Teaching Maths in Large Classes.

In a radio interview in 2014 Max Du Preez spoke to Brian O’Connell on RSG about the education situation in South Africa. Brian in that interview said: “Because South African children these days have only 20 % of the resources that white kids had before 1994, we must become incredible in teaching large classes.”

I was very intrigued by this statement, not completely convinced that it is realistic to hope or pray for something like that. The end of last year though, I met a couple from the USA who have been working in a Township School in Cape Town. There they developed a method how to teach CAPS-Maths in the primary level in large classes, who has proven to be very successful. The key they say is that learners get a lot of time to practice in the classroom, without the fear of making a mistake.

Two schools in Jeffrey's Bay have now committed to learn this method. This makes me extremely hopeful. If we can introduce this method to more and more schools, what positive influence will this be able to bring about in our educational system.

Now, I also have hope that there might be a method to teach reading in large classes, without leaving a large percentage of learners behind. If you, as a teacher, have a method that has been working in classes of 40/45+ in the area of teaching reading, please share that with us.

Evelyn