Dear Future AP Calculus Student,
I am going to be blunt. I never was a math genius, and I never expect to be one. I had never excelled in math classes, and I struggled for many years to understand math. I remember at the end of last year I was sitting in Manzke’s class, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I thought, “Why did I take this class? I’m going to fail the class, and I am going to fail the AP test. What am I thinking?” Well, I am here to tell you that if you are thinking what I was thinking, it gets better. I promise. Fortunately, I stuck with it, and work hard and I ended up feeling pretty satisfied. You may think that calculus is going to be really hard, but that is not true. The calculus part of the math is very simple and easy to understand, you just have to be careful of the complicated algebra. My main advice to you is to NEVER FORGET YOUR TRIG IDENTITIES!!!!! Never. You are going to need them, so if you want to be a step ahead, look over those trig identities over the summer. Also, look over the unit circle. All of those timed quizzes that Manzke gives you, yeah, they’re important and you are going to have to know that so do not forget it.
So what is the class like? Ms. Gengo is a different kind of teacher, with a different style of teaching. Gengo is very nice and caring, and she will always help you to understand something better, as long as you ask for help. Gengo also gives really hard tests, so do not be surprised if you fail the first few, it takes some time to adjust. She really has good intentions though; she only wants to prepare you for the AP calculus exam. Ironically, at the beginning of this year, I had basically accepted the fact that I was going to fail the AP test. However, after taking all of my AP tests, I can honestly say that I feel most confident on my AP calculus test. Gengo has prepared our class so well for our AP calculus test that I honestly do not think that anyone in our class got below a three. Even though the class and the tests are very hard, as long as you work through it all and never fall behind on homework or quizzes, all of your hard work will pay off in the end. Just never give up in that class, and never slack off. Slacking off will just make you upset at the end of the year, when you have to study twice as hard to get the grade that you want.
However, if you go into the class at the beginning of next year with a good attitude and confidence, and keep that confidence throughout the year, you will see that you will be very successful in the class and on the AP test. And even though you may not have the greatest confidence in yourself, just know that a lot of people believe in you. Mr. Manzke and Ms. Gengo. And me, because out of everyone you know, I may be the only person that knows exactly what you are going through, because I was in your place once. I hope that you do not lose hope for this class, because I know that you can do it. Just remember:
Do not freak out, keep looking at the unit circle, REMEMBER YOU TRIG
IDENTITIES, and do not give up. My last piece of advice is for you to enjoy the class, because you do have fun, the class is not all business. I wish you the best of luck next year! Enjoy!
Good Luck!
Ashley Vettese