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I would like to say I'm trying to help a close friend who seriously lacks math skills. He knows your everyday arithmetic but no algebra whatsoever. I understand

I would like to say I'm trying to help a close friend who seriously lacks math skills. He knows your everyday arithmetic but no algebra whatsoever. I understand algebra but haven't done anything calc related. He said he wants to be able to learn calculus (I guess whats presented in a typical first year of calc in college). He has a lot of time on his hands and he wants to dedicate that to studying, about 12 hrs (6hrs in the morning, 6 in the afternoon). He's a junior in HS.

Someone 11y ago
"He said he wants to be able to learn calculus" If he doesn't know anything about calculus, it is unlikely that is his true goal. You should probe him to find out what he thinks knowing calculus will bring him. Does he want to program games? Get a good score for math in school? Did his parents promise him a car if he does well in school? "(I guess what's presented in a typical first year of calc in college)." I rest my case :-) if your guess turns out to be wrong, your help may teach him calculus, but won't make him happy. "He's a junior in HS." I don't understand. If he is a junior in high school, he should already know quite a bit of math, shouldn't he? What am I overlooking? And those 12 hours, is that per day or per week?
- TheOneWhoAsks 11y ago
  He's a weird case where our education system here kept passing him even though he was failing math classes. He now cares and is trying to catch up. Thats 12hrs a day btw.
  - dalke 11y ago
    12hrs a day for a year? With no other education or pursuits? If he's a junior then doesn't he need his senior year to graduate? (I know there are exceptions, like entering college early without a HS degree, or dropping out of HS upon reaching sufficient age. I assume this is one of them.) It's very hard to offer any sort of guidance. It sounds very much like biting off more than he can chew. I was good at math, but even with years of math classes I found the first semester of calculus to be tough going. (It was an odd thing; I didn't understand the midterm that well, but within a couple of weeks it was all clear.) There are certainly people who just sit down and work through math problems. Dirac, for example, worked through math problems for his holidays. Ramanujan learned math almost entirely on his own. But these are the exceptions by far. Okay, so my suggestion is to go to a nearby college and ask for advice from the undergraduate math adviser.

Someone 11y ago

"He said he wants to be able to learn calculus" If he doesn't know anything about calculus, it is unlikely that is his true goal. You should probe him to find out what he thinks knowing calculus will bring him. Does he want to program games? Get a good score for math in school? Did his parents promise him a car if he does well in school? "(I guess what's presented in a typical first year of calc in college)." I rest my case :-) if your guess turns out to be wrong, your help may teach him calculus, but won't make him happy. "He's a junior in HS." I don't understand. If he is a junior in high school, he should already know quite a bit of math, shouldn't he? What am I overlooking? And those 12 hours, is that per day or per week?

TheOneWhoAsks 11y ago
He's a weird case where our education system here kept passing him even though he was failing math classes. He now cares and is trying to catch up. Thats 12hrs a day btw.
- dalke 11y ago
  12hrs a day for a year? With no other education or pursuits? If he's a junior then doesn't he need his senior year to graduate? (I know there are exceptions, like entering college early without a HS degree, or dropping out of HS upon reaching sufficient age. I assume this is one of them.) It's very hard to offer any sort of guidance. It sounds very much like biting off more than he can chew. I was good at math, but even with years of math classes I found the first semester of calculus to be tough going. (It was an odd thing; I didn't understand the midterm that well, but within a couple of weeks it was all clear.) There are certainly people who just sit down and work through math problems. Dirac, for example, worked through math problems for his holidays. Ramanujan learned math almost entirely on his own. But these are the exceptions by far. Okay, so my suggestion is to go to a nearby college and ask for advice from the undergraduate math adviser.