By Steven Lang
A quick analysis of the results of the Eskom Science Expo reveals some noteworthy insights.
The most obvious conclusion we can reach is that geography counts. Schools in Makhanda dominated the competition because it was just a lot easier to get to the venue on the Rhodes campus. Although the Makhanda finals are supposed to serve a wide area in the region, many schools don’t have the resources to transport their pupils through terrible weather to a competition where they might not win anything.
Staying with resources, it goes without saying that science usually requires equipment to test hypotheses. It is, therefore, not surprising that relatively well-resourced schools such as Kingswood College and Victoria Girls’ High School dominated entries and prizes.
However, if we dig a little further, we notice that Ntaba Maria (a less well-resourced school) also had a fairly good turnout – especially since it is a primary school. So can we say that it is really the resources issue that makes the difference?
This notion is further undermined when we realise that arguably the best-resourced school in the region, St Andrews/Diocesan School for Girls, did not even come up with a single entry. They probably had other events on their agenda. You could plausibly argue that these schools are just following different paths in education.
Let us then compare (male) apples with (female) apples. Graeme College and Victoria Girls’ High (VG) are ostensibly brother/sister schools. Their uniforms are similar, and their ethos reflects Makhanda’s middle class. Yet, in spite of these parallels, there were 16 projects from VG and only two from Graeme.
The key difference between those who did well and those who chose not to participate lies in the most valuable resource any school could have – the teachers. It is clear that pupils and schools that did well at Science Expo are motivated by passionate champions.
Teachers have to coax pupils to come up with their own innovations and then cajole them to listen to guidance and persist in what is a long and tough road. Teachers have to do the persuading for no reward other than the gratification derived from watching young people learn. There are dedicated teachers at the top-achieving schools who put in long hours helping their charges with projects. They deserve massive accolades, but we should not forget that, in many cases, parents, too, play a vital role in getting our young scientists to exercise their abilities.
