Demotivating learning experience: math edition!

Jul 7, 2014 • Sarah Simpkin

I grew up in a science-heavy home. My mother was a high school science and math teacher, my father an engineer and geophysicist. As a kid, I benefited from all kinds of privileges: computers in the house since I was a baby, mid-90s internet access from the university where my dad worked, and parents with a good understanding of the higher ed system. I remember being very curious about the web in junior high, and rushing home after school to work on my personal website in the pre-blog era. It was a fun creative outlet and I didn’t feel any pressure to perform.

When high school and university hit, I realized that my usual modus operandi of showing up and acing tests was going to be a challenge. I jumped from what felt like the world’s easiest high school to a rigorous university where I was one of thousands. I knew I wanted a science degree, but I was so petrified of math that I opted to join one of the few B.Sc. programs at my school without a calculus requirement. When I finally did get the option, in my final year, of taking calculus as a pass-or-fail class, I am positive that I only make it through with the instructor’s sympathy. I had convinced myself that it had to be As or nothing.

But I had an itch. I loved the idea of automating various processes that I do every day. I loved the thrill of writing a script and watching it go. In the years since, I’ve dabbled in all kinds of technologies, mostly self-taught (though I am taking a Java course at the moment, and feel like I make the most progress when I’m being evaluated in a structured course). I’d like to take advantage of some of the higher-level CS courses where I work (I could even attend for free!), but continue to be held back by the math requirements. I don’t need to be an engineer, but the number of pre-reqs required to even get to an intermediate-level undergraduate course are discouraging. Meanwhile, I enviously read about programs like UBC’s second-degree, two year BCS program and wish I could attend from a distance.