High school requires students to take a math course for at least three years- four years recommended. Math class seems like the longest class period for me, as it takes forever for time to pass. I give props to the students who have math class for first and second period because math that early is not for the weak. The good part about having math in the morning is getting the class over with. When learning, there is always that one question: When will I ever use this in life? We all think that way, especially when learning the typical y=mx+b. I, for one, have never needed to find the slope of a straight line outside of math class. However, math is used every single day of our lives without us even realizing it. When leaving our houses for school, we use math to determine when we should leave to make it to school on time. Basic math is essential because we need to know how much money to give back if we work at the cash register one day or even for our own personal finances. Math is also beneficial as it improves problem-solving skills in people. Even if some things may seem irrelevant in math class, math is important because it works us into thinking more logically, which is a skill that can benefit us in the future. Math has always been the class I dreaded going to because of its rigorousness. If it weren’t for the fabulous Mr. Freed here at PHS, I wouldn’t have enjoyed taking math for a fourth year. Mr. Freed has been my best math teacher because he makes learning fun and explains things well, which prepared me for calculus. The unit circle is the most interesting thing I’ve learned out of all my years of math because of the tricks and tips involved. For example, soh cah toa: a mnemonic device used to remember the ratios of sine, cosine, and tangent in trigonometry. Who knows, maybe one day, the unit circle and knowing my trig functions will come in handy. Many people I know tend to be struggling with math. I think students who are having a difficult time in math class are having trouble because they don’t comprehend the material on how to solve something. I advise everybody to ask questions for clarity because it’s hard to catch up once you fall behind. Missing one math lesson is like missing the whole chapter, so make sure to attend math class and ask questions!