MATH WHIZ GOES AGAINST THE TIDE
by AKILAH HOLDER Wednesday, August 24 2016
Newsday
A 12-year-old Gasparillo boy has scored a distinction in mathematics in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CESC) examination, perhaps the youngest student in Trinidad and Tobago to have attained such a feat.
Frederick Thomas Jr, a student of the Open Bible High School in San Fernando, and felt by Education Ministry officials to be too young for such an exercise sat the examination in May when he was just 11 years old. The exam is one that is usually done by students five years his senior.
“All the hard work paid off so I’m feeling very excited,” the pre-teen told Newsday yesterday.” When I got the results during the night, I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited to sleep. When I got the results, I was in Tobago. And, my mom told me, ‘Now Freddie, I’m going to show you the results; I got through online,’ because before, she wasn’t getting a connection to the site, because too many people were on it. And she got on, and she saw my results.” Frederick’s achievement comes on the heels of Education Minister, Anthony Garcia’s declaration last week that there has been a decline in the math pass rate in the CSEC in Trinidad and Tobago.
Seated calmly and confidently on one of the benches in Assing’s Classes where he studied for the math examination and where Newsday chatted with him, Frederick, discussed his passion for the subject but his math lessons teacher, Bernard Assing, referred to fondly as “Dad” by Frederick chimed in: “He got inspiration from reading the article on my grandson. His mom took exams in Form 2, she’s a student of mine too.
And he got inspired by this (gesturing to a previous Newsday article on his grandson – Kiran Christian Dyaanand – who also achieved a distinction in Math last year at the age of 12 that he had laminated).
And when she (Frederick’s mother Sharon Thomas) came in, I said, ‘Well, why don’t I take him, if you want him to write within the year?’ And he was all keen on doing it, and I said ‘Ok.’ Kiran took three months to do it. He took the year.
That is because he couldn’t sign up.” Frederick’s mother explained that when she tried to register him for the January exam, it was already September 2015, and the deadline for registration had passed. Therefore, she resolved to register him for the May exam, but even then, she encountered resistance from ministry officials entrusted with the task of registering candidates, who advised her that he was “too young” and “should not be put through that stress.” Thomas ignored them and registered her son for the examination anyway. Furthermore, she rebuked the officials saying, that as a parent, if your child wants to do something, then you ought to encourage him or her. It took a lot of sacrifice, however. For each day of math lessons, Thomas, a teacher at San Fernando Girls’ Anglican, waited at Assing’s Classes until her son’s lessons, from five to seven pm, were over.
“I came from work, sat down and waited until the classes were finished and then we went home together,” she told Newsday. “Sometimes we reach home around 8 o’clock or 8.30; because if it’s an evening class, a five o’ clock class, it will finish around seven or a little after seven, and we travel home. So for me, it was all about supporting his decision. When he was ready to do his exam, I was there on the day, and sat down, waited for the whole day. Mr. Assing and Mrs. Assing came and supported us, and we chatted while he was in the exam room to give him that support.” She continued, “On the day, he was relaxed, and I was nervous.
He said, ‘well, mommy, I did the work...’ When he saw Mr. Assing, he was very happy, and he went in the room very joyous, and he took it at his pace.” Frederick. sat the exam in Marabella South Secondary School. Frederick comes from a single home. Any communication he has with his father is via skype.
Nonetheless, he pushed past this challenge and succeeded at a young age, in the CSEC exam.
According to his mother, Frederick was and remains “really padded” at home, having the benefit of living in an extended family: his mother and grand-parents.
Thomas also said that he received support from his aunt and her twin sister, also a teacher and a former student of Assing.
When asked if he had any advice for youngsters undertaking math studies, Frederick said, “Anybody could do mathematics. You just have to put your heart and mind into it and say, I want to get top marks, I want to get a distinction, and of course, if you study hard, and even if necessary, you could take extra classes, then anybody could receive a distinction.” Frederick intends to begin studying for CSEC additional mathematics in September of this year, and hopes to sit the exam the following year. He may also pursue English and some science subjects in the future.