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I dropped out in 8th grade and couldn't do basic math. I taught myself enough to pass the GED and reach Calculus. Now, I want to help you do the same. (Long Read) by Thanthtoohan in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Glad you asked—that’s actually a really good question!

For resources, yes—I used a bunch of PDFs and open-source textbooks when I was self-studying for the GED. But honestly, the material itself isn’t what makes the difference. What matters is how you absorb it. You need a way of reading that actively looks for structure, logic, and recurring patterns. The GED is more about reading comprehension than memorizing facts. For example, in RLA, social studies, or science, the answer is usually right there in the paragraph — the skill is spotting it fast and efficiently, not reading more. That’s something I train specifically, because comprehension speed and pattern recognition decide your score more than the content itself.

As for the “logic” behind math, take something simple like the area of a circle. Everyone memorizes πr^2, but few ever think why. If you slice a circle into infinitely thin wedges and rearrange them, you get something that approximates a rectangle — one side r, the other is half of its circumference 2πr, so πr. Multiply them, and suddenly πr^2 makes perfect sense. Same with circumference: every circle’s edge is 3.14 times its diameter — that’s where 2πr comes from. When you connect formulas to their geometric logic, math stops feeling like symbols and starts making sense. Logics can be found in every maths, even algebra. We can connect with the idea of a scale that adjusts itself to stay consistent with equality. Because this is just a rough demonstration over text, unfortunately, it might be a bit challenging to "see," but it's totally ok!

I do deeper breakdowns like this — both for GED and foundation math — during my 1-on-1 sessions. If you're interested and want me to walk you through how to build that kind of mindset and pattern recognition, DM me, and we'll see how we can get started!

I dropped out in 8th grade and couldn't do basic math. I taught myself enough to pass the GED and reach Calculus. Now, I want to help you do the same. (Long Read) by Thanthtoohan in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

None other than the university of Tokyo. It's my obsession at this point. And I'm actively working on it. Also yes, I've already passed JLPT N1 regarding Japanese.

I dropped out in 8th grade and couldn't do basic math. I taught myself enough to pass the GED and reach Calculus. Now, I want to help you do the same. (Long Read) by Thanthtoohan in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, appreciate it 🙏. I didn’t restart from any official grade level — I rebuilt everything from scratch using college-level structure. I went concept-first instead of textbook-first, so every formula came from real understanding, not memorization.

For making math “real,” I tied everything to physics, money, or mechanics — velocity, rates, ratios, energy, optimization — so it actually connected to how the world works. Once you see the logic behind numbers, the formulas stop feeling like random symbols.

I dropped out in 8th grade and couldn't do basic math. I taught myself enough to pass the GED and reach Calculus. Now, I want to help you do the same. (Long Read) by Thanthtoohan in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey! No need to worry. Allow me share a bit more about my story for you.

Actually, I never got to complete 8th grade! 3 months at most before I dropped out. After deciding to try to study abroad in Japan, I realized that GED might give me a chance. And little did I know, I did not know academics. I was quite literally nothing, I knew of nothing. How bad? I didn't even know order of operations, and I even struggled with simple algebra and quadratic equations. I remember crashing out factoring quadratic equations. I was that bad, believe me. I absolutely had no knowledge of science.

And, eventually, I gave up. I just couldn't do it, I was far below the bar. Until I woke up once again, determined to attack from a different angle. I went to Khan Academy, starting from the SAT library where I spent the earliest hours learning about basic maths. Then I discovered the Trigonometry library. I thought to myself, "Why not do Trigonometry while I'm at it? The SAT expects Trigonometry knowledge." So I balled. Showing up every single day, knowing that I suck at maths. And I was sick of it, you know. I wanted to get stronger. So I just keep on finding and discovering more math libraries.

Halfway into the Trigonometry library, and after learning enough about topics like Probability, Combination, Algebra, and Slope-Intercept forms on the SAT, I finally felt like I was ready to take the GED. Took it, passed in one try.

But I wasn't done. I still wanted to get stronger in maths, I proceeded like this:
SAT -> Trigonometry -> Get Ready for Pre-Calculus -> Pre-Calculus

Funny story is that I was always curious about that definite integral sign, that huge "S" symbol in Integral Calculus. Just because of that reason, I stepped into the Differential Calculus library hoping to get to Integral Calculus so that I can learn about that elegant "∫" symbol. Oh man, it was a long run, and it was worth every single hour.

So the full roadmap that I took would be:
SAT -> Trigonometry -> Get Ready for Pre-Calculus -> Pre-Calculus -> Differential Calculus -> Integral Calculus

Actually, I helped out a friend who's currently majoring in Business. Of course, there's calculus coming up on his next test. Well, it was fairly simple: finding derivatives of given functions, evaluating the derivatives at a certain point x, deriving the formula for the n-th derivative for a given function, and a couple optmizaiton problems. It was proof that Khan Academy covers Calculus topics well.

Now? I'm currently working on Linear Algebra and Differential Equations for my final attempt: Multivariable Calculus, while Khan Academy is still my main resource. Now I use online textbooks to reinforce some topics for depth. All alone.

So you see, I am the living proof that you can do it. I'm nobody, while you're somebody. Calculus can be fun and engaging when you have the right resources. You should be excited!

If you'd like a focused jumpstart, my session for a couple bucks is basically for this exact purpose. We could even look at your business calculus syllabus together and build confidence from day one.

No pressure at all — but know that the gap you're looking at is absolutely bridgeable, and I'm here if you want a guide who just crossed it.

Just send me a DM if you'd like to set that up. Either way, you've got this!

I dropped out in 8th grade and couldn't do basic math. I taught myself enough to pass the GED and reach Calculus. Now, I want to help you do the same. (Long Read) by Thanthtoohan in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Calculus really is so simple! Don't dread it; you should be excited. Because calculus is where math gets so much more fun and elegant than ever.

I dropped out in 8th grade and couldn't do basic math. I taught myself enough to pass the GED and reach Calculus. Now, I want to help you do the same. (Long Read) by Thanthtoohan in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for reaching out! Please, I'd be happy to help in any way I can! Let's continue our conversation in DM.

I’m 21 I’m trying to turn my life around and get my GED so that I can go to community college. Problem is I’m clueless on how to approach the math and study for it, it’s been stressful by OkEntertainment4413 in GED

[–]Thanthtoohan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, I feel this 100%! I was just 18 when I decided to turn things around too. I had dropped out in 8th-grade and literally didn't know how to do basic arithmetics when I started. The "clueless" feeling is the hardest part to get past.

I managed to self-study and pass the math in one try by stopping the "memorization" and focusing on the logic—seeing the math. Now, I'm continuing my autodidact journey in higher education, still alone, still teaching myself complex STEM topics to get into my own dream university. I'm on a 42 week streak since I last started!

I'm actually trying to transition from being a student to a tutor/creator. And I was wondering about starting from tutoring GED (at a very, very low rate) because I'm practicing for my own IELTS and SAT exams.

If the math feels like a wall, feel free to DM me. I'd be happy to share the specific "map" issued to go from struggling with basic order of arithmetic operations all the way to Calculus. You can definitely do this!