How to Pass Algebra in 10 Minutes or Less
Monday, 18. May 2009, 14:00:22
Wow! Would you look at that? It is a packed house tonight, an ocean of people, standing room only. If I had known there was going to be this much interest in – How to Pass Algebra in 10 Minutes or Less, I would have written a book and become a millionaire instead of sitting here and writing this … this FREE Blog Post. 
Man! Talk about a missed opportunity.
Earlier today, I had been perusing my friend Andrew's (Southern Cross) Blog. For those of y'all who weren't aware yet, Andrew was selected Opera Community MOTW (Member of the Week) this week. In one of his Posts, Andrew mentioned having been inundated by homework by the Math teacher. If I understood correctly, Andrew is about to enter High School the coming school year. Yet, he was already studying about Sines, Cosines, Tangents and other complex stuff like perhaps … if you alternated lining up a Big Mac, then a Burrito, then a Big Mac then a Burrito, Etc., how many of each would it take to reach the Moon?
This reminded me of how I didn't even get to learn Algebra in High School, much less in Jr. High. That was through no fault of mine, mind you.
This story takes place back in my Freshman year in High School. We did start out the year actually learning Algebra. However, let me set up the critical element of the rest of the plot. There was a Newbie Coach. The Math teacher was also a Newbie. As I vaguely recall, the Math teacher was possibly Assistant Coach as well. For sure, the two Newbie teachers were Best Buddies.
Very early on in the school year, the Newbie Coach apparently committed some HUGE Fugg Up,
some breaking of the rules. I think it was something like on an away Football game, he bought dinner for all the players afterwards on the school account, without authorization. I think it was one of those deals, scandals whereby there are several rumors floating around and we never know which version is the truth. Either way, the Newbie Coach was fired or as they also say in some other countries, he was sacked. Yep, he lost his job.
Shortly after the Newbie Coach was fired, his Buddy the Math teacher decided to just up and quit. WTF? He thought his Buddy the Newbie Coach had gotten a raw deal. He decided he wanted no part of that type of school administration. Can y'all imagine that? You're a Newbie teacher and you have the courage, the Brass Ones
… the matter of principle or stupidity to just decide, "I don't like how my Best Friend was treated, so I'm quitting." What are you going to say when you apply for your next job? Perhaps, "Oh, I quit cuz my Homie was dissed … Thrown Under the Bus." Sheesh!
Now our small town High School was left without a Math teacher. But, Hey! Not to worry, right? I'm sure school administrations, School Boards have contingencies for just these types of situations. They no doubt have piles of Employment Applications so that they can start calling up other replacement teacher candidates, right? That's right. Education must go on. Students have to be prepared to be able to enter and handle college.
So, one day some dude shows up at our class. Presumably he was our new, qualified Math teacher, cuz they wouldn't dare send anyone other than a capable Math teacher. Mystery dude introduces himself and starts out with something to the effect of, "So, can y'all guess what I am? Can y'all guess what I do for a living?" WTF? What do you MEAN what do you do for a living? If you're up there in the position of Math teacher … we were kind of hoping you'd be, I don't know … a Math teacher? There's a novel idea. Some of the students humored him and took some guesses. Mystery dude finally goes, "How many of y'all would believe I'm a Politician?" A Politician? TOING! 
And you're here WHY? Anyway, he was serious. He WAS a Politician. 
We got to see his Signs, Billboards and stuff of him running for some office.
It quickly became obvious he was NOT going to be our replacement Math teacher, but rather, just a glorified babysitter, student sitter. I'll just refer to him from here on as Mr. Sitter. We used to have one guy in our class who had some learning disability. We were NOT being taught anything, yet we were being given work, problems to do. And just how the Fugg were we supposed to do the work when no one was teaching us how to do it? We were then shocked when we saw that at the start of each day's Algebra class, Mr Sitter would let that one guy with the learning disability, shamelessly COPY the answers from the teacher's book. Some of the rest of us did our best to try and figure out how to do the work. We were having very inauspicious results.
One day, some of the other guys finally called out Mr. Sitter, "Uhhh, Sir, why is it that you just let Finnegan there copy the answers while the rest of us have to try and do the work?" Without being startled or fazed for even a second, Politician Extraordinaire - Mr. Sitter nonchalantly replied, "Oh, I didn't say only he could copy the answers. If you all want to copy the answers too, you're welcome to. All I ask is that y'all let Finnegan copy them first. Then y'all can have the book."
Most of the guys in the class didn't have to be told twice. From then on, everyday, they'd wait for Finnegan to copy the answers from the teacher's book for that day's assignment. Then they'd droolingly get the teacher's book and gather in a circle in the back of the classroom and shamelessly COPY the answers and thus …
Pass Algebra in 10 Minutes or less. For a little while, the 3 girls in our class attempted to keep on trying to actually do the work. But, they quickly gave in to the Plan B of just plain ole shamelessly copying the answers from the teacher's book.
Only 2 guys and I foolishly remained trying to do the work ourselves. Of course, we really had no clue what we were doing. It soon became increasingly obvious that we had two options. We could remain on the same status quo course and FAIL the class with dignity. 
Or we could go with the flow and throw honor out the window and 
join the CopyCat Club. The pressure and reality became too much for us. We knew if we stuck to our principles, FAILURE of Algebra class was guaranteed. So, my 2 friends and I finally said, "Fugg It!" And we proceeded to take our place in line after Finnegan, the other guys and the 3 girls … to take our turn with the teacher's book 
for Project: Assignment Answers Extraction ... with authorization, of course.
We never got a real Math teacher the remainder of the school year. For a while there, another teacher was assigned to TRY and teach us Algebra. He knew more than Mr. Sitter about Algebra, but then again, who didn't? But, that teacher was no Math teacher. He was just going by what he vaguely remembered from his High School and College days.
Consequently, no, I don't have the higher level Math skills to tell y'all how many Big Macs & Burritos it would take lined up to reach the Moon.
Man! Talk about a missed opportunity. Earlier today, I had been perusing my friend Andrew's (Southern Cross) Blog. For those of y'all who weren't aware yet, Andrew was selected Opera Community MOTW (Member of the Week) this week. In one of his Posts, Andrew mentioned having been inundated by homework by the Math teacher. If I understood correctly, Andrew is about to enter High School the coming school year. Yet, he was already studying about Sines, Cosines, Tangents and other complex stuff like perhaps … if you alternated lining up a Big Mac, then a Burrito, then a Big Mac then a Burrito, Etc., how many of each would it take to reach the Moon?
This reminded me of how I didn't even get to learn Algebra in High School, much less in Jr. High. That was through no fault of mine, mind you.This story takes place back in my Freshman year in High School. We did start out the year actually learning Algebra. However, let me set up the critical element of the rest of the plot. There was a Newbie Coach. The Math teacher was also a Newbie. As I vaguely recall, the Math teacher was possibly Assistant Coach as well. For sure, the two Newbie teachers were Best Buddies.
Very early on in the school year, the Newbie Coach apparently committed some HUGE Fugg Up,
some breaking of the rules. I think it was something like on an away Football game, he bought dinner for all the players afterwards on the school account, without authorization. I think it was one of those deals, scandals whereby there are several rumors floating around and we never know which version is the truth. Either way, the Newbie Coach was fired or as they also say in some other countries, he was sacked. Yep, he lost his job.Shortly after the Newbie Coach was fired, his Buddy the Math teacher decided to just up and quit. WTF? He thought his Buddy the Newbie Coach had gotten a raw deal. He decided he wanted no part of that type of school administration. Can y'all imagine that? You're a Newbie teacher and you have the courage, the Brass Ones
… the matter of principle or stupidity to just decide, "I don't like how my Best Friend was treated, so I'm quitting." What are you going to say when you apply for your next job? Perhaps, "Oh, I quit cuz my Homie was dissed … Thrown Under the Bus." Sheesh!Now our small town High School was left without a Math teacher. But, Hey! Not to worry, right? I'm sure school administrations, School Boards have contingencies for just these types of situations. They no doubt have piles of Employment Applications so that they can start calling up other replacement teacher candidates, right? That's right. Education must go on. Students have to be prepared to be able to enter and handle college.
So, one day some dude shows up at our class. Presumably he was our new, qualified Math teacher, cuz they wouldn't dare send anyone other than a capable Math teacher. Mystery dude introduces himself and starts out with something to the effect of, "So, can y'all guess what I am? Can y'all guess what I do for a living?" WTF? What do you MEAN what do you do for a living?
If you're up there in the position of Math teacher … we were kind of hoping you'd be, I don't know … a Math teacher? There's a novel idea. Some of the students humored him and took some guesses. Mystery dude finally goes, "How many of y'all would believe I'm a Politician?" A Politician? TOING! And you're here WHY? Anyway, he was serious. He WAS a Politician. We got to see his Signs, Billboards and stuff of him running for some office.It quickly became obvious he was NOT going to be our replacement Math teacher, but rather, just a glorified babysitter, student sitter. I'll just refer to him from here on as Mr. Sitter. We used to have one guy in our class who had some learning disability. We were NOT being taught anything, yet we were being given work, problems to do. And just how the Fugg were we supposed to do the work when no one was teaching us how to do it? We were then shocked when we saw that at the start of each day's Algebra class, Mr Sitter would let that one guy with the learning disability, shamelessly COPY the answers from the teacher's book. Some of the rest of us did our best to try and figure out how to do the work. We were having very inauspicious results.
One day, some of the other guys finally called out Mr. Sitter, "Uhhh, Sir, why is it that you just let Finnegan there copy the answers while the rest of us have to try and do the work?" Without being startled or fazed for even a second, Politician Extraordinaire - Mr. Sitter nonchalantly replied, "Oh, I didn't say only he could copy the answers. If you all want to copy the answers too, you're welcome to. All I ask is that y'all let Finnegan copy them first. Then y'all can have the book."
Most of the guys in the class didn't have to be told twice.
From then on, everyday, they'd wait for Finnegan to copy the answers from the teacher's book for that day's assignment. Then they'd droolingly get the teacher's book and gather in a circle in the back of the classroom and shamelessly COPY the answers and thus …Pass Algebra in 10 Minutes or less. For a little while, the 3 girls in our class attempted to keep on trying to actually do the work. But, they quickly gave in to the Plan B of just plain ole shamelessly copying the answers from the teacher's book.
Only 2 guys and I foolishly remained trying to do the work ourselves. Of course, we really had no clue what we were doing. It soon became increasingly obvious that we had two options. We could remain on the same status quo course and FAIL the class
with dignity. Or we could go with the flow and throw honor out the window and join the CopyCat Club. The pressure and reality became too much for us. We knew if we stuck to our principles, FAILURE of Algebra class was guaranteed. So, my 2 friends and I finally said, "Fugg It!" And we proceeded to take our place in line after Finnegan, the other guys and the 3 girls … to take our turn with the teacher's book for Project: Assignment Answers Extraction ... with authorization, of course. We never got a real Math teacher the remainder of the school year. For a while there, another teacher was assigned to TRY and teach us Algebra. He knew more than Mr. Sitter about Algebra, but then again, who didn't? But, that teacher was no Math teacher. He was just going by what he vaguely remembered from his High School and College days.
Consequently, no, I don't have the higher level Math skills to tell y'all how many Big Macs & Burritos it would take lined up to reach the Moon.
WIDGETIZE
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PainterWoman # 18. May 2009, 14:24
I never had algebra in HS at all. I took secretarial type courses, one of them being business math, which was mainly skills for monitoring your checkbook and bookkeeping skills. Never looked at math again till I was in my 40s. Tried three times to take a beginning algebra class and would eventually drop it out of frustration. I could be told how to do the problems till I was blue in the face and still would fail every single test.
College algebra is the one and only class that is keeping me from a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art. Well, actually three classes of algebra before that too. So that'd be four semesters, or two years of just algebra. I decided quite a while ago, that I won't do it. Too frustrating. With 120 college credit hours over and above what I need to graduate anyway, that should suffice in my eyes. I suppose I could petition the university, but the paperwork is mind boggling. It just doesn't matter to me.
p.s. I think the teacher who got fired got a bum rap. Instead, he should have just been made to pay the money back and warned not to do it again. What he did was not reason enough to lose his job IMO.
H82typ # 18. May 2009, 15:43
PainterWoman # 18. May 2009, 15:52
Zaphira # 18. May 2009, 16:57
Too bad the next teacher wasn't much better. *shakes head*
Aaaanyway, I know how many Big Macs & Burritos it would take lined up to reach the Moon!
The answer is: One hell of a lot of them!
SouthernCross # 18. May 2009, 18:22
No algebra in Jr. High or High school?
Love the new background.
L2D2 # 18. May 2009, 20:16
Your algebra teacher sounds like my bookkeeping teacher in high school. She was assigned bookkeeping even though she was an English teacher or homemaking teacher or something. She let us look at her answers also. The only thing I carried away from that bookkeeping class was the correct way to write a check (which, btw, most people do not do correctly).
Suntana # 18. May 2009, 20:57
What about like that University of Phoenix, Pam? Do THEY also require College Algebra for that elusive Bachelor's Degree? I hear they work in groups there. Of course, true, they might do the regular work in groups, but I doubt they take the Tests in groups.
Suntana # 18. May 2009, 21:07
Suntana # 18. May 2009, 21:38
Whatever you do to one side of the equation, you have to do to the other side. Whatever that means. I guess if you Fugg Up one side, you'd better make sure you Fugg Up the other side as well.
Suntana # 18. May 2009, 21:55
Now that you bring that up, Zaph, I guess my Economics teacher my Junior year in High School did cut out the middleman. In the beginning of the year, I think he did actually start out being our Economics teacher. Then I believe the Principal quit or for some reason was no longer there. Day-Um! What WAS it with that school?
No longer having time to be our Economics teacher, he just brought us some Economics and Psychology books and told us to just read those books in general and engage in discussions amongst ourselves. Oh yeah ... like that REALLY had high potential for yielding productive results.
Suntana # 18. May 2009, 23:23
Oh well, at least way back when we rode our Brontosauruses to school, we did learn how to type the correct way ... with all the fingers!
Suntana # 18. May 2009, 23:28
PainterWoman # 18. May 2009, 23:54
I rode the T-Rex!
Carlos, when I took the required computer literacy class at ASU, I and one guy were the two oldest in the class. He was 50 and I 56. Everyone else was 18 or 19. They had all been using computers since like 3rd or 4th grade. Talk about two dinosaurs in the class....
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 01:53
Suntana # 19. May 2009, 02:05
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 03:53
There was no such thing as Windows. We had IBMs that had to use a floppy disk to boot em up. And we had to use MS DOS to give commands, no mouse, strictly keyboard. AAaaggghhh. Promptly forgot everything as soon as I passed the class. A.
Suntana # 19. May 2009, 05:55
I do remember the original IBM compatible computers with the 5¼-inch Floppies. I even remember Radio Shack computers with 8-inch Floppies. Yep, I certainly remember the NO Mouse days. I got very good with MSDOS at one time.
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 06:44
I used my typing because I worked for three different newspapers after I graduated from high school. Worked as proofreader and in classified advertising. Did manual proofreading then--that was before technology took over. But I had to know the proofreaders marks and read and correct every word that went into the paper. And I was proofreader/secretary at Kilgore News Herald.
I went my 4th grade through freshman year in Commerce. We moved to Gilmer and I finished my last three years there. When I moved, that messed up my credits because at the time, Commerce required 17 credits to graduate----when I got to Gilmer, they required 21, so I had to cram a bunch of stuff into those last three years. Didn't get to take Driver's Ed or any of the easy elective classes. I had to take nearly all academic courses just to graduate. Ended up with 22 1/2 credits.
Only break I got was that my grades were high enough in every subject that I didn't have to take any of my final exams. If you maintained an A average through high school in each subject, you were exempt from finals. Yay.
Those of us exempt had to show up at school but we ran around all over the place, and did a lot of smoking in the locker room!
Cois # 19. May 2009, 15:04
PainterWoman # 19. May 2009, 15:18
lovinmalamutes # 19. May 2009, 18:04
Algebra was a very trying subject for me.
Hope I didn't miss alot since I haven't been getting notices. Maybe that's one of the bugs they'll be fixing tomorrow
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 18:39
Math has always been my bugaboo. I managed to do OK but never really understood most math. I always have explained that every number I try to deal with looks like a little terrorist with a gun aimed at me. And when I try to manipulate those little
men with gunsnumbers they shoot at me.lovinmalamutes # 19. May 2009, 21:28
I have been under my cave the past two days. But I checked today because I usually get notified and I hadn't been lately. I have been the past several hours though. YAY!!!
Otherwise I create alot of hate and discontent.
lovinmalamutes # 19. May 2009, 21:30
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 22:25
Chuck, I just discovered a Carlos Santana album I have never listened to. Am listening as we speak. It is a double album at that, entitled Moonflower. You familiar with it?
Boy do I need to learn to speak Spanish.
LanaBanana # 19. May 2009, 23:05
I took Algebra 1 in high school and got a C- because the teacher liked me, certainly not because I understood it at all. Twenty years after HS, (yep 20!) I decided to go to college and the first thing I had to do was take a math placement test in order to enroll in a math class. Worst test I ever took and passing it only allowed me to enroll in a math class - not perform brain surgery. The test was 1/5 Arithmetic, 1/5 geometry (which I'm good at) 1/5 Algebra 1 and 2/5 Algebra 2 (which I'd never had). It was a pass/fail test and I managed to pass by 1 problem. I was scared to death of the math classes I had to take - Algebra for Elementery School Teachers and Geometry for EST - but they were quite simple, nothing like the placement test.
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 23:26
lovinmalamutes # 19. May 2009, 23:40
L2D2 # 19. May 2009, 23:55
lovinmalamutes # 20. May 2009, 03:46
intothedeep # 20. May 2009, 04:13
A reverent little curtsey to the Buddy Math teacher!
Sounds like a crazy math year!
Hey, the stars stopped sparkling which I like!!
I do like the background the way I see it now. It's very cool!
L2D2 # 20. May 2009, 04:50
intothedeep # 20. May 2009, 05:01
Suntana # 20. May 2009, 05:38
I obviously won't get caught up tonight, but I'll try to get caught up on Wednesday.
Let's see ... Hmmm? Seems like I have a perplexing conundrum. So, some of y'all like the Twinkling Stars and others are melting like the Witch in the Wizard of Oz?
Anyway, no, I didn't turn it off. It's as Peppermint said. The twinkling only temporarily pauses when you Scroll. If it starts freaking out too many people, I guess I'd have to change to something else. So far everyone had liked it. We'll see.
Suntana # 20. May 2009, 05:43
Gotta go to bed.
intothedeep # 20. May 2009, 16:19
I have a 22" flat screen which I don't care for and there is 2 1/2 inches of background on both sides! My company just upgraded all of our monitors to 22" as well.
17" is the way to go
L2D2 # 20. May 2009, 18:47
lovinmalamutes # 20. May 2009, 19:56
Chuck, Where is the site to look at backgrounds? I'd like to look and see what all is there.
Hey, lets play some football later, What do ya say??
Suntana # 21. May 2009, 05:39
You'll be able to better see what you want.
You might have to get Peppermint to give you a 2nd opinion on whether they'll work or not.
Right now I'm trying to iron out a situation with my replacement Monitor. Right now I cannot gauge Colors properly. I'm trying to figure out where the problem is. It's possible I have a wrong Driver.
Ooooooo! Football!
Okay, I think I can trust you this time. You have that honorable look about you this time. You don't look like you'd pull the football away this time. I think those days are behind you.
Suntana # 21. May 2009, 05:52
You'll be able to better see what you want.
You might have to get Peppermint to give you a 2nd opinion on whether they'll work or not.
Right now I'm trying to iron out a situation with my replacement Monitor. Right now I cannot gauge Colors properly. I'm trying to figure out where the problem is. It's possible I have a wrong Driver.
Ooooooo! Football!
Okay, I think I can trust you this time. You have that honorable look about you this time. You don't look like you'd pull the football away this time. I think those days are behind you.
Suntana # 21. May 2009, 06:02
Is it more towards the Abraxas and Santana III sound or more towards that experimental sound he had somewhere along the way? Or is it a new sound?
L2D2 # 21. May 2009, 07:11
Musicians were Greg Walker, Pete Escovedo, Raul Rekow, David Margen, Tom Coster, Graham Lear and Devadip Carlos Santana.
Some of the songs are: Flor D'Luna, She's Not There, El Morocco, Savor, Toussaint L'Overture, Europa, Dance Sister Dance, Gypsy Queen, Black Magic Woman, Bahia, Jugando and several more.
Some sound Latin, some sound jazzy, some more hard rockish.
lovinmalamutes # 21. May 2009, 08:07
Peppermint, as Chuck said I'll need some help in picking out what best suites my site.
L2D2 # 21. May 2009, 08:23
lovinmalamutes # 21. May 2009, 20:43
LanaBanana # 22. May 2009, 02:15
L2D2 # 22. May 2009, 02:19
lovinmalamutes # 22. May 2009, 05:30
Suntana # 22. May 2009, 18:29
As for the songs? Black Magic Woman is of course universally known. We used to play that one way back with our 1st little Band in High School. Since I was the one who learned the Lead Guitar on that one, I showed my brother the Organ part, which was freaky because he wasn't a Keyboard Player at all.
The title Gypsy Queen sounds familiar. Isn't that song in Santana's very 1st album, the one that has Evil Ways?
And of course Europa is an absolute Awesome song!
Looks like that album is a mix of old and new material.
Suntana # 22. May 2009, 18:52
Lucy, between later today and Saturday, I will look into selecting and hooking you up with your colored Comment Boxes. I will have to consult with Peppermint to get an idea on how they look on her Monitor. And I'll consult with you as well. Cuz I haven't solved the issue with this Monitor's Color Intensity. Stuff looks Sharp. Something seems to be just slightyly Off enough to throw off my gauging of Colors, their matching and blending. I'm in a quintessential quandary quicksand. My other Monitor is Brightness-challenged and this one is in my perception a smidgen of a Brightness Over-achiever.
But, Hey! I finally got me that other computer, the one with Windows XP going! Woo Hoo! Just in time for when Windows XP Support will be dropped by Microsoft next year or so I heard.