How do I get better at maths?

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Im s**t at maths when it comes to algebra (using letters instead of numbers confuses me) . the problem is that most of the things that I want to study at university after I finish school require harder types of math/science like calculus,algebra and physics. I think Im so bad at maths because, for the last 3 years I havent listened in class, and even when i did I just didnt get the way that my teacher was explaining it. What made it worse, is that for the last 3 years I have had maths teachers that can barely speak english and so it makes the work even more difficult to understand. I do alot more work now but I still dont understand the way she explains the maths and so I usually end up having to learn the maths from the internet or figure it out myself. how am I supposed to get better at math so that I can succeed at university and get the job that I want after I finish school?
Is there a way for me to teach myself maths (algebra,trigonometry,quadratic equations,logarithms etc) outside of school? (I just know that I need to get better at the maths that I cant do now so that I will be able to do the more advanced maths when I go to university)

First of all, I think it's great you're thinking ahead about preparing for university. As with anything you want to improve on, practice is important. Look for practice problems relating to the skills you want to develop, and stick with it consistently. Make sure you have a solid foundation of basic math skills so that you can build upon them when the math becomes more challenging. It may be helpful to find a classmate or tutor who is willing to work with you. There are plenty of resources out there. Khan Academy has a lot of great Youtube videos explaining concepts. If you like books, check out your local library or bookstore for books that go step-by-step how to solve different types of problems.

if you have no mathematical orientation despite an unhindered childhood, then it math is not your forte.

If you can afford it, maybe hire a private tutor for just one half-hour or forty-five minute session, study on your own for a couple of weeks, then another private session.

Once you're enrolled, the college often has a free math lab.

Yes, the standard way is to understand the theory, and then do the problem-solving procedure. But I've also experimented with coming back to a sample problem in the book, covering the answer with a sheet of paper and seeing how much I can recreate.

And maybe jump to problems which are medium-hard, but hard in a straightforward way.

And weirdly, I have found you kind of have to already know the material in order to follow the lecture and get something out of it. And this would be even more the case for when the profession has an accent.

I think I'm a story / narrative thinker as my preferred intellectual style. So, I have to be in a place in my life where I have the luxury to really put some of my prime, most alert time into the course. I need to be able to explain it to myself or potentially someone else, "at this point the graph explodes upward because . . . ," that kind of thing. Of course your mileage may vary.

I suck at math and it takes me hours to figure anything out when it comes to math. So far I had to take up to Statistics. I did well, but the only way that happened was whatever math class I took (College algebra or Statistics) I took the class by itself. I also hired a tutor which was related to one of my past nursing instructors and he happened to also be a math professor at the nursing school I graduated from. He was $20 an hour and I met up with him about 2 times a week. Also, I bought every dvd on Amazon by Jason Gibson - Algebra, Statistics - and if I have to eventually take Calculus (I believe nurse practitioner goes into that) then I will get that one. They aren't cheap (about $25 + bucks at a pop), but well worth it. Jason goes into detail about most of the things covered in classes and then he does problems that you will probably see. Each dvd has several hours of information so I had to preview them before the class started so I knew what to watch over again when the class hit a certain subject. I also tried to look at the "Rate Your Professor" website and see the reviews on each teacher. That may help you pick a professor that you can understand.

Tropicalcows mentioned Khan Academy. I recommend it too, here's why:

•It covers pre-calculus very throughly (it also covers calculus)

• Its 100% free

•It tracks your progress/activity for you

•It's very comprehensive, if a question confuses you, you can ask for hints to the point where they solve it for you. They do this for any question.

If you want to get better at math, just invest some time each day into khan academy.

Hopefully Khan Academy will help you due to it being free. If it doesn't, you might check out Teaching Textbooks. I homeschool my daughter (Aspie and I think I'm an Aspie, too) and am using TT alongside Saxon. I always had problems with math in school. The way it is explained really has helped me. It's on discs and comes with a consumable workbook that you can use as well. You can buy it used on ebay. You will have to contact them to get a new number to enter when you load it onto your computer. That's no big deal though. They have excellent customer service.

Do as many problems as is required to ensure you understand the concept. Some of us require more practice and some of us require less practice. You will want to practice a concept until it makes sense and until you are fluent at finding solutions to various problems within the concept readily aimsely.com

Try to use a mechanical pencil with separate eraser, if you can.
If the problem lends itself to it, draw a picture of the problem. This is most applicable for Trigonometry, Calculus, and Physics Students, but also applies to any word problem in basic math or algebra.

Nice thread.

Unfortunately I am not one of the mathematical Aspies