Change method for training maths coaches

THE EDITOR, Sir: I have been teaching at the primary and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate levels for approximately 20 years, as well as lecturing at various adult-education institutions. I recently sat a ‘math’ paper at the Caenwood auditorium as it pertains to the selection process re the post of a mathematics coach. Was it fair to test one based on content at this time of the process?

I have not been engaged in any form of mathematics for the past five years, and neither have I seen a math test paper during that period. How on earth can the education ministry administer an instrument like the one used to assess a group of prospective coaches in the realm of mathematics education at the primary level? As far as I know, such an instrument would not determine whether or not an individual is capable of training cohorts of educators in the area of primary mathematics based on methods adjoined to the National Standards Curriculum. The paper was simply to test for one’s level of thinking, not methodology.

God bless what I did on the paper as I was not prepared for such. It would be unfair to judge one based on content instead of methodology.

Content can always be researched and is ever-changing, while methods are entrenched and enriched through continuous engagement with the subject in question, along with experiences gained throughout the processes. ILAJE MOORE lpslimited39@gmail.com