La Jolla - Dr. Lederman recently announced the addition of tutorial hyperlinks, thanks to West Texas A&M University, for many of his Pre-calculus and Algebra II daily lessons. The tutorials are cleverly written and should be of enormous help to both struggling and adept students. They include practice problems that should be attempted after reviewing the lessons and the tutorials.

Many students ask why study mathematics for all four high school years at Preuss. The simple answer is that students who take four years of high school mathematics are more successful in college. A more complete answer is that many Preuss students are headed to professions; such as engineering, science, medicine, statistics, etc. These professions require mathematical skills beyond the level of Algebra II. Other professions require the critical problem-solving skills learned in Pre-calculus and Calculus.

So what are the rules for success in mathematics? Well, they are no different than those for other disciplines.

Rule 1: Do your homework when you learn the material. Everyone knows that they have to practice driving to learn to drive. Everyone knows that they have to practice a sport to develop the skills needed to win. Everyone knows that they have to practice a musical instrument to become proficient. Mathematics is no different. You learn new material in class. You have to go home and practice it to retain the knowledge, to develop proficiency, and to gain confidence. When you do your homework, ask yourself how the assigned problems relate to the lesson. Search for similarities with the practice problems that were done in class. In this manner you will come to better understand where the new information fits with your prior knowledge.

Rule 2: Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Other students might be having the same problems you have. If so, it's time to ask Dr. Lederman or go to tutoring. Tutoring is not just for weak students. Any student with an unanswered question should get tutoring.

Rule 3: Review and summarize your notes. Summarize the goals of the lesson. Underline or highlight important new formulas. Make sure new vocabulary and new theorems are clearly defined/stated.

Rule 4: Attitude is everything. As Dr. Lederman says, "If you think you can, you can." Some students come to mathematics with a can't do attitude. Guess what! They can't do mathematics. If you are such a student, Dr. Lederman recommends that you approach a can do student and ask to look at his or her homework and notebook. Compare them to yours. Surely you will see that the difference between your results and theirs is due to the difference in your efforts. Try a greater effort. Try a better attitude. Better results will surely ensue.