Maths?

I think that maths, like foreign languages, is taught by and for people who have natural abilities in the subject. For me, maths was taught badly. I have zero interest in maths as maths, I get no satisfaction from solving maths problems per se. I do not find either numbers or equations beautiful. Maths was presented to me as, "there is a thing called simultaneous equations and this is it, this is how you apply it". Then we would spend an age doing simultaneous equation problems. It was tedious, dreary and meaningless.

I really need to know 'why'. Why are simultaneous equations useful, why were they developed. Also, what real world problems do simultaneous equations help to solve? I really needed these explanations to make maths accessible to me and I never really received it. 

My experience of maths was the same, and I also need to know 'why' to understand something fully. I'm better with numbers now as an adult who has learned through experiences compared to how I was in school. On top of that they had to recruit a new maths teacher every year for our set because they kept leaving. 

I got a C in my maths GCSE and was put on the foundation paper (C was the highest I could get on it). I did protest that but they refused to put me on the normal one, fearing I would fail it. Funny, because I got As and Bs in everything else lol. 

. I hated the mental arithmatic exams - showing my age a bit here, but that was where they'd play a tape that verbally asked us to answer sums without anything visual to refer to. By the time I'd processed it and worked it out, they'd be 2 questions ahead  

Other times, on paper tests etc. I'd see a sum and know the answer right away, but then be asked to show my working. I remember saying to the teacher but theres nothing to show because I just knew the answer it in my head. Lol. They thought I was just being difficult/ lazy or something. 

I probably am actually ok at maths, but how I was taught was just inadequate and had too many barriers. 

My experience of maths was the same, and I also need to know 'why' to understand something fully. I'm better with numbers now as an adult who has learned through experiences compared to how I was in school. On top of that they had to recruit a new maths teacher every year for our set because they kept leaving. 

I got a C in my maths GCSE and was put on the foundation paper (C was the highest I could get on it). I did protest that but they refused to put me on the normal one, fearing I would fail it. Funny, because I got As and Bs in everything else lol. 

. I hated the mental arithmatic exams - showing my age a bit here, but that was where they'd play a tape that verbally asked us to answer sums without anything visual to refer to. By the time I'd processed it and worked it out, they'd be 2 questions ahead  

Other times, on paper tests etc. I'd see a sum and know the answer right away, but then be asked to show my working. I remember saying to the teacher but theres nothing to show because I just knew the answer it in my head. Lol. They thought I was just being difficult/ lazy or something. 

I probably am actually ok at maths, but how I was taught was just inadequate and had too many barriers.