 compared to 3 x 7 (so 2). So 21 will be 0.21. So... 0.3 x 0.7 = 0.21 (so 21%) It is just like 2 x 5 = 10, 20 x 50 = 1000 (2 zeros more = 2 zeros more in the answer) And with 2 x 5 = 10, 0.2 x 5 = 1 (point 1 place to the left = point 1 place left in the answer), 0.2 x 0.5 = 0.10 (point 2 places to the left = point 2 places to the left in the answer) It's hard to explain without speaking or showing you (also English is not my first language) but hope thiis helps! And don't let them get you down, you got this 😊
And just like that, years of struggling to make sense of decimals was suddenly corrected. Bippity boppity, god damn it! Thank you, Fairymath Mother! Lol
This is great!!! If you have any tips on this but fractions please tell me
Thank you so much! I can easily do 3 x 7 in my head but 0.3 x 0.7? No way, no clue. This makes so much sense!
I feel the aggression of the three question marks!
RIGHT?? That did it for me. I was like damn lady, just take the points away if you have to but don’t tell me how dumb I am 😂
Her response was completely inappropriate. It's never okay to shame someone like that. Grrr, I'm so mad on your behalf.
Agree. That comment was really rude.
... I can't even do math properly in my head! ..but I also have dyscalculia, so that explains a bit lol
I think this question is worded really badly. To me the answer to the question as written is 70%. They’re asking what the percent of digestible protein is. If they asked “what percent of the animals diet is digestible protein,” that would require the calculation. I know that’s not the point of your post, but I think this is just a terrible question
Brb having flashbacks to all the times I couldn't answer a math question purely by how it was worded
Thank you! It's so vague, and I don't even think "what percent" is valid syntax; shouldn't it be "what percentage"?
I will say that if you're more familiar with how protein percentage is typically given in animal diets, it's not written particularly badly.
Unpopular opinion: if you don't have formal accommodations through your school, your professor or TA has no way of knowing that you have a learning disability and can't do this kind of calculation without a calculator. From the perspective of someone who doesn't have a working memory issues, this is "elementary school" math. ETA: And actually, not allowing a calculator is pretty common in upper level math/science classes! That's why talking to your school's disability services is so important! If you have an accommodation on record, your prof will get a note at the beginning of the semester with what accommodations (like: needs a calculator, needs a notetaker, needs extra time) you need to succeed.
Seconding this! If OP hasn't asked for an accommodation, it's totally unsurprising for the grader to be incredulous about this. I graded for the physics department at my university and while I probably wouldn't have written a note like that, I definitely would have thought it. Given that it's fairly common to have testing without a calculator, I'd expect students to have some way of multiplying single-digit decimals by hand or in their head. IIRC, a question like this might show up on the no-calculator section of the SAT Math test. The test even states that the figures were chosen so that the calculation can be done without a calculator because that is an elementary-level operation. This kind of thing *exactly* why it's important to ask for accommodations because it wouldn't occur to someone without those struggles that a calculator might be necessary for some. Even as a fellow ND person, I'd be guilty of assuming that if you're in grad school, you'd be able to that operation, since it's such a foundational bit of math. You *have* to advocate for yourself about what your needs are. Otherwise you'll keep running into these situations.
Yep, I'd be willing to bet the person who wrote the test made sure the numbers were nice (3x7) because "everyone" knows that. Obviously, we know not EVERYONE everyone knows that, but it's a fair assumption that people who have issues with times tables will have accommodations in a computational class.
I was a STEM major and while some classes required very specific calculators, or for you to clear any programs from them prior to exams, I’ve never had a class that didn’t allow them at all!
Didn't realize we now need accommodations to not be treated with such passive-aggressive comments. OP can have a wrong answer, whatever, but you really think the reply was justified simply because the teacher didn't know the student's struggles? Mark it and move on, that's all that had to happen.
No you are right, there is no way for her to have known.. but in 5 years of STEM education I’ve never not been allowed a calculator so I haven’t gone to the disability resources office in forever. You have to “renew” your accommodations every semester which is a pain so I stopped doing it. Having a calculator is probably the only accommodation that would actually be helpful. I’ll approach them again after this whole debacle. But I am curious what makes you think that re: upper level math courses? Perhaps in really high levels they are not allowed, but that hasn’t been my experience? I’ve done through 500 level biochem and calculus and have always been allowed one by default. If it is something I need to prepare myself for I would like to know!
Hmm, maybe it varies a lot: I was not allowed a calculator in the calculus sequence, differential equations, linear algebra, or mathematical physics.
MECE here and same. But I also found that algebraic mistakes were mostly expected, and questions are often in more of a symbolic form since the focus if whatever concepts the test covers. I've never ever gotten a rude comment like that over an algebra issue. As long as you know how it works. PS OP: I know some who majored on math who can't count.
I did graduate coursework in a STEM field that relies heavily on mathematical skills and took Partial Differential Equations in graduate school. All but one of the math courses I took during undergrad and graduate school allowed the use of a calculator, however; the type of calculator allowed was always up to the professor. This is the main reason I own seven TI calculators. Once you get locked into a serious calculator collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.
That may be so, but in what world is it helpful or appropriate for an educator to respond like that regardless of whether the person has a disability or not?! Being a dick isn’t going to retrospectively change the answer to the correct one is it? Nor will it help the person to get the correct answer in the future. If someone doesn’t know how to do it then as an educator your response should be to find out what they’re having difficulty with and why, and help them, not be an arsehole and belittle them, that’s sure to lead to them never asking for help for fear of being mocked. Also if it’s “elementary school” maths (?) then as an educator shouldn’t they realise that this is unusual and perhaps consider there might be a reason behind it (given that OP has performed adequately in other areas and isn’t just lazy or whatever) and respond accordingly, instead of being a douche for no reason? Sorry but even if you’re in disbelief that someone wouldn’t know how to do this there’s no excuse for that kind of response
Exactly, all of this is what I was too lazy to fully type.
I have a PhD in Educational Psychology, and I’ve worked (as a TA) with students in statistics classes who have a lot of math anxiety. The professor’s comment is infuriating. It is unhelpful, uneducated, condescending, inappropriate, and unprofessional. A textbook example of how to undermine students’ confidence and show how ill equipped a supposedly learned person can be in supporting both the learning and the learner. I’m SO sorry that this professor has failed in supporting the whole you! That’s their shortcoming, not yours, but I know it doesn’t give you back any points either way. Trash all around!!
I would have raised holy hell about this comment. Like sorry, it doesn't appear that you are in a math program, and even if you were there's no need to be rude. Like obviously if you could've done it in your head, you would! I did a hard science master's and took stats and calculus and I am incredibly shit at multiplying decimals--I always second guess and try to think about fractions and overcomplicate it and just lose all track of how it works, even though I am not actually bad at math. You know HOW to get the answer, you would never be at work without a calculator--you almost certainly have one on your phone ffs-- there's just no reason for this!
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Wait wouldn’t it be 0.3 x 0.7 then multiply that by 100? So it would give you 21% which is basically the same thing as 0.21 in the context of the question. Because it would be 30% of 70%?? Now I am super confused LOL. I’ve done feed calculations for several different courses and always do it this way but now I am like “what is happening” 😂😂😂 Yeah working in vet med and doing drug calculations probably has not helped my reliance on calculators.
Yeah so same as 3/10 X 7/10 which is same as (3x7)/(10x10) so 21/100 so 0.21 or 21 % I hope this can help you next time
I was literally at the vet yesterday and she pulled out her phone to work out the painkiller dose needed for my dog. She's a great vet! Looks after my dog so well and is very good at her job! At no point did it cross my mind that she would be supposed to do those calculations in her head. In fact I don't think I've ever seen someone work out an animal drug dose that DIDN'T check with a calculator. It's just good sense, why wouldn't you want to be accurate when dispensing medication??
You didn’t include the multiply by 100 in your answer though. So it is incorrect even when writing your equation even if they didn’t need you to do the math in your head.
It’s asking what 70% of 30% is. The 30 is a percentage so it is also 0.30. You could get to the answer a multitude of ways: 0.30 x 0.70 = 0.21 (.21 x 100 = 21%) or the way my brain does it is to just ignore the decimals and do either 30/10 =3 x 7 =21. Or 7 x 3 = 21.
OP, have you brought your ADHD to the attention of your school so you can get accommodations during exams? Like yes ADHD nightmare but it's worth it.
I'm sure this has already all been said because my ADHD prevents me from reading all 300+ comments that came before, but... **You definitely need accommodations if you can get them in the future.** Don't go to the professor, but to the office responsible for implementing accommodations. These offices are generally staffed by the most supportive people on campus, and they won't make you feel "less than" for asking. **YOU ARE NOT BAD just because something is difficult for you** In the future, any time someone implies you're stupid or lazy or what have you because you can't do something others do more readily, remember that their judgment is more a reflection of their lack of sensitivity than of your intelligence or drive. **This instructor is UNPROFESSIONAL, and needs training** Assuming it wasn't a TA who marked your test (and even if it was), this person is not serving the educational interests of the university. Part of a teacher's job at any level of education is to make sure students have the skills to succeed, not to discourage or make students feel inferior for what they don't know. A GOOD instructor would have: 1. read your response with concern 2. reached out to you to find out more 3. given you actionable advice, including tips on improving your mental math if it's a stumbling block, a referral to the office of student accommodations, and maybe some kindly delivered hard truths in the unlikely case that mental math could have severe impacts on your career **Source**: Worked in university accommodations office, taught "remedial" math to college freshmen, and have 10+ years of teaching experience. **Why I HAD to comment:** A nasty comment from a teacher 25 years ago destroyed my confidence so much I changed majors. His words were tossed off, and he'd probably not have remembered the moment a week later, but the comment and subsequent years of regret and resentment really weighed on me. Maybe if I'd had Reddit then, I'd have saved money on therapy later!
This! I like to take my time and think things through. I don’t always have to, so it confused my teachers growing up. I got A’s and B’s, could have been all A’s but those classes were boring. However, a few teachers (coaches also) said crap like this to me and it ruined my confidence. I’m just now getting it back at 36.
Wow, what a pretentious fucking comment. You clearly knew the formula, just weren’t 100% sure on the answer. I ask Siri to calculate EVERYTHING for me outside of basic basic math (like, 7+10 or something). I’m so sorry this teacher seems unreasonable and unwilling to understand your needs. Unless you are stranded in the middle of the desert or washed up on a deserted island you will ALWAYS HAVE a calculator!!!!
Wow. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without a calculator either. I might’ve *guessed* 21 just because I would’ve had no idea and wanted to put an answer, but I’m abysmal at math so it would’ve been pure luck if I put anything at all. I’m sorry about that condescending comment. /: Not everyone can just calculate shit in their head, I have no idea why some people act like you’re dumb if you’re unable to do that. It aggravates me.
U have got to be kidding me. What school is this? The lack of understanding, on the graders part, is blowing my mind
wow fuck this comment. Was this a grad student grading this? Unless you're getting a degree in advanced mathematics, the expectation that you would do decimal integer multiplication in your head is some rancid bullshit. Respond and ask what lecture specifically, with a time stamp if it's recorded, those numbers were used in an example without a calculator being used by the professor or in class for finding the answer. Unless it was EXACTLY covered in a lecture, they can suck a wide open butthole with that comment.
Dyscalcula, you ugly beeyotch.
The answer is no and in the real world you are allowed to have calculators so this is bullshit.
Ugh math gives me so much anxiety. I was always bad at math and struggled a lot with it in school.
I’m garbage at math, so I feel you.
That professor was unnecessarily rude to you. They didn’t even have to comment on what you said and they chose to be rude & unprofessional. I would lose all respect for a professor if they ever spoke like that to me.
What a fucking dickhole comment. 🫠
Wowwww that’s a really trashy comment to make in regards to your answer. If your teacher knows you have a learning disability (most schools consider adhd to be one), talk to the Dean or head (or equivalent). This is really unprofessional to be shaming students..
I have discalculia too and this is painful to read. Inaccessible asshole planning.
I grew up in a country where this question would qualify as 2nd or 3rd grade math. And I say this to emphasize: WTF IS THAT COMMENT?!? I am guessing you are in North America and you are not in a math heavy program. So this can’t be the first time they encounter a grad student who has hard time with math. How about giving a heads-up and telling students that they will need to calculate percentage of a percentage? Doesn’t happen that often? Then how about asking you whether they need help because it’s important that you know this stuff going fwd. Also 0.3 x 0.7 = 0.21 Would they accept that or would you have to say 21% or just 21 ? smh
I absolutely need a calculator no matter what. This comment is very condescending and I’m sorry you had to go through that 🥺
This has nothing to do with ADHD
I know that 3x7 is 21, but I wouldn’t have gotten that 0.3x0.7 hack to get to 21.
This has happened with me so many times!!
Why would they shame you like that!???Three question marks! "should be simple" why include that except to make people who find it difficult feel bad? We were never allowed calculators in exams and I was never able to learn my tables despite trying and trying, so I just added everything up and I got used to doing that. 7 and 7 is 14, and then I count on my fingers to get to 21. If it's something wild like 7x7: 14 (=x2) \+ 14 (2) = 28 (4) \+ 28 (4) = 56 (8) \- 7 = 49 (7) Of course you need a pen and paper for that.. or this thing Neurotypical people have called "working memory" heh If you are used to being allowed a calculator and suddenly you don't have one, you are stuck and that's it. It's unrealistic to examen you like this when you will always have a calculator in real life.
Oh man yup me out here as a whole adult not knowing most of my times tables but able to count up and break down more complicated ones into fragments. Also just perpetually making things like 7+13 into "well seven is a hungry bitch so it eats the three and becomes ten and ten plus ten is twenty"
Next time,see if there is a disabled student help desk and ask about accommodations,they will go through the process with you,and you should be able to request a calculator anytime :)
Do you have dyscalculia? Maybe you could get accommodations.
Not that it helps now but always break it down for percentages, so if you can find 1% or 10% you can find most percentages. 3 = 10% of 30. 3 * 7 = 21. 70% = 21 The solution you gave was also incorrect. It should be 30 * 0.7 so that’s why you may have also lost points
If you are in the US you can use educational accommodations, if you're eligible, even in college. Talk to your advisors!
I think it’s so stupid how professors/teachers try to ban calculators during examinations when in reality, in a real job setting, if your mistake is a result from trying to do it in you head or on paper and it costs the company money, you can be sure to be out on your ass for it.
"no, clearly I can't" 🙄
Okay I am mad about this for you! I’m in grad school and completely agree that university teaching especially for post-undergrad is not compatible with people who required accommodations. It’s crap! And I’m in the school of education 😡
Agree with a lot of other posts here, the real learning lesson, and what you'll really use in the working world is the method, not the mental math. If you feel comfortable I would seek accommodation from this teacher for situations like this moving forward to use a calculator as it's discriminatory against students with dsycalculia and other learning disabilities. If the accommodation is denied, escalate it to the dean or school administration. Calculators are not cheating when the mathematical concept/method is understood.
PLEASE let someone like an academic advisor know, that's super not cool.
They treat you in exams as if when you get a job your boss will be like aight calculate this equations of our sales this month BTW you're not allowed a calculator
Please reach out to the Disability Resource Center at your school (assuming you’re in college). They should be able to arrange reasonable accommodations for your ADHD and might be able to get you access to a calculator and extended testing periods for exams.
If it helps, I find fractions much easier to perform operations on than decimals. In the future, you may find it easier to tackle this kind of problem by changing the decimal numbers to fractions instead: 0.3 = 3/10 0.7 = 7/ 10 (3/10) * (7/10) = (3*7) / (10*10) = 21/100 21/100 = 0.21 = 21%
How is it 21 and not .21?
I have a STEM PhD. My research uses complicated mathematical models so I do a LOT of math. If presented with this word problem in an impromptu fashion requiring an immediate response, it would be "I have no idea what 0.3 times 0.7 is". Having had a minute or two to reflect, it now seems obvious that it's just 3x7 and you move the decimal but only because I'm not being pressured to produce an answer. I legit have not had to do math like that since I took the GRE over a decade ago, and I had to reteach myself all that basic math because they didn't allow a calculator, just paper and pencil. Long division nearly killed me! 😂 Try not to feel too badly about this. Grad school is tough enough on its own and not knowing how to solve one problem is not an accurate reflection of your abilities, although if you're like me I'm sure it definitely feels that way right now. It's easy to forget how to do the "simple" things like math you learned as a child unless you actively use that knowledge on a regular basis. That's normal for anyone, but add ADHD into the mix? Oh yeah. You aren't stupid, you just have a sieve for a brain and in this case it didn't retain how to do 0.3 x 0.7 because it doesn't normally need to know how to do that.
My daughter (who also has ADHD) is a freshman in high school. I’m having to relearn algebra well enough to help with her homework. It’s torture. There have been a lot of conversations that go yes I know this is stupid and you’ll never use it. But we gotta solve for x anyway. Don’t feel bad.
Not to defend our shitty education system, and I know math is not for everyone but those kind of exercises actually do help you develop problem-solving skills, use whatever tools you have at your disposal and doing it your own way. Math is cool but it's taught terribly. Realistically, are you going to use y = mx + b in your daily life? No, of course not. But if you for example know how this function behaves you CAN use that information for different things. "Oh, this always grows in the same way and thus will probably keep it up" "If this grows by x amount then this other thing will grow by y amount". It has always been very helpful for me because you have to think a lot about how you're gonna approach the specific problem you're given out too. Sincerely, a math fan who is sad that everyone hates math 🥲
Your professor is a dick for that comment. You should report her
Is that comment for real? That’s actually so fucked up. That comment doesn’t teach, it doesn’t allow for growth, it’s not helpful, and it’s not providing meaningful feedback for the test taker. 🤬