Math is not everybody’s favourite subject. So if it’s like that for you, you are not alone. However, you may find yourself struggling with it, especially high school Math. There are still options to help improve math skills, especially since college, university and in the work field post graduation, math skills are still necessary and required. (It just depends on what level you may need for post graduate studies, and if you’re in a career that doesn’t require math, you don’t need to use it as often.)

Calculators, while helpful, don’t help you learn math skills as much, especially when it comes to word problems or the concept used to get to the answer you are looking for. Calculators, for example, work in a way that can be counterproductive to how math rules are supposed to work in the order you were taught by the teacher, which is called the order of operations. (This is why you can have two different answers to a math question, and one is “wrong” if you type in order of the question in your calculator instead of following the order of operations of the same question.)  So, the question is: how to sharpen your math skills while at school?

Tutors can certainly help gain more understanding of the math rules and the subject itself. If you choose to use this method, there are lots of options and types of tutoring available. With individual tutoring, you can request a tutor who has a strong knowledge of math and can help you understand it by explaining things in a different way, to help you understand it better. You can even ask a classmate of yours, who excels in math, to help you if you think this is the best way. Remember though: you’re not looking to hang out with your friend or classmate, you’re trying to get additional math help skills.

At my old high school, there was a session for those who had trouble in math to go to a “clinic” within the school every week, with a math teacher supervising and available if you needed assistance. It may not be the same math teacher who is teaching your class, and therefore a different explanation to get the answer may be helpful. Along this route, your own teacher may also be available for math assistance after class (or the school day) – it can’t hurt to ask if there are no clinics available, especially since there may be other students in the same situation as you, who need additional math assistance.

And if you do understand the material, but are struggling a little bit, get extra homework. Teachers assign the material from the textbook – but you could do more of the questions in the section they assign instead of only the questions they want you to do – so you can fully understand the material and be quicker (and confident) in your answer.

No one likes additional homework, but in this case, it can help your confidence when taking a math test or examination question for a better grade than you think you would have done before doing the additional help. And a better grade can help you get into the post-secondary school or career of your choice.