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The sport of Maths (Part 1): Timely preparation

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:54:21 +0000

Learners often sit for a Maths test feeling they worked extremely hard, confident that they would do well. Then a lot of them walk out in a cloud of disappointment after struggling through the paper, feeling cheated and disillusioned.

But I studied really hard for this test, such a learner would say despondently. Their parents would agree, not understanding why their child did not do better, often blaming the teacher or tutor in some or other way.

Now, here is the thing: Quite often, when I ask such learners exactly what they did to prepare for the test, and how much time they had spent on Maths in the previous weeks – excluding the time spent on their school homework, of course – it would become clear that they hadn’t done anything extra until a day or two before the test. In fact, usually they feel quite chuffed with themselves if they had started “studying” for Maths a whole two or (wow!) three days before their test.

Let’s just think about sports for a moment: rugby, tennis, soccer, athletics, dancing – any type of sports. If sports aren’t your thing, think about a musical instrument you are playing, or chess, or any other favourite pastime of yours.

Now let’s sketch a little scenario:

Sports training starts at the beginning of the term. You hide at the back and do your best to become invisible whenever the coach asks something. When you need to practise techniques during coaching sessions, you and your buddies fool around and poke fun at one another. You really could not care less about the way you should use your knees to increase power in tennis, or a specific kicking technique in rugby or soccer. Oh, that’s so easy, you might say. Anyone could do that. Our coach always spends hours and hours on such boring stuff. Throughout the term, you do the bare minimum to stay in the team.

Then, you are told that an important match is coming up. If you play a musical instrument, you might be told that you need to perform in front of a large audience.

Suddenly, you realise that you don’t actually have the necessary skills to perform well. For two or (wow!) three afternoons before the match, you and your buddies go and practise as much as you can. You come home tired at the end of each afternoon, and after the third day, you feel perfectly fine, confident that you’ve got this.

The day of the match arrives. For the first few minutes of the match, everything seems fine. You’re doing just fine. Then, your opponent does something unexpected. You fail to prevent them from scoring points. No worries, your teammates say. Better luck next time. You still feel fine.

Then the same sort of thing happens again. And again. You practised some basic shots or kicks, but you are certainly not prepared for the stuff that is now coming your way. Your teammates become frustrated with you. Oh, come on, they might say. We practised this move. Remember? Just stick to the plan. Well, they might have practised this move. You certainly didn’t. They might know what the game plan is. You don’t. You didn’t listen when the coach explained this type of play. Your confidence plummets. Your play becomes worse.

Ultimately, your team loses. If you play tennis, you lose the match. If you take part in athletics, you certainly don’t take a podium place. If you play a musical instrument in front of an audience, you blunder badly.

There is a reason why sports coaches are so strict about everybody taking part in every single coaching session. If you don’t, you lose your place in the team. There is a reason why coaching sessions take up so much of your time during the week – not only before big matches, but throughout the year.

Everyone – learners and parents alike – accepts this as perfectly reasonable if one wants to perform well. Why, then, is it so difficult to understand that the same principle applies to Maths?

Would you really do the absolute bare minimum for any type of sport in the months before a big match, then practise hard for two or three afternoons right before the match and expect to win? Would the Springboks do this? More to the point: Would the Springboks be successful if they did this?

Why, then, would you do the absolute bare minimum for Maths in the months before the June or November exams, then practise hard for two or three afternoons right before the exam and expect to do well?

Maths is like a sport. The more you practise, the better prepared you will be to handle the stress of a test/exam. You will be able to deal with tougher questions calmly, using the knowledge and skills you developed during the previous months in an efficient and organised manner.

On the other hand, the less you practise, the less prepared you will be, and the more stressed, whether you know it or not. Even simple questions will throw you off. You won’t be able to manage questions beyond the simplest ones in an efficient manner, and you certainly won’t be able to deal with tougher questions.

Treat Maths like a sport. It is as simple as that. Whatever time you spend on your favourite sports (or musical instrument), do the same for Maths. The results will speak for themselves.

The things Maths teaches us: The value of working hard

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:38:53 +0000

One of my parents’ favourite sayings when I was growing up was, “Success doesn’t fall from the sky.” As a child, this is the last thing one wants to hear. You want to hear that the world is your oyster, that everything will fall into your lap, that life will be a feast, and that success, money and joy will be yours effortlessly and unconditionally.

So, you tend to roll your eyes when a parent tells you that success doesn’t fall from the sky. Because, you tell yourself, of course it will. Of course you won’t need to put in all that effort. Life doesn’t need to be so hard as they would make it. You just need to believe in achieving success and it will all come to you effortlessly.

Well, I grew up, and as I grew older, the truth of my parents’ saying stayed with me. In fact, it became increasingly relevant as I grew older. In school, I had to work hard – and had to keep working hard – to get good marks. I never got to experience any version of a highway to success by sitting back and getting good results anyway.

After school, this also applied to my studies and my work. Every time I stopped doing my part because I felt I could let go and relax and have success descend upon me effortlessly for a change, like rays of sunshine, quite the opposite happened. Each time, I would find myself sliding backwards, slowly but surely, down the slippery slope of mediocrity, further and further away from where I actually wanted to be.

It seems that success is indeed all about doing your part and pulling your weight – even when things become difficult. Even when you don’t get it right on the first go. Even when you struggle. Even when you get disheartened and tired and just want to give up. Even when you want to throw things in frustration because you try and try and try and you still can’t get it right.

The thing is, in life, things are not always easy. At times, you will struggle. Sometimes, you will want to give up. But if you do, you won’t achieve success – at least not in the matter at hand. It is as simple as that. Because how can you succeed if you don’t even try, and if you don’t keep trying?

If you do persevere, though, your chances of achieving success increase exponentially.

And that is why I don’t understand why parents of Maths learners should often say, “I don’t want my child to struggle, so he should rather drop Maths,” or “What if my child struggles with Maths? Perhaps she should rather drop Maths now, just in case.”

Ma’am, sir, unfortunately your child will sometimes struggle. But remember that the main purpose of school is to prepare your child for life. And in life, your child will sometimes struggle. It is simply unavoidable.

But there is no subject better than Maths to teach a child about the value of hard work and perseverance, despite – let’s face it – quite often experiencing disappointments along the way. Because even though you might work hard, things do sometimes go wrong (just like they do in real life) and your results might not always be what you’d hoped.

It is not only about the actual Maths your child learns. It is also about what the subject of Maths teaches your child about life. To my mind, this is what is most important about taking Maths as a subject.

In this regard, the most important benefit of taking Maths is that it teaches you how to persevere despite the possible disappointment of not achieving success immediately, how to keep on trying even if you keep getting it wrong, and how to push away those insistent little claws of stress, despondency and despair doing their best to make you give up.

Because this sort of thing will certainly happen in real life too: in your job and career, in your relationships, in your sports, and in your personal life. There will always be all sorts of things standing in the way of your success.

And in real life, we do need to know how to get up and get on, no matter how difficult it might be.