I made this discovery at the very beginning of my journey. Back in 1997 I responded to an advertisement on the University Student Union notice board requesting volunteers to help children in schools struggling with math(s), to build their math(s) confidence through games. The advert’s mission was to boost the confidence and self-esteem of children in schools by engaging them actively in good math(s) games and prompting them to think in a fun way.
I was feeling sad for the struggling kids and was determined to help give them a better experience. To this end, I started volunteering with the Sir John Cass Foundation to assist primary (elementary school) and early secondary school (middle school) kids who were struggling with math(s) build their math(s) confidence through games.
I participated actively every week in the Hackney and Tower Hamlets area of London. There, I observed that some children had gone through math(s) struggles and consequently fallen behind in their grades. Many of them had low math(s) confidence. However, once we began to help those kids through more creative ways and games, the children began to improve, progress, and look forward to our return. They rushed into the training rooms to greet us with faces full of great expectation and excitement.
I had never seen anything like it. These children even had to take a whole thirty minutes out of their lunch playtime to practise math(s) with us, through creative and fun ways—and they did not mind shortening their lunch times for math(s)’s sake. In fact, they did so freely and happily. I came to appreciate that there were rewards for learning things properly, as this could easily be shared with many other pupils or students in ways that helped them become more successful.
This is where my journey to Infinity began! I will tell you more about that next time!
In the meantime, if you would like to speak, you can make an appointment with me here.
