A commitment to return to Pure Maths by 2023

Rising to the Challenge

We need to activate change at a far greater scale because we’re living in an increasingly unjust society. That’s not a debate. The need for change is all around us and the need is often closer to home than we all might feel. What we’re also not speaking about enough is at what speed this change should be happening.?

The speed of change is a critical issue, especially in the emerging markets. The youth bulge is upon us and this will only add pressure to an already shaky system that is struggling to produce enough teachers to cope and the many other stresses involved with creating true? equality in education, this is conversation to have with @Robpa Rob Paddock, one of the only people I know of that is doing this conversation any justice. Watch this space for that conversation, let's get back to the mark we are making.

Given the right tools, Maths is for everyone

We’ve built a tool that helps learners identify the gaps in their conceptual understanding of maths. We have found that most learners have gaps, regardless of their schooling or background, this is just the nature of maths education, gaps exist and if left unattended, they stop any meaningful progress from being made. Our tool empowers the learners to make quantum leaps within the subject by helping them catch up their gaps. We have seen this play out in thousands of students over the years.

Maths is for everyone, and we’re proving that everyone, if given the tools, can not only do, but excel in maths.

Many learners are crippled by unseen gaps in their understanding of maths, this seemingly insurmountable challenge leads them to believe that they can’t do maths and that this challenge is impossible to move past. This creates a knock on effect and tends to hold the rest of their academics back, when really, it shouldn’t.??

Maths is a gateway subject that opens the door to change

Maths also often holds the key to future studies, playing a significant role in a learners ability to enter into tertiary studies, which in turn is a very big determinant of a person's ongoing earning capability. If we can create change in people's earning capability, we create longer term, sustainable change. This is the change we seek to make.

Creating meaningful change isn’t achieved in isolation. It requires the coming together of many wills, of much energy and the alignment of truly intrinsically motivated people. We’re lucky to be supported by such people, at so many levels. A great example of this would be our project at Lavender Hill High School in the Cape Flats. Lavender Hill High School has not offered Pure Maths or Science for many years now, and we are on a mission to change that.?

Blue collar, White collar

There was an article in the Argus, by Yolisa Tswanya in 2017 entitled: “Gangland Pupils ‘forced’ to take useless Maths Lit.” The author tells the story of why the school could no longer offer the subject of Pure Maths and what implications this has on the community and why it’s a really big issue, not only for Lavender Hill but for many schools like it.??

We founded Reflective Learning with the purpose of giving more learners the opportunity to take Pure Maths and to avoid them being robbed of the opportunities that come from doing maths at the level so often required by tertiary institutions. This is the ultimate blue collar, white collar moment in these kids' lives.?

This is not to say that Maths Literacy is not an important subject or a viable option for many learners.? However, many learners are being forced into taking it, and are not being provided with the equality of opportunity to define their own destiny.?

Success at Lavender Hill High School

So when the opportunity to get involved with Lavender Hill and implement Reflective Learning across its learners was like manna from heaven. It’s akin to one of those redemption movies that we all love to watch. The school is good, but the challenges are real, they face difficult obstacles. There is a vision for change and the lead character steps up, makes some tough but bold decisions and works tirelessly, bringing other great people into the fold until that beacon of hope that appears. The hero then presses into that beacon of hope and doubles down on it until change happens, because it does.

The heroes of our story at Lavender Hill High School are the visionary principal, Mr Fuad Viljoen, and his amazing team, Mrs Bawa and co, who sought to create this change. The credits wouldn't be complete without the incredible contribution from the Principals Academy Trust and the support provided by the WCED at all levels, from the district officials to the Executive Team and the Minister, Debbie Shafer, herself.

The below are a few clips from a conversation that I had with Mr Viljoen last week. If you take one thing away from the videos, it’s that Lavender Hill is going to be re-introducing Pure Maths into the school in 2023 – easily, the proudest moment I have had in helping to build this ‘change maker’ business to date and something that I am proud enough to shout from every mountain top!

?The journey hasn’t been straightforward, and the school hasn’t even finished with our process yet due to some COVID-19 related complications. One of the complications presented by COVID-19 has been that learners are only coming to school in batches, and therefore only being given access to the tool on alternate weeks. This has reduced the contact time and thus the dosage, resulting in slower progress than expected. YET, it's shown that change is possible, that learners will grow and that sometimes, the longer term view is needed in order to create change. The change that the school has seen from its learners and their attitudes growing aptitude towards maths has been enough to galvanise this dream? So for that, I salute you Mr Viljoen and know that in 20 year’s time, the learners whose lives have changed because of your vision to embrace our process will have you to thank.

Grateful for the Support of the WCED and the Principal’s Academy Trust

A big thank you also goes to Minister Sch?fer. Her and her team’s continued support means that we will be able to make similar changes in more schools that need it most, and allow us to have impact at an even greater scale. It must also be mentioned that Minister Sch?fer did a little dance of joy when I told her about the news that Lavender Hill was going to be re-introducing Pure Maths from 2023. This level of care for learners and their futures is what you’d want to see from your Minister!

Change can happen if we’re prepared to work for it. It’s not always easy, but nothing great ever came easy, ask anyone who's done something difficult.

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