Should I let being behind in math keep me from pursuing Nursing?

Aberdeen · Feb 19, 2011

I wouldn’t. We all have our weaknesses, but what we do about those weaknesses is what makes us who we are. Thomas Edison once said that “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Right now you are in the 10th grade, so you have two more years of high school and pre-reqs to do before you start nursing school, so for now, my advice is to focus on high school and don’t worry about what nursing school will throw at you. You have time to prepare, so stay focused and I am sure you will do just fine!

“Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It's no use. I can't go on. If you do you're licked, and by your own thinking too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on.” - Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 19, 2011

Don't let your weakness in math stop you. Just work extra-hard on math now and use the next couple of years to "catch up" in that area. Then, after you have caught up and achieved the level of competence in math that is required by the nursing school you choose ... you can go to that school and succeed there.

Your need to focus on math may delay your dream to become a nurse a bit ... but it doesn't have to stop you.

Good luck.

stefanyjoy · Feb 19, 2011

Do not give up! I was the same way in math, and I thought I could never do anything because I just couldn't understand algebra. I was lucky to even get enough credits in math to graduate high school, although I did well in all my other classes. I REALLY feel for you. In 10th grade I had to hide the fact that I didn't know basic operations like percentages, decimals, etc. They didn't even have a basic math class at my school I only passed the classes because I put all "C's" on the end-of-course exams, and usually made at least a 70... enough to pass.

When you get to college, you will take a math placement test, and they will put you in the right math class for you. My math teachers in high school just gave up on me, and only really paid attention to the students that did well, but when I got to college, I had an AMAZING introductory algebra teacher that was so patient, kind, and thorough with the material. I got the highest grade in out of everyone in all his classes because I wanted it!

Also, don't assume the reason you aren't doing well is because you're of a different nationality. That may have been the case when you were in elementary school, but things have come a long way since then in our society. My aforementioned algebra teacher was from India, and he would always talk about how Americans have such a terrible disadvantage in math because things are taught a more confusing and long-winded way here. You might even have an advantage. He taught us the way he learned it in India, and wow, it was so much easier than anything I ever learned when I was a kid :) Just hang in there, get a tutor, and don't beat yourself up. If you have a negative attitude and always think, "I'm bad at math!" then you WILL be bad at math. Just think, "I can learn this!" and you will do so much better.

As a teenager, it is so easy to be de-railed by the small obstacles, because they always feel so big. Just know that if you want to be a nurse, and work for it, you WILL be a nurse. It would be very sad indeed if you let being behind in math stop you. Please try to see if you can get after-school tutoring or find another way to be tutored. As soon as you start "getting it", it won't take long to catch up in math at all, since math is a process instead of a bunch of memorization like other subjects. Seriously, it will only take a few weeks or months at most. Remember: everything in math has to do with one or more of the four operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing. The only thing you have to learn is WHEN to use those things. You really are not as behind as you think you are.

I've heard that Danica McKellar's math books for girls are really a great aid for learning. Check them out on Amazon. Good luck!

SakuraMamiya · Feb 19, 2011

Thanks a lot everyone!