Anyone ever tried "relearning" math as an adult?

[Bleacher Creature]

I went to a very small high school with only limited support for students who were good at math. I generally remember what I learned in algebra, pre-calculus, etc., but I never really "learned" the material. And my calculus teacher was an epic disaster.

As a parent of a middle-schooler, and as someone who works a lot with "math geeks," I really want to try again.

Is that even possible for someone in their 40s? Are there websites? Should I audit a course at a local university?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Yes. I totally sucked at it in high school, got a little better in college,

but was never good at it. But some 20 years later I took a course relating to a career change that involved algebra (which had always baffled me as a kid) and some other scientific uses for math, and I found that it wasn't especially confusing any more. Maybe it just takes some people a long time for it to sink in. If you found it difficult in school you might have better luck taking an actual class than trying to learn it online.

[TexasTowelie]

2. People learn different things at different stages in their lives.

The value of real life experiences also factors into the learning process. My interests as a 50 year old have expanded tremendously from the time that I was 20.

The methods of learning have also improved with the Internet. Most people in our age group learned math by working problems at the chalkboard along with memorizing math tables and formulas. The use of interactive videos, tailored lectures on the topics that are in the areas we want to learn, and better descriptions of how the theoretical learning apply to real life examples have erase the humdrum of teachers that taught using the old tried-and-true methods of the past.

The president of my alma mater is also a math professor who still teaches at least one math class a semester even though he is an administrator. He has made over 4,000 videos on various topics. His videos can be found by searching on Edward Burger, math videos.

[PJMcK]

4. You can do it

When my son got to middle school, I realized I needed to bone up on math, grammar and science if I was going to be any help to him. "Algebra for Dummies" was a godsend!

Have no fear and good luck!

[Warpy]

3. I did it in my mid 30s when I wasn't sure what I wanted to be when I grew up

Khan has a great selection of course material in math, including higher math. https://www.khanacademy.org/

They're free.

[Bleacher Creature]

14. Thank you! nt

[matt819]

5. I have a BA and MBA

From the dark ages.

I'm now taking an online course that has more math than I expected. What should be simple is maddening. I can, mostly, solve the problems. I just can't create the equations. And what are these derivatives and asymptotes of which they speak?

[GeorgeGist]

8. I've heard derivatives can make you rich ...

if you can solve them.

[Ilsa]

6. Give it a try. And get a tutor if you need to and can afford it.

It may work out great, but if it doesn't, it isn't a waste of time or money. It's only a waste if you want to try and don't.

[TexasTowelie]

7. See post #2.

[DUgosh]

9. I sucked at high school math

However in my forties I became a quilter and discovered practical uses for algebra. It's very handy now.

[progree]

10. Schaum's Outline Series or similar with many many worked out examples

[radical noodle]

11. Yes!

I was much more motivated as an adult to learn and I was in my 40s at the time. I took mine at a local two-year college but it would depend on what's close to you. Don't go somewhere that's so difficult that you dread going. I would recommend paying for a class if you can so that you don't end up thinking "well, I didn't pay for it so I'll not finish" which is probably what I would have done. I took several advanced classes and got "A"s in all.

[Igel]

12. Yeah.

If you take it because you want to, you focus on understanding it.

Most kids I know think of it as a process. You move this, you change that. It's not tied to any deeper understanding; even when the teacher tries, the students memorize the "understanding" and soon lose it.

When I've gone back to re-learn something I forgot, or learn something that I never learned, I may immediately focus on the technique that gets me through the bit of text I'm struggling with. On the other hand, more often than not I realize what the math is actually doing. Never got, for example, line integrals when I was around 20. I relearned the process, and then stopped to ponder what, exactly, the math meant. An "ah-hah" moment later, the math made sense. I'd learned the steps, but now they were exactly the steps that made sense in exactly the right order.

Same for Euler's equation. And a lot of other mathematical "stuff" I learned well 35 years ago and forgot slowly until around 5 years ago.

Really have to go back and look at diff. eqs. They'd probably actually make a great deal of sense now.


If you're adept at self-education, I'd track down an open-access course that can just be downloaded. A number of schools have them available, there must be some meta-site that would point you in the right direction. If it's algebra and pre-cal, that might be best done through a local CC.

[Bleacher Creature]

13. Thanks!!

This is really useful, as are many of the comments above.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

15. Like Khan, Open Stax College has free e-textbooks

for self-learning: https://openstax.org/subjects/math

I don't think your problem - if you are like most people - is age; it's motivation. I went to Catholic elementary and high schools and didn't have any "advanced" math or science, even though I got through an engineering program in 4 years - although it wasn't easy for me. After I retired, I decided to brush up in order to maybe do some volunteer tutoring. "Brushing up" on math is time-consuming and difficult. But if someone is determined to do it, it is possible for anyone of normal intelligence.

If you just want to get through calculus and maybe statistics, any community college should have the classes you need.

[Bleacher Creature]

17. Guilty as charged.

Motivation is certainly an issue, although I suspect that I'd have more motivation if I had more free time.

Will definitely try Khan, and maybe an open source course or something at a local college if I need more. I went to law school locally, do I can audit any course at the undergraduate school for about a hundred dollars. That said, not sure how I can fit in two hours in the middle of the day three times a week!