Matrics performed poorly in maths - official

[Lounger]

Black learners, because their is this belief in our black schools ( I attended one of these schools), that maths and science are only for whites. Black learners also don't want to attend universities because they feel that they won't 'fit in'. I know many many black learners who work damn hard everyday, but only manage to get a 50% in maths. They also have situations at home wher they have to look after their brothers and sisters and still work during weekends, its hard but they still manage to make it out alive. So before people criticize and assume laziness, they should think about the personal issues also involved... You can put that same learner in a functional household and he/she will eaily. Manage distinctions... Growing up in townships is hard, believe me I know.

This is not a valid argument. You don't need much to learn maths. Just a textbook, a pencil and some paper.

As for the home circumstances; maybe a smaller household would be easier to manage and the parents won't need school children as baby sitters.

 

[Lounger]

No offence but that's crap man. I know of quite a few black people who are awesome at maths.

The problem once again boils down to work ethic. Good work ethic is simply not being encouraged when people think that they have a quick and easy ride through life. And yes, having a president with a Standard 3 doesn't exactly set a good example.

The pass rate tells us there is a major problem with this subject. Maybe some research into why is required.

 

[noxibox]

Mathematics is not easy for everyone. Plenty of white children struggle with it too. Everyone should get some basic mathematical literacy, but that's more for it's general usefulness in daily life as plenty of fields don't need mathematics.

 

[FrankCastle]

Black learners, because their is this belief in our black schools ( I attended one of these schools), that maths and science are only for whites. Black learners also don't want to attend universities because they feel that they won't 'fit in'. I know many many black learners who work damn hard everyday, but only manage to get a 50% in maths. They also have situations at home wher they have to look after their brothers and sisters and still work during weekends, its hard but they still manage to make it out alive. So before people criticize and assume laziness, they should think about the personal issues also involved... You can put that same learner in a functional household and he/she will eaily. Manage distinctions... Growing up in townships is hard, believe me I know.

You have a point.Its known as the stereotype threat:

Stereotype threat is the experience of anxiety or concern in a situation where a person has the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group.[1] First described by social psychologist Claude Steele and his colleagues, stereotype threat has been shown to reduce the performance of individuals who belong to negatively stereotyped groups. For example, stereotype threat can lower the intellectual performance of African-Americans taking the SAT reasoning test used for college entrance in the United States, due to the stereotype that African-Americans are less intelligent than other groups.[2] Since its introduction into the scientific literature in 1995, stereotype threat has become one of the most widely studied topics in the field of social psychology.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat

Here's the test in more detail:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2570773/

 

[Mila]

The pass rate tells us there is a major problem with this subject. Maybe some research into why is required.

Maybe the teachers not the learners?

I do not buy the " they fear they will not fit in ". Who has been to a campus recently? TUT has more black learners than white. Also with BEE quotas to be matched I think whities might fear not fitting in.

 

[BobsLawnService]

But teaching time for Maths is being decreased :wtf:

http://www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/local-news?oid=248723&sn=Detail&pid=40&Longer-schoolday-for-Grade-1--2-to-afford-second-language-teaching

That's becoming the South African way though, isn't it? If it is hard just don't bother.

 

[noxibox]

That's becoming the South African way though, isn't it? If it is hard just don't bother.

No, not really.

Read the article. Mathematics, which appears to already be given a lot of time, is being reduced marginally to allow more time for language. If it were a case of giving up they would have simply abandoned language teaching altogether since the students struggle with it.

 

[TelkomUseless]

I blame the students. I look at the kids today, no discipline , no respect for teachers, no fear for wrong doing. The kids can do what they want and walk away laughing.

My wife is a teacher, and the stories I hear makes me think these kiddies of today would be peeing their pants if they grew up in the 80-90's, when teachers could "help" you if your ears didn't work.

Edit: O yes.. even when you phone the parents , 90% of the time they side with the kids. Even if the video shows little Jonny stole x,y.z

 

[zippy]

White subjects? Really? I wonder what succesfull black businessman, engineers and accountants think of that.

Also, maths and science was far more advanced in the middle east and China before these subjects took off in "white" Europe. You could argue their origin is not "white" at all.

 

[noxibox]

I blame the students. I look at the kids today, no discipline , no respect for teachers, no fear for wrong doing. The kids can do what they want and walk away laughing.

Strange, we hear this every generation.

My wife is a teacher, and the stories I hear makes me think these kiddies of today would be peeing their pants if they grew up in the 80-90's, when teachers could "help" you if your ears didn't work.

I'm glad the child abusers of those days have been rooted out. Saves me having to give teachers spankings for abusing my child. Plenty of teachers from my day needed a damn good hiding.

Edit: O yes.. even when you phone the parents , 90% of the time they side with the kids. Even if the video shows little Jonny stole x,y.z

But the problem is in the schools?

 

[Lounger]

Maybe the teachers not the learners?

I do not buy the " they fear they will not fit in ". Who has been to a campus recently? TUT has more black learners than white. Also with BEE quotas to be matched I think whities might fear not fitting in.

The focus was formerly on students' cramped home life and facilities, and now it has changed to bad teachers. Always an excuse.

 

[TelkomUseless]

Strange, we hear this every generation.


I'm glad the child abusers of those days have been rooted out. Saves me having to give teachers spankings for abusing my child. Plenty of teachers from my day needed a damn good hiding.


But the problem is in the schools?

Holy crap... in my days (80-90's) you wouldn't talk back to teacher. You wouldn't swear at them at all. Let the headmaster punish the kids with the parents being there? Then there is no "äbuse".

Edit: What about 1 kid interupting the class? Now 40 other can't learn. They can't kick him out because it's against his rights. He doesn't do detention. You can't expell him...

The school had cameras installed because of stealing (and it's not a crap school).

Edit: And the parents don't care if the kids don't do homework etc...

 

[Mila]

The focus was formerly on students' cramped home life and facilities, and now it has changed to bad teachers. Always an excuse.

I was just thinking. Its not the bad teacher. But the way it is taught?


Personaly I think it is lazy children with parents that should not have children but that is just IMO. I also believe you do not get problem children. Only problem parents.

 

[SlowInternet]

You get lazy children but also lazy teachers or teachers that do not really know how to teach maths. I've seen instances where children in the same grade are taught maths by different teachers and the 1 group will perform a lot better and their marks are a lot higher.

 

[Grant]

In my own expirience, my maths results corresponded directly with the quality of the teacher.
In std 6 I failed miserably - had a really uninspiring teacher.
Std 7, great teacher, great results.
Std 8, had a teacher who was a airhead - i, put a similar amount of effort in - failed.
Parents removed me, put me into a private school in natal, had great inspiring teachers, i excelled.

 

[Mila]

You get lazy children but also lazy teachers or teachers that do not really know how to teach maths. I've seen instances where children in the same grade are taught maths by different teachers and the 1 group will perform a lot better and their marks are a lot higher.

+10

We had a dude in grade 9 that came in with a cocky attitude and told us that the last time he did grade 9 maths were in grade 9.
He was a PT and Geography teacher.

Needless to say I struggled with math. But the rate people are failing at.. we can not blame all the teachers can we?

 

[SlowInternet]

+10

We had a dude in grade 9 that came in with a cocky attitude and told us that the last time he did grade 9 maths were in grade 9.
He was a PT and Geography teacher.

Needless to say I struggled with math. But the rate people are failing at.. we can not blame all the teachers can we?

I know of teachers that just passed matric by the skin of their teeth and now they are teaching maths and science. Imagine teaching subjects that they nearly failed themselve. I can guarantee you that some of the teachers teaching maths to the kids will fail miserably if they had to write the same exam papers as the kids. BUT it is not just the teachers, some children make it impossible for teachers in class because they know nothing will happen to them.

 

[SLAQ]

Bad results in mathematics is a result of 12 years of soft approach. Thinking back I cannot even comprehend how it takes 12 years to learn mathematics up to matric level. I can with confidence state that I am mathematically way above the norm. But my parents and especially grandparents applied a method that I will definitely carry on to my children. Start as young as possible! I started playing monopoly at the age of 3, by 4 I could add and subtract and by 6 I mastered basic multiplication and division. In grade 6 my father taught me to do all the basic mathematical operations with any base system (e.g. Binary).

On a side note: I started playing computer games when I was 6 as I got bored of monopoly xD. Not an ideal option, but my parents limited my games to only RTS (Real Time Strategy).

I feel for the children who do not have a supporting household at a young age. But once a child completes grade 4 parental participation with a child's school work should not be required. The core is the first 4 years of school. If a child cannot learn independently at the end of Gr. 4, don't advance the child to Gr.5 as a consolation prize. Countless pupils in my grade that did not achieve 50% were advanced to the next grade (30% is not a pass!!!).

I hope the DoE have some smart people who are guiding the increase in time spent on languages. Learning more poems, literature studies and simple essays are a waste of time. Personally I feel they should increase public speaking, have actual debates that require preparation and write augmentative essays. So many students at University have a wonderful vocabulary, but they cannot apply it to real life situations.

 

[noxibox]

Learning language well is not a waste of time. But apparently some people haven't read or can't understand the article about the reasons behind the increased time and earlier introduction of the new language. Regardless language is a core skill. Mathematics not as much, except for those who plan on going into certain fields.

School has never been suited to dealing the varying pace at which children learn. Some simply really struggle with certain subjects and it makes no difference when you start teaching it to them. In the end you have a pace that only suits some percentage of the students.

You should always be there for your child to assist them in learning.

You get lazy children but also lazy teachers or teachers that do not really know how to teach maths. I've seen instances where children in the same grade are taught maths by different teachers and the 1 group will perform a lot better and their marks are a lot higher.

Teaching well is a skill. It's amazing watching how explaining something in the right way can help someone get it. Being willing and able to patiently explain over and over in a variety of ways is the mark of a good teacher. Anyone can simply spew information straight out of a textbook.

Holy crap... in my days (80-90's) you wouldn't talk back to teacher. You wouldn't swear at them at all. Let the headmaster punish the kids with the parents being there? Then there is no "äbuse".

Well of course abuse was rampant back in those days too. One of the things that was very clear to me though was that some teachers easily gained the respect of those they taught, while others did not and had to resort to various attacks to try to keep control. That's with exactly the same set of students. Tells me a lot.

You however quite clearly state that the problem has nothing to do with what happens during school time or any alleged loss of discipline options.

Edit: And the parents don't care if the kids don't do homework etc...

Problem's not in school then is it? Not going to be easily fixed in school either.

 

[Lounger]

In my own expirience, my maths results corresponded directly with the quality of the teacher.
In std 6 I failed miserably - had a really uninspiring teacher.
Std 7, great teacher, great results.
Std 8, had a teacher who was a airhead - i, put a similar amount of effort in - failed.
Parents removed me, put me into a private school in natal, had great inspiring teachers, i excelled.

I am also sensitive to teaching ability, but would a bad maths teacher lead to a fail for the whole class? The performance of so many matrics indicates a bigger problem that cannot totally be attributed to just some bad teachers.