taking ap calc ab to help make up for calc grade

Answered

First of all your attitude about learning needs an adjustment in expectations. Not all students are good students and not all teachers are good teachers. And part of the blame of your 79 is something you have to accept ownership of. When you knew you were slipping in keeping up with the material, did you immediately reach out to your teacher or ask them to go over the material during office hours? Did you ask them how you can catch up and master this material? Did you ask for advice on whether they could recommend any other materials like youtube videos, text books, online help groups, or whether they could help you examine why you were not getting the material and doing poorly on the tests? Did you ask your parents for help? Did you ask your friends in class for help? Did you try to seek out help on your own?

Blaming a teacher is really immature. If everyone in your class got a 79 then you have an excuse but clearly there were people who got As and Bs. Maybe you should accept the fact that their teaching style was misaligned with your preferred learning style. Maybe you do not do well with certain types of teaching styles whether or not the are effective and appropriate for others.

That being said, do you really think you are going get an A in a harder AP Calc A/B course if you already have difficulty mastering an easier class?

I highly recommend that you use this summer to take an online Calculus class either at a community college or outlier.org or something similar. Why? Because you might be able to learn calculus better with a different teaching style and a learning platform which is more flexible to your way of learning. If you take a self-paced course where you can review the lectures many times prior to moving forward, that might force you to master the material chapter by chapter before taking the mid-term and final. Let's face it calculus is hard and not all people can comprehend the concepts regardless of the teacher. So you need to find a venue and that work for your learning style otherwise, it's kind of futile to keep repeating the pattern. You shouldn't blame the teachers in general when your performance doesn't meet your expectations.

When you go to college for Chemical Engineering you will find that there are many different kinds of teachers. Some use archaic notes from 15 years ago and have poor presentation skills. Some don't cover the course or test material in class so you'll have to be a self-starter and figure out how to be prepared either by yourself or with the help of others. In many cases, your lectures might be taught by teachers assistants who are graduate students where you will not be able to have personal connection with the professor at all. College is a mine field of ups and downs, endless possibilities and harsh misgivings. Therefore, if you need to have a core math Class in your tool bag like Calculus because it's required for your desired major, you better get on with accepting that your goal of being a ChemEngineering major will be based on your ability to improvise, figure out solutions on the fly, and be resourceful and use self preservation when the system fails you. And it will, no matter what college you get into. Much of your success depends on your own attitude to navigate the shortcomings.

Good luck.