<p>Calculus is the Sudoku of Math
It’s like making an English Major take 3 semesters of crossword puzzles to get his/her degree
Only math majors should take it</p>
<p>rant much -.-</p>
<p>Well, are you at least willing to learn for the sake of passing a course? Resources are all over the internet, so I can’t say it is difficult to learn.</p>
<p>It’s not that simple. You might think you understood the concept, but once you have to do more challenging problems on the test, you’ll be scratching your head, wondering: “How the bloody hell am I going to solve this? This is completely different from what we learned before.”</p>
<p>It isn’t a class that anyone can pass just by studying hard. Calculus doesn’t work that way. By the way, OP, what is your major? If it’s not anything related to computer or engineering, get the hell out of there ASAP!</p>
<p>Calculus is useful in so many fields and is very important. Physics is nothing without calculus. Calculus can be used for certain models in business fields. It is useful to all STEM fields. IMO everyone should have to take calculus, regardless of major.</p>
<p>Then I think quite a huge number of people, including me, would never graduate because we can’t pass it.</p>
<p>There are many colleges that agree with me and have that rule. Although they often have different variations, such as calc for engineers and calc for business. You can pass it, it’s not that hard. My mom took 3 semesters of calculus in college because it was required for her degree. She never got anything lower than a B and never understood any of it! You need to study and memorize the formulas. Literally remember all the formulas and when to use which one and you should be able to make it through calculus. Trust me, calculus is not the sudoku of math, id reserve that for a higher level class, such as number theory or complex analysis (i’ll let you know in a couple years which one it is, I’m a freshman prospective math major starting with linear algebra, I took through calc 3 in high school). Anything proof-based, that’s a sudoku!</p>
<p>No. Studying and memorizing the formulas won’t be enough to help you pass the class. You need to really understand it well, and that is not something everyone will be able to get. If it has nothing to do with someone’s degree, don’t force them to waste their time and effort. I don’t know what kind of teacher your mom had, but that sure isn’t common. </p>
<p>To hell with your colleges. Let people learn what they need and finish their degree. They have enough headache taking the other useless general classes already.</p>
<p>@Whateverchan I don’t know what bad experience you had with calculus, but I speak the truth. Some people don’t do well in math, but you can always work at it. My mom went to a very prestigious public state university and later went on to medical school. My dad started with math and switched to CS when he hit diff eq (im doing both math and cs). I have had friends taking calc 3 as sophomores in high school. I know what math classes are difficult and trust me, calc is just the tip of the iceberg. Also, theres a reason we have gen eds- it helps you be better educated, learn from different perspectives, and develop varied skills (communication, problem solving, analysis, etc). College is more than just finishing your degree. Quite frankly, your degree is just a slip of paper, what matters is what you learned while you were there.</p>
<p>Haven’t we learn enough of those general stuff in high school? Why am I being forced to take Music, Art and Biology to graduate/transfer, even if my major is in languages? I thought I was done with them in high school already. I do find some classes that are necessary, but the majority are merely useless crap that I don’t ever need.</p>
<p>The general stuff in high school barely scratches the surface. Wait until you get into the workforce, it may help you out in marketing yourself in a job. A teacher of mine had a friend who marketed herself as Art history+ math and optimized paths wealthy donors took in museums that would maximize donations. Ignorance is never good. The difference between high school and college is the way they teach. High school typically teaches math better, while in college the professor only goes over the basics, hence why people get lost on the exam. Professor expect you to spend a lot of time jumping through 15-20 hurdles and then come and ask them during office ours about the 5-10 hurdles you couldn’t understand.</p>