On Saturday, August 31, the Castries East Constituency implemented the 14th Quiz Competition and Honouring Ceremony. The activity was held in Marchand at the Romanus Lansiquot Human Resource Development Centre.
As the constituency’s parliamentary representative and now prime minister, Hon. Philip J. Pierre has hosted and sponsored the quiz competition and honouring ceremony for the Primary Schools in that constituency for sixteen consecutive years.
The participants of the Mathematics Quiz Competition were selected from the following schools in the constituency: Ti Rocher Combined School, Bocage Combined School, and Bishop Charles Gachet Primary School.
The participating students were selected on merit by their respective schools. That is, on their performances in the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment held earlier this year.
The participating students received scores between 87.20% to 93%.
Questions in the quiz competition were compiled from the Grade 6 syllabus which the students were taught from during the time they attended the Grade 6 class.
The participating students will be attending the Leon Hess Comprehensive, St. Joseph’s Convent and St. Mary’s College. Each received a backpack with school materials. However, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners received a trophy, computers and a cash donation from the Parliamentary the prime minister.
The participants received strong support from their parents, other relatives and friends during the quiz.
They were addressed by a young Attorney at Law who encouraged them to be focused, and disciplined so that they may become the best professionals that they so desire to become.
Students who were top performers at the Ti Rocher, Bocage and Bishop Charles Gachet Primary schools were honoured for their outstanding performances at their respective schools. They received recognition, computers and cash donations.
Now if we want lasting change, we should start with the youth. And I’m delighted that the parliamentary Representative Hon. Philip Pierre has insisted on hosting and sponsoring that Mathematics quiz and Honouring Ceremony.
However, I wish to highlight the mathematics component of the activity.
Mathematics is presently the bugbear for students at all levels of the St. Lucia Education System. Although students perform very well in Mathematics at the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), the same is not true of the Caribbean Examinations Council results in Mathematics. It has been reported that student performance in mathematics at CXC in 2024 is lower than that of 2023.
As an educator who worked for 42 years in the St. Lucia Education System, I can attest to the fact that students have difficulty with many of the concepts in Mathematics. That prompted me to write and publish several articles on the “Teaching of Mathematics”.
Most of the articles attempted to help teachers and parents help students and children improve their performance in Mathematics. The strategies and techniques which should be employed in the teaching of mathematics.
The highlights of my articles on “Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics” pin-pointed the fact that teachers and facilitators of learning must provide the opportunity for students to learn mathematics. This technique could bear directly and decisively on student achievement in Mathematics.
Now, mathematics is found all around students; at home, in their immediate home environment, in the wider communitas, and indeed, at school.
But what exactly is the bugbear? That matter will be dealt with in a forthcoming article.