HIE – sounds like you could use a trigonometry tutor. You’re obviously having trouble with it and it’s affecting your outlook.
In terms of time spent on secular studies, you can’t get by with a half hour for English, a half hour for math, etc. Building skills in English takes constant work over many years – especially the teen years. English is a difficult language. The grammar is weird, the vocabulary is very large (a dumping ground for Saxon, French, German, Latin and Greek) and the spelling is horrendous. I’ve seen people learning English as a second language literally burst into tears over its complexity. One of the many things I’m profoundly grateful for is that I was brought up in an English-speaking country and don’t have to learn it as an adult.
And don’t think, “Well, I’m American, so of course I know English.” If you go to yeshiva in the tri-state area you don’t speak English. You speak Yeshivish or Boro-Parkese. I’m bilingual in Boro-Parkese and American English, and believe me, I’m very careful which dialect I speak where. I could tell you some funny stories, but they’re too embarrassing 🙂
Math is easier to cram into a shorter period, but it still needs time.
If there were frum teachers around, I’d say hire them. However, we’re stuck with what we can get, which isn’t much because we don’t pay much or pay on time.
So how are mesivta students going to support their future families? Your guess is as good as mine.