When I finished chemo in October I decided I should take on a new challenge - after all I got a degree aged 70 so why not something else. But what? Ever since infant school I have been told I am no good at maths, and failed the then GCE with the lowest possible grade. So, 50 years later, what has changed?
Nothing.
For a start all the books are child-friendly, so I can't understand them. And they are so cheerful! Mr x and Ms y have 23 children, 3/4 of them are boys and 0.45 have red hair. Assess the likelihood of Ms y having a red-haired lover. Do I care!
Anyway I have paid for my entry (why do exams start at 8.50am?) so in May I shall sit them. Madness! I'm just off to factorise an equation, so no disturbance please.
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Rachael47
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Hilarious but I’m very impressed at your determination! Go girl and good luck with the exam! Hmmm Mrs Y and the red haired lover this could become a long running debate 😂
I still have my school report which says 'Lynn appears to have no mathematical ability whatsoever'! I don't think you're allowed to make remarks like that now. I was probably mentally scarred from that report and never recovered! I do remember failing the o level - twice. And the CSE which was supposedly impossible to fail.
Good luck - i passed my O - level with a C ( just as well as back then it plus a modern language were essential for uni entry ) but couldn’t understand any of what junior had on his course - luckily mr ethyl got an a at a-level as he always likes to remind me when I appear to be totally mathematically inept ! X
Well done! I did maths at the age of 50, as I was peeved that I had never got my head round numbers, and managed a c grade. I am currently learning to play the recorder, as I have always wanted to be able to read music. I am 71 and tell myself that I am chasing dementia away. It's never too late to learn something new.
Haha. Good for you! I failed my maths o'level but I got a grade A accounting o'level the year after! Why did they make it so scary and unfathomable in those days??? Good luck 🍀👍🏻💐
Wow! Well done you I’m really so impressed, it’s so important to give ourselves goals and even if we miss the goal at least we gave it a shot.
I had a maths teacher who suggested, quite openly, that maths wasn’t a subject for girls and only taught the boys in the class (or so he thought 😉), just to spite him we all studied and passed, granted none of us got particularly high grades but we proved him wrong and some of the boys failed yah boo! 😂.
Are we working out if it’s 0.45 of the 3/4 boys or all the children in the family and does Mr X have red hair or are we talking paternity tests and child maintenance here 😂😂 ? To be honest I really wouldn’t know where to start with probabilities or factoring equations these days but what a brilliant way for you to further both your academic knowledge and achieve new goals.
Well done lovely, and 🤞🏻 For success in your studies ❤️Xx Jane
I loved math and was good at it. Then came my kids and I could not understand one thing they asked me to explain--and that was at ages it was embarrassing not to be able to read their books and help them! I never went back. Too stressful! I give you lots of credit and would love the answer to the red haired parent! oxoxxo
Good luck with the exam. My maths is useless. At badminton I have trouble adding 1 to a score.
I took up guitar and Spanish after my chemo. The guitar is coming on but I still only know about 30 words of Spanish and they're in my best English accent.
I took my English Alevel about 10 years ago and managed to do that. Anything we do helps the brain to keep going.
Good lord... I admire your grit and determination, honestly, I'd rather remove my eyeballs with a fork than do that! The trouble is, even at school, problems like the one you describe immediately made me think 'who cares'. I vaguely remember one about a bee and a train and speed differentials... I can still experience that feeling of total system shutdown that I felt then, as in, 'if this is life, let's not bother....'. I was a complete duffer at numbers, my forte was words (not uncommon, that) - the only time I got a wallop at school was when the teacher asked me what's 2 x 2 and I said 5... I once got 10% in a maths exam for writing my name neatly and clearly. The only thing I could do with instinctive ease in math was logarithms, to the complete astonishment of myself, my maths teacher and the rest of the class. And the only reason I can do long division now is because of a boss I had when I was 19, who somehow made it so simple and obvious I wondered why on earth I'd had so much trouble at school...
Power to you for putting yourself through it...whatever the outcome.
I think MS y is the one with the red hair. I am a life long learner as you are. Degree at age 47 and a curiosity about absolutely everything keeps my brain full of trivia. Keep challenging! Good luck on the exam!
I loved this post! Your humor is infectious and your positive outlook is inspiring. It’s got me thinking I could work towards that degree I’ve always wished I finished (49 yrs old now), or take up piano again. Best of luck in all your future endeavors! I’m at the clinic for my last chemo treatment today. Stay strong and press on!! Blessings from San Antonio, TX!!
Excellent, I passed my English at 36, I failed at school and forgot to go to the exam after a year of night classes at 20! 😂. Make sure you set your alarm... xxx
I love your post! It made me laugh and it's inspirational. I have a tendency to dwell on all the things I won't be able to do now and forget that there is a lot out there I can do, chemo brain or not!!!
I celebrate ALL of you who are forging on with learning new skills, tackling old challenges, or taking up a new passion - or even forging on at work and carrying on through all the stuff we have to deal with. You are all fantastic, I salute every one of you. I have a deep thirst for knowledge and thrill to keep on learning - and I'm ever so grateful to be still here and be able to do that!
Plus I adore playing my bass guitar, am in two bands (and counting) and continuing to pick up new songs - and write them too. Playing live is the biggest buzz imaginable.
Well done to you Rachael47, I know math is my weakest subject so would never in a million years put myself through it. You are truly an inspiration, but think I would perhaps stick with something I at least like.Sending lots of love 💕 hugs and positive thoughts for your exam Tracy xx
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