Multiple factors to math misery

Paul Kidd, Contributor

Tamika Benjamin has written a very interesting column ('Teacher deficiencies multiply math misery', October 16) on the subject of the low levels of performance in mathematics. The article, which was very scientific and well supported by research evidence, suggests as one of the main causes of these results the deficiencies in the quality of our math teachers.

As with many other issues and problems, it is very important to recognise and acknowledge that causation is multifactorial. Much too often, I have observed an unequal emphasis on one factor.

Regarding 'math misery' and the education system in general, the teachers have been the main targets, and in my opinion unfairly so.

On the basis of empirical evidence, I want to suggest that teachers have been getting a disproportionate portion of the blame.

1. How is it that we, at this level, performed at a higher level in math. Were our teachers so much more superior or better equipped than the teachers in the system currently? Is it that the math teachers in the past had university degrees, while the present teachers have lower levels of training?

2. What of the schools, e.g. primary and prep schools, where the pass rates and general performances are much better? Is it that they have better teachers, while the poor-performing schools have inferior teachers?

I am suggesting that the answer to these questions is a resounding NO! It's NOT the teachers' fault.

The problem is literacy

As far as mathematics and numeracy is concerned, I would like to suggest that the problem is literacy. It is not possible to learn math if you are not literate. Put another way, the best teacher cannot get an illiterate student to be numerate.

Too often in early-childhood education, the emphasis is being placed on numeracy. The attempt is to teach our young ones math and math principles before they are taught to read properly.

For example, at Santa Cruz Prep School, led by Robert Stubbs, the students are taught to read with a phonics-based programme. Spelling and reading are reinforced in those early years and tested scrupulously by the teachers and Stubbs. By the time students get to grade two, they are all excellent readers, and by then well prepared to grasp mathematical principles. The performances at the Grade Four Numeracy Test and the Grade Six Achievement Test speak for themselves.

It is interesting that the data from the administration of the various tests, as quoted in the article, begin at grade four. The data on literacy at that stage show that the results are similarly poor.

I would, therefore, like to suggest that it is the programmes that need some adjustment, in shifting the focus in the early years to literacy, being confident that a literate student will then perform better at numeracy.

False, misdirected, negative

I want to suggest that the emphasis on teachers being the main problem with our failing educational system is false, misdirected and negative. The impression results in further demotivation of our teachers and a disrespect to the guardians, the pillars and the foundation of education.

I would further suggest that another very important factor is the level of discipline in schools. We now have a system where the administration of the educational system places greater importance on 'student rights' over teachers' authority. A teacher in today's classroom is no longer able to enforce discipline in the way that it was when we adults were at school. This has led to a generation of students who feel they have the advantage over the teacher, and a demoralised teacher who has limited control over an escalating level of poor discipline.

Finally, I think the matter of poor performance in schools requires a holistic approach, considering the multifactorial causation of the problem.

In addition, I think that our teachers deserve much more recognition and respect, and should be given back the authority they once had. They are, in fact, the most important factor in the system. We will continue to ignore that to our peril.

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