Efforts are continually being made by the Ministry of Education to tackle the
ongoing issue of the performances in Mathematics, more so at the CSEC level.
Over the years, the national performances in CSEC have declined.
In the hopes of improving those trends, a new show, Math Matters, has been
launched.
Acting Education Officer for Mathematics, Shoya Brown-Hurst explained the
reasoning behind launching this new series.
It has been a concern and I would even say systematic issue. Prior to COVID-19
pandemic our numbers were trending in the upward direction but since then we
have lost that momentum. The problem is dynamic, many factors are contributing
really but more so, we want to ensure that with our teachers that we are building
capacity so that they are more than capable to teach Mathematics and just to enable
our students and ensure that they are putting in the practice that they need to so that
they are more successful, she said.
The new show will span 17 episodes and will focus on an array of topics for both
Secondary and Primary students.
This first season will begin to address some of those topics to include: Algebra,
Geometry, Trigonometry, and Consumer Arithmetic, as well as, some others. The
first 13 will focus on our Secondary school students and the last four will feature
content for our primary school students, particularly those in Grades four to six.
We have three facilitators doing the Secondary school episodes. Tisha Hughes-
Thornhill, Anthony Lennon and Chatesha Jacobs. The Primary section will be
brought to you by myself and another teacher, Chaka Grant. We are just trying to
target our students, more so, as they prepare for those examinations and the last
two episodes for the Secondary will focus on test-taking tips and strategies that
they can employ as they proceed into the CSEC Mathematics examination and the
same will be done for Primary school students as they navigate the National
Assessment, Brown-Hurst explained.
She is encouraging parents as well to tune in along with their children.
