Is math the most difficult core class in high school? According to the students and staff here at EHS, it just might be. Of every class that can be taken here at Englewood High School, most people agree that math classes are by far the hardest to pass and understand. 

Dominic Dever and Brody Hostelley are both seniors and agreed that math is one of the most difficult subjects they have taken throughout the four years they have been in high school. Dever said he struggled, “Probably geometry, I could have paid more attention.” He took geometry in 2021 during his sophomore year but that was the same time as the Covid-19 pandemic, which he thinks could have contributed to his struggles. Hostelley said he took Precalculus his junior year and that it was the hardest class he had taken so far. He said class sizes were an issue, “The teacher made it hard,” because she couldn’t help everyone at once. 

Mark Fornnarino has been teaching English and AP Literature for the past 25 years here at Englewood High School and said math wasn’t the easiest class he’s taken. Fornnarino said, “There were math classes in college too that were really hard,” but he admitted that he could have been a bit better at listening to his teachers and paying more attention.

English teacher Sarah Fuller also said that she has had a hard time in a few classes she’s taken. Fuller said she struggled with the vastness of the skies, “In college, it was my astronomy class. And it was not the lab part, it was the actual coursework because none of the material matched anything on the test.” She told us that she and the rest of the class came up with solutions to be able to pass without the professor’s help, “We formed study groups together and that was my most effective strategy. We got together once a week outside of class in the library and we all came prepared and ready and we went through the material together and tried to teach it to ourselves by using other resources.” She recommended that high schoolers should do the same for classes they may be struggling in and said that Khan Academy or even watching YouTube videos can be highly effective.