In a world where people generally idly scroll and waste their time on social media platforms, there are some who use new media to assist with their studies.
In the case of 11 year-old Breanna Danvers, that was her reality as she prepared for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations.
With the guidance of her parents, Danvers found herself as a consumer of new media to help develop her Math and Language Arts skills.
“Preparation for PEP was mostly hard,” she said in an interview with Our Today.
As recent graduate of the Portmore Gospel Assembly (PGA) Prep School in St. Catherine, she added, “My teacher usually started our days giving us past PEP exam papers to make us ready. At home, most of the time, my mother made me do online learning for Math or Language Arts. We would find something educational and get the work done in a different kind of way.”
Additionally, she noted that she would organise her time and pay special attention to the tasks she needed to complete, arranging them according to level of difficulty.
Homeschool and Math problems
“I would write the things down in my book to make sure that I remembered the tasks I needed to take care of and become aware of the things that I could manage versus the things that I could not,” she said.
For her part, Danvers’ mother, Masonya, said: “We mostly went online to get past papers and identified similar questions so that she could understand the subjects a little better. We did that because school seemed to focus on one way of doing tests or solving problems. However, we found alternative ways through platforms such as YouTube and even TikTok to learn subjects like Math.”
“It was really helpful. We spent a lot of money on after school and Saturday classes. There was even an online course that was provided for PEP students that we considered. However, we realised that it was too costly for us. So, that’s why we diverted and tried to do it ourselves,” she explained.
I went back to basics with her in Math and carried her through Grades one to five. So by the time she got to grade five, she didn’t have any struggles.
Masonya Danvers
Danvers, who struggled with Math, received additional support from her parents, especially her mother, to build those skills. That journey began when she was in Grade four during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In explaining the experience, her mother said, “Before she became a student at PGA Prep, she attended another school. At the time, everyone was virtual because of the pandemic, but I realised that this mode of teaching and learning was not working for her. As a result, I pulled her from school and homeschooled her for that period.”
“I took it upon myself to teach her the lessons and went on the Ministry’s website and pulled down the assigned curriculum. I went back to basics with her in Math and carried her through Grades one to five. So by the time she got to grade five, she didn’t have any struggles. Actually, she got a better PEP score for Math in Grade five than she did in Grade six,” her mother said.
For her results, Danvers, received highly proficient and proficient in her subjects across the two years and was placed at the Holy Childhood High School, a school of her choice.
She credits her achievement to the support of her parents who did not apply too much pressure amidst the already heavy burden of preparing for PEP, doing homework, regular school work and leading as balanced a life as possible.
“I didn’t really pressure her to do too much because I recognised that it was a lot of work and she already had enough on her plate. Most of the times, I just tried to find a game online or something else that was educational to help her. We also placed more emphasis on her weak points than we did with her strong points. So, while she learned she also had some amount of fun,” her mother said.
I was joyful because I know that she put in a lot of time and a lot of effort in preparation and studying.
Masonya Danvers
As for attending Holy Childhood High School, Danvers said that it was an easy choice for her as her aunt shared how good the school was and based on that, she thought, “why not make that my school of choice?”
“When I heard that I did well and that I was placed at the Holy Childhood High School, I started to cry tears of joy,” she said.
Her parents, especially her mother, were equally as happy, and said: “Upon hearing the news, I was joyful because I know that she put in a lot of time and a lot of effort in preparation and studying. She would wake up early in the mornings to study and practice past papers. They had classes before school started and they had classes after school. So, by the time she got home, not only was she tired, but she felt bombarded with a lot of homework. She went to school at 7 o’clock in the morning and then came back home by 4:30pm, and then she had to shower and then she had to eat and finally tackle homework. Sometimes by nine or ten at night, she was just finishing up.”
As Danvers enjoys her Summer holidays and looks forward to starting school in September, her main expectation of herself is to improve on her Math and English skills.
Additionally, she hopes to explore Art and Drama as she enjoys drawing and thrives in the world of theatre.
On her mother’s part, the expectation is that her daughter will “buckle down and focus.”
“I think Breanna has more potential than what she did in PEP, because as I said, I didn’t really pressure her at home since the school already applied enough pressure. So, I want to see her push a little harder to get good grades and maintain them,” she noted.
A future in the creative industry
Danvers, who shared that she loves to draw, revealed that for a short while, she spearheaded an Art Club at Portmore Gospel Assembly Prep. She did so with the assistance of one of her teachers.
Though the club only made it to a year, she said, “The most important lesson I learned from that experience is to be kind to everyone,” which will help to shape her as a future leader.
With swimming and reading being among her hobbies, Breanna said she hopes to channel her love for drama and art and make it her way of life.
“At first, I wanted to become a doctor but now I think I want to become an entrepreneur in the creative industries with either art or jewellery,” she said, highlighting that her parents, who are entrepreneurs have inspired that desire.
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