Consumers and members of the public in general who have children attending secondary schools are worried that their children would not be able to pass Mathematics and English at the CXC Examinations.

Passing Maths and English is a necessity, for if the child does not pass those subjects, he or she would be unable to find decent employment or would not be able to proceed further in higher education. The University of Guyana, for example, would not admit an applicant except he/she has obtained a minimum of Grade II in both subjects.
Very often, parents and others, including teachers, tend to conclude that the reason why the child is not doing well in the two subjects is because the child has no aptitude for them.
This conclusion is completely erroneous in more than 90% of the cases. It is the school system on which the blame must squarely rest and not on the child. A child who has achieved an ‘A’ grade in one or more subjects but does badly in English and Maths, does so, not because of poor aptitude, but because of poor teaching at both the primary and secondary levels.
At Queen’s College and Bishop’s High School, for instance, at the time they did the British General Certificate in Education (GCE), both schools achieved, as a norm, nearly 100% of passes in Maths and English because of proper teaching.
The secondary school system today needs to have early remedial classes in both subjects and older and experienced teachers should conduct such classes. Indeed, the school may well recruit retired teachers of proven competence to teach such classes.
One of the main subscribing causes of the poor results in English and Maths, and indeed other subjects, is the education system condoning “lessons” out of school hours. These “lessons” are given by private tutors or by the very class teachers. These “lessons” are charged for by the hour and are quite expensive and many parents are unable to afford them and thus their children are neglected. This “lesson system” causes many class teachers not to teach during working hours; they do their teaching at “lessons” with only those who could afford to pay attending.
There is the case of an English teacher in one of the most expensive secondary schools in Georgetown who never teaches her class but spends the whole class period browsing her IPad. She confidently expects the parents will engage English tutors for their children. And if any of the parents raises the issue of the lazy and inept English teacher with the Principal, she points to the fairly good CXC English results, which are attributed to the teacher. Such results were, of course, due to the private tutors’ efforts. As soon as the remedial system is established in any school, private lessons must forthwith be banned in that school.
It should be mentioned that all of the very few schools which do not permit private lessons perform extraordinarily well in all subjects and a very notable example is Swami Aksharananda’s Sarswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) at Cornelia Ida, W.C.D.
But parents do not have to sit by helplessly waiting for the school or education system to solve their own problem and so ultimately their children’s problem. They hold the key of success in their hands and must use it.
The key of success is simply this: The base or foundation of CXC Maths is Arithmetic.
Arithmetic is usually badly taught at the primary level and when the child begins secondary school Maths, he/she does so on a very weak foundation. He/she is unable to fully understand what is being taught and this becomes much more apparent when he/she is in the CXC class.
Most parents know enough Arithmetic to be able to help their children at the primary level. They would be able to teach them basic Arithmetic and drill them in the Addition and Multiplication tables to 19. Once children have a good foundation in Arithmetic, they would both easier understand and perform better in Algebra and Geometry and Modern Maths.
Reading is neglected at all levels in the school system. Parents must ensure that their children begin reading at a very early age.
They could begin with fairy tales and Greek and Roman mythologies as well as Indian mythology. They would then be introduced to the various children’s books and later the classics.
Reading develops their personality and knowledge of human beings as well as expanding their vocabulary and writing skills. CXC English would then no longer be a bugbear and children would approach the subject with enthusiasm and pleasure.
Parents have to introduce their children to the public library system, and for those in the countryside, the available travelling library. The Internet also offers children’s books and the classics.
If parents were to make their own efforts to help their children in Arithmetic and Reading at the primary and early secondary years, there would be no fear or worry of CXC Maths and English.