Lavender Hill High School have introduced Reflective Learning, a programme aimed at getting more high school pupils to do pure maths. Principal of Lavender Hill High School Fuad Viljoen (left) receives recognition from Keelan Whiting of Reflective learning. Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
There's a growing appetite among high school pupils for pure maths, especially in township schools.
The problem though, is that too many pupils struggle to grasp certain mathematical concepts. A revolutionary programme Reflective Learning simplifies the subject to a point where pupils enjoy learning maths, because it's a lot easier to understand.
The initiative was implemented particularly in schools in poorer areas this year, with impressive results. Lavender Hill High School is one of those success stories.
It's actually quite interesting how teachers and the organisers of Reflective Learning got children to buy into the programme. They explained that the "watered down" version of mathematics, maths literacy, limits them mainly to blue collar career options. And that pursuing pure maths, means higher paying jobs.
Keelan Whiting, one of Reflective Learning's organisers, explained: "Most kids leave matric about four to five years behind in their understanding of maths. Too many kids leave school not being able to further themselves through maths education. Our primary goal is to create significant change through education and through maths. We've looked at a whole bunch of things and worked out what your earning capacity and capability is as a person growing up in South Africa, depending on whether you can enter into tertiary studies and into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) career or not."
It's a long-term project, and it's ambitious. Right now there's one man who is working overtime to get the programme into gear. His name is Fuad Viljoen and he is putting the skill back into Lavender Hill. Viljoen's only been the principal of the local high school for two years, but his contribution is already reaping rewards.
"We are a township school. And there's a certain stigma that if you can't do maths, you must go into maths literacy.
"But we want to change that narrative. To improve academic excellence, we have to have a subject that attracts the best pupils from primary schools in our area,“ he said.
The bold plan to have children enjoy maths in its purest form was not without challenges.
"We started with a group of 300. That didn't work.
"We reflected and assessed and then we focused on a group of 60. Our aim is that in 2023, when they are going to Grade 10, that we should at least have a class of about 40 maths learners in Grade 10," he said.
It's pertinent at this point to explain just why a higher grade of learning is so significant for a school such as Lavender Hill High.
The high school is situated right in the heart of gangland. Too many have died in senseless shootings. But the area is a lot more than the sum of its social ills. And there are currently several projects on the go, hoping to inspire positive change.
For now its the Reflective Learning initiative that's stealing the show.
Matthew Rockhill, also from Reflective learning, is full of praise for its achievements at this stage.
"The initial results and improvements have been phenomenal. Mr Viljoen has committed to bringing maths back, a process that can start to change the lives of students from within their own community. Maths is a gateway subject for many courses," he said.
Viljoen added: "Top learners of our feeder primary schools wanting to do pure maths, are walking past Lavender Hill High School, crossing Prince George Drive, and going to our neighbouring high schools like Crestway, Sibelius, Heathfield and Steenberg High, because they offer pure maths."
Viljoen is all too aware of the mammoth task ahead. But he is a man on a mission – to deliver the school's next batch of maths geniuses.
"It's not a quick fix. But our aim is to at least offer maths in Grade 10. The learners will have to put in the hard yards through extra classes, but the positive side of it is that we would like to offer maths at grade 10 level to our learners," he said.
Another school benefiting from the programme is Apex High in Eerste River. Youngster Diego Gelderblom struggled to grasp some aspects of the subject. He started with the Reflective Learning towards the end of the third term in Grade 11. He put in the extra work by doing exercises on his mom's cellphone before school. The results were almost instantaneous. A 97% pass in his exam.
Viljoen, Rockhill, Whiting and everyone else working tirelessly behind the scenes, are hopeful more pupils will replicate Diego's results, and that it will lead to an even bigger interest in maths in schools across the province.