Brandon Aguilar

Brian Webb
Pre cal
5/20/15
EOC Reflection
Because of how much Ive changed throughout the year Ive found Pre calc to be one of
the most useful classes to take but the most useless class for me. Higher math classes are
essential if one wishes to advance and enter a career cluster like engineering, science and
medicine. I do not plan on entering any of these job fields however so the practicality in knowing
complex math is almost nonexistent. The most important strength Ive learned about myself
because of this class is my strong will. The fact that I took initiative to take on an even more
challenging math class and still have a solid year knowing that there is no practicality in it shows
that my will to become a better thinker and a have a broad spectrum of knowledge is strong.
Having more tools in the toolbox doesnt hurt.
I developed much by taking this class. The main lifestyle take away I received is knowing
that sometimes time has to be put into doing a job right. Though I wouldnt say this class a
particular challenge I would say there were occasions where I struggled dramatically compared
to all my previous math experiences. Precal started having me think more critically and
rationally about math. This thinking requires a significant use of time. I was never forced to think
so much before but now that I recognize that it is needed in the future I will be able to adapt to
adapt to future math classes better.
What I have been noticing as a trend is my lack of strong organization skills. In this class
my organization hasnt been up to par. I am not unorganized to the extent where I dont know

where my work is or I dont know whats going on. If I were to have been more organized with
my time and such then I do believe that my performance in class would have been better. I would
both have understood the material quicker and done better on quizzes if my organization skills
were more adequate. In the future if my motivation stays unchanged then next year when I take
Calculus Ill struggle less with maintaining order of my academics.
Precalc posed to be the math class where I had to do a little more thought and work in
order to understand it. The way the level of difficulty Calculus has been described to me is as
exponential. My attitude towards taking the class next year is indifferent for the most part. A
minor part of me is intimidated however. All my life Ive been perplexed by the little Ive seen of
Calculus. I know that Ill be taught the material but knowing that Ill eventually have to tackle
those complex topics does intimidate me a little.
I am aware now that Ill eventually have to but in a considerable amount of studying and
practice in order to be successful in Calculus. But knowing myself I dont know if I will stay
motivated to put in the hours of studying. This worries me because I know what I have to do and
itll be me who will be preventing myself from advancing, not any other social pressure or
disability. Looking ahead, a certain prediction on how my performance in Calculus cant be
made. How I do is all dependant on how much work I will put in.
A specific example that depicts what I am speaking on would be how I did on the
Trigonometric Identities. I saw these types of problems to be similar to puzzles that need to be
solved. I didnt do so well on this unit and that was because I didnt put in sufficient effort to be a
master it. Once I reached the logarithmic identities which are similar to Trigonometric identities,
I finally came to the conclusions that I actually will have to put in some effort to master it. I did
eventually get a better understanding of identities.