Whenever I learn math, my mind gets overloaded with symbols, some symbols that I probably should know and just have decayed in my memory, and some that are new but I become intimidated by. If I ever try to follow the logic of a definition, like the definition of a derivative, and I try to follow the algebra that makes the concept makes sense, I just get stressed out and lose my train of thought. This seems to happen only in math, I haven’t studied physics but I assume the process would be similar as well. I try to ask ChatGPT what this means and if I should start engineering in September, but since it’s an LLM it just gives me a different approach or answer every time, so there’s no real way I can diagnose whether this is a normal experience. Am I trying to learn math in an overly difficult way? I hear a lot of math or engineering majors do “plug and chug”, they don’t need to know why a formula works, they just need the cue of when to use the formula and then use it to get an answer. Maybe I’m learning math in a way that’s expects inherent meaning in the first principles, I was a philosophy major for a year and my interests drifted that way during high school, but I want to try engineering, and it just seems like I have a much harder time studying these courses compared to my peers. My grades in a few precalc courses I’ve taken weren’t bad, but I never actually retained the definition of a function, or some algebra stuff, I had to teach myself high school trig because I just never learned it (COVID years). I just don’t know if this is a common experience and I can just adapt to this over time or if it’s always going to be a very high mental tax and stress loop that I’ll always face, because it has seemed that way for the last few months. I’ve had to drop calc 1 twice because of this
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Is it a stupid idea to try to tutor university level math (1st and second year) privately as a side hustle? I suppose the answer might vary by location, but if yes, how would you go about doing so, and finding clients? I am not a math professor.

Submission statement: this is a personal project I built myself, not monetized, sharing it here transparently to get real feedback, not to promote anything.

I spent time mentoring students in math before, mostly one-on-one, working through the stuff that's hard to get from a textbook or a lecture: seeing how a distribution actually shifts, why a vector operation does what it does, that kind of thing. Following up on a post I made here a few days ago about whether animated visuals can do some of that same work.

I built a small YouTube channel to test it directly, turning the concepts I used to walk students through by hand into fully animated lessons, from basic statistics up through linear algebra and neural networks. Search MathUnlockedYT on YouTube if you want to see what it actually looks like.

The open question for me is the same one I had when I was mentoring in person: does a student actually get it faster when they can see the concept move, or does a good explanation on paper do the same job if it's written well? I don't think animation is automatically better, I think it depends on the concept.

If you've taught or tutored these subjects, I'd like to know which specific concepts you found genuinely needed a visual to click versus the ones where a clear explanation was always enough.

Hello,

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is safe and enjoying the holiday. My district is piloting the Illustrative Math curriculum. I am prepping for it, and I value their focus on conceptual understanding. I think this benefits Integrated Math 2 and 3. However, I am not too thrilled on unit 1 for Integrated Math 1. I feel I can substitute it with IXL and have students understand constructions a bit better than if we use the curriculum.

Traditionally, students have struggle with solving equations which is essential for our state test. The curriculum does not cover it until unit 1, and it is mix with systems of equations. In short, I am just fearful that I won’t cover the essential standards for future courses and the state exam.

I am implementing the curriculum for IM 1, IM 2, and IM 3. So, I am scare. Thanks for any info.

im 20 years old been working at a Kroger since I graduated but want to do something better with my life I’ve always wanted to be a mechanical engineer but im not very good at math but i want to become better.

There are so many youtube math resources from so many different teachers i dont have time to watch them all to see their particular style of teaching. I need opinions on who may be the best math professor on youtube.

im a visual learner who learns through lots of examples and step by step breakdown of a problem or concept. not someone who just tells me 5+5=10 but why and how the equation or numbers or variables work this way. idk hopefully this makes sense just need some help moving forward

I had to drop out of highschool and get my GED because of health issues but while I was getting my ged I got high scores and college ready + credits on all of the subjects except math, I barely passed with a 145 on the math portion when 144 is a fail lmaooo this was after rigorously studying what I needed to for a whole 2 months 4+ hours a day.

I only passed because calculators are allowed and the online resources I got from Reddit taught me how to use the calculator to get the answers on most of the questions 😭

I’m so cooked my physical health issues make it so blue collar collar work would be nearly impossible and my mental health issues make it so I can’t even go to college to get a white collar job 😭

I was reading this article on Financial Times and I quote:

“*It is alarming to see mathematics departments under threat at universities across the UK. From Exeter to Aberdeen - almost literally the length of the country - universities are making swingeing budget cuts and maths is often in the line of fire.”*

Is this happening in other countries too? I was surprised by the article as I thought that the boom in LLMs and programming along with an all the more broader need for business management would suggest the opposite.

I am not a mathematician but I love math. Why do you think this is happening?

Article title: There will be no more games like Minecraft without maths.
Author : CHRIS VAN DER KUYL
(I don’t know how to share ft.com link. I think it’s paywalled)

Lesson planning was the thing I kept hearing about from teachers: the material already exists, the worksheet, the textbook page, the district packet, but turning it into an actual lesson (objective, warm-up, guided practice, differentiation, exit ticket) is what eats the evening.

So I built Scaffold. You take a photo of the worksheet and about a minute later you get a complete lesson plan built around that specific material: objective, hook, direct instruction, guided practice, assessment, differentiation (support and extension), and a short quiz. It aligns to CCSS-M when a standard applies, and it tells you honestly when one doesn't instead of inventing a citation.

Yes, it's AI, so let me answer the obvious question up front: how is this different from pasting into ChatGPT? Two ways. It starts from your actual material rather than a prompt you have to engineer, and it returns a structured, classroom-ready plan instead of a wall of text. You should still read and edit it the way you'd read anything a student teacher handed you, the point is starting at 80% instead of a blank page.

You can try it on one worksheet with no account (it shows you the real output before asking you to sign up), and the free plan is 10 lessons a month, no card.

What I'd genuinely love from this sub: try to break it. Handwritten problem sets, proof-based geometry, weird district curricula, I want to know where it falls apart before more teachers rely on it.

https://tryscaffold.io

This will be my first year teaching 7th grade math in Az. I am a little rusty on the math if I’m being completely honest. Is there any review I can do, any websites, worksheets, etc. to help me remaster 7th grade math curriculum. Needing help asap. We are also using iready curriculum, new to our school. Thank you all

I'll be teaching for my first year this year. And i want to understand what i'm doing not just memorize formulas and concepts but understand them and be able to explain them to a child. I want to restart at fundamentals. What plan should i adopt or what should i start with to finally understand. I will teach to 11th grade

Hi everyone!
My name is Murat, I’m teen(i finished 8grade), and I study at NIS (Nazarbayev Intellectual School) in Kazakhstan. My main focus is chemistry olympiads, but I know that in high school i will need math for olympiads and especially at university, having a strong math background is essential.
That’s why I want to start learning higher mathematics early. I’m particularly interested in topics such as:

•derivatives;
•integrals;
•limits;
•mathematical approximations and expansions;
•analyzing and graphing functions;
•anything that helps me truly understand calculus instead of just solving problems by following formulas.

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have already gone through this journey.
Where should I start?
In what order should I study these topics?
Which books, lectures, or online courses would you recommend?
What should I learn before starting calculus?
How can I build real mathematical intuition instead of just memorizing procedures?
Which topics are especially useful for someone planning to study chemistry?
I’m ready to study math every day and want to build a solid foundation before these topics are covered in school or university.
Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations!
P.S
One more thing I’d like to mention:
I’m planning to study very intensively for the next 1–2 months. My goal isn’t to become a mathematician, but to build a solid understanding of calculus as quickly as possible so that I can confidently use it in chemistry later on.

So my son just finished first grade Singapore Dimensions. He loved it in kindergarten and flew through it. In first grade he did pretty well until we got to subtracting double digits. We stayed on the same lesson for two weeks, but he unfortunately never grasped it 100%. Now I’m looking forward to second grade and I’m not sure what to do about math. We originally loved Singapore Dimensions but then it became a big struggle and I’m worried next year will be even harder for him. I was wondering if doing a year of Math-U-See would help him to get back on track and then we could switch back to Singapore in third grade. Or if Singapore just isn’t right for my son and I should just focus on finding a new curriculum to stick with. I’d appreciate any advice!

Are any of you SPED teachers or working on credentials (certification)? What do you like most about it? What don't you like? And, where did you go to school and do you feel like it prepared you for the job? Thanks!! 🙌

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Hey everyone,

I’m currently a master's student in math. Over my degree so far, I've covered a solid chunk of standard grad coursework—Galois theory, functional analysis, commutative algebra, measure theory, and I have a decent familiarity with abstract nonsense.

But here’s my weird habit: I constantly find myself gravitating back to solving problems in group theory, point-set topology, and ring theory. These were my bread and butter in undergrad, and I worked through a ton of problems from standard texts back then.

For example, I just spent 2-3 days speeding through the group theory and ring theory sections of Aluffi. When I finished, I sat back and wondered, "What did I actually learn from this?" The answer was... honestly, not much. I breezed through it just because I had already done it before, and the familiarity felt good.

Now I’m trying to plan my upcoming work. I'm thinking of setting up a reading course on Lam’s Lectures on Modules and Rings and Matsumura’s Commutative Ring Theory. But at the same time, I have this strong urge to re-do point-set topology using a completely new book—even though I already survived Munkres and similar texts, and I'm taking Algebraic Topology next semester anyway.

My questions for the other grad students/researchers here:

Is it fine that I keep spending time solving concepts I’ve already mostly mastered?

Is this a common form of productive procrastination, or is it a trap that’s keeping me from actually advancing?

Do you guys do this too, and how do you balance reviewing the foundations vs. pushing into new territory?

I'm currently teaching kids around the age of 10 science at an NGO as a volunteer. They're very far behind, but I want to make them feel the beauty of math, 'or at least feel how logical is it instead of just the regular memorization taught at school. I started teaching from the basics like why 2\*3 is even 6 and what's the difference between \* and + which sounds obvious but was difficult for them. So I want to ask the community here where to go next or if you have any recommendation on contents on youtube or other platforms that will, anything that could be helpful for them, or experience that you're willing to share while teaching.

I only have around 1h every saturday to teach them

Hi,

I've been thinking about building an educational platform that teaches math through anime and manga.

Over the years, I've noticed that many of my students are incredibly capable, but they've convinced themselves that math is boring or "not for them." I don't think the problem is math itself, I think it's the way we teach it.

Imagine learning algebra through the strategy behind a shonen battle, geometry through manga artwork, probability through card games, or calculus through the physics of your favorite anime scenes. Instead of memorizing formulas, students would discover mathematical concepts through stories, characters, and challenges they already enjoy.

The goal isn't just to make math more entertaining—it's to make it meaningful. When students are emotionally engaged, they're more curious, they ask more questions, and they remember what they learn.

I believe there are millions of anime and manga fans around the world who would love to learn this way. If we can turn math into an adventure instead of a chore, we might change how an entire generation sees mathematics.

What do you think? Would you use something like this, or know someone who would?