Teacher without GCE math shaped generations

When Sandra Rowe first left high school, mathematics was not part of her life plan. In fact, the newly retired teacher never acquired a General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level (similar to CSEC) mathematics qualification, and once firmly believed she was not math material.

Yet, for 38 years, Rowe stood at the front of secondary-school classrooms, shaping young minds and teaching mathematics to generations of students at Tacius Golding High School in St Catherine.

"I tell them all the time it was divine intervention," Rowe said. "I did not get accepted to do math at St Hugh's. They did not think I could do it, and I never quarrel with anyone."

At 64, Rowe told THE STAR that her original dream was to become a nurse. However, mathematics was a prerequisite for entry into nursing and, after failing to gain acceptance, she made a pivotal decision in 1988 to enrol at Shortwood Teachers' College. There, she entered a preliminary programme, studying English, mathematics and chemistry, and passed all her courses.

Even then, teaching mathematics remained her greatest fear.

"I told my graduating year at Shortwood that no one could get me to teach math," she recalled. "Straight to sciences I was going."

Fate, however, had other plans. Assigned to teach mathematics, Rowe said she was "thrown" into the subject. Failure, she decided, was not an option.

"It was either I swim or I drown," she said. "So I learnt to swim."

That determination carried her through nearly four decades in the classroom. In January 1993, she received a diploma in teaching mathematics and general science. Later, she upgraded her qualifications at Northern Caribbean University, graduating in August 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Teacher Education.

Consistency, she added, was key. Rarely absent and always early, Rowe modelled discipline while pushing her students to excel, even after they left school.

"You have to make the math come alive and you will get to love it. That is what I had to do to show that it isn't difficult. Now I tell my students its the easiest subject," Rowe said.

Mathematics has long stood out as one of the most challenging subjects in schools, with many students struggling to master its concepts and achieve passing grades.

Last year, in the June-July exam administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council, 44 per cent of students earned grades one to three in mathematics, compared to 39 per cent last year.

Tacius Golding has historically lagged behind many other secondary schools on the island. Despite its challenges, Rowe said her approach to teaching mathematics was always grounded in strengthening the basics, which she believed formed the backbone of the subject. Mastery of core concepts such as times tables, multiplication and division, she insisted, was non-negotiable, but just as critical was reshaping how students viewed the subject itself.

Still, Rowe said encouragement remained at the core of her teaching philosophy.

"I remind them and tell them I was where you were and remind them that they can do it. I use my experience to encourage them and tell them not to worry."

Former students, she said, often stop her to report long-awaited successes. "They tell me, 'Miss, I got the math now.'"

Last Friday, Rowe erased the board for the final time and walked the corridors of Tacius Golding as a retiree. Her colleagues lined the hallway, handing her red roses in an emotional tribute.

"It made me emotional," she said. "It made me understood how loved I was, especially coming from the teachers."

Recognised over the years by her school, the Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Teachers' Association, Rowe now looks forward to quieter days.

"I am going to water my garden and do all the things I didn't get to do, " she said.