On Tuesday 4 November 2008, the Umgungundlovu FET College and the Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CASME) officially launched a partnership aimed at assisting schools in the Pietermaritzburg district to improve the quality of science and mathematics teaching.

The partnership was initiated at the beginning of 2007 when Rector Mr Sipho Khuzwayo agreed to host a science and mathematics teachers’ resource centre operated by CASME at the College’s Plessislaer Campus in Imbali. The opening of the resource centre laid the foundation for the establishment of a more intensive education development initiative by CASME. The initiative which is being funded by Bearing Man Group and Cadiz Foundation will provide support in mathematics and science teaching and learning to 25 schools in the district. The funding was facilitated by the South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) an initiative of online philanthropy portal Greater Good South Africa.

Sipho Khuzwayo (Rector: UFET), Tsepiso Khalema (Director: CASME),
Phillip Dikgomo (Director: MST&ICT, KZN DoE)
and Veronique Bezuidenhout (Bearing Man Group) at the partnership and project launch

The project will be implemented over three years and includes professional development workshops, school based support for teachers, seminars for College academic staff and an after school programme for learners in addition to the already established resource centre.

Speaking at the launch of the project Dr Cassius Lubisi, Superintendent General of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, applauded the companies for their decision to support what he described as an excellent initiative that tackled the challenges facing mathematics and science education at different levels within the system, namely teachers’ knowledge of their subject, learner examination preparation and resources for teaching and learning. Dr Lubisi also acknowledged the importance of the partnership between the CASME project and the FET College, and the role they could play guiding learners with their career choices. “We need to be realistic. Approximately 82% of learners will not go to University but can pursue worthwhile careers through FET Colleges”, he said.

On the importance of partnerships between his department, civil society and business, Dr Lubisi acknowledged that government cannot achieve its objectives alone and must work with organisations such as CASME that have an established record of assisting in supporting teachers and learners. He also paid tribute to the past leadership of CASME including well known science educationalist David Brookes who passed away recently, saying that they would be proud of this new project which continued the tradition of good work done by the organisation.

Continuing our retrospective of 'Confessions of a Science Teacher' here is the second instalment of articles by David W Brookes. Enjoy!

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Concentrated acids are some of the more dangerous substances that a science educator and his/her learners have to deal with. 2 molar dilute nitric, dilute hydrochloric and dilute sulphuric acids can be used with reasonable precautions and pose no serious danger. Concentrated hydrochloric acid, although dangerous, is the least dangerous of the common concentrated acids. Concentrated nitric acid, as bought from the supplier, is the next and concentrated sulphuric acid is the most dangerous of the three.

However there are two concentrated acids which can cause serious problems. The first one is fuming nitric acid which one can prepare in the laboratory. The second is a mixture we used when I was at university, potassium dichromate and concentrated sulphuric acid. The mixture of potassium dichromate and concentrated sulphuric acid was commonly used as a cleaning mixture to remove stains from glassware in the laboratory.

Working with fuming nitric acid
In the 1950’s and most of the 1960’s physical science teachers had the preparation and properties of nitric acid as part of the syllabus. This meant taking a great deal of care in the preparation, storage and use of the fuming nitric acid that was produced. Rubber and cork could not be used, because the nitric acid simple reacted with them. We had to use only glass containers and this meant retorts with glass stoppers and glass flasks for the collection. See the diagram for the method of preparation.

The learners in my class prepared this in groups and I had to watch carefully to make sure that all went well. I insisted that all that was prepared would be brought to me for storage and that this would be used for demonstration reactions and not by the learners themselves. Last month I told you what happened when I put yellow phosphorus in fuming nitric acid. This time it is about the storage and the mistake I made for that.

I got a learner from each group to bring the group’s flask with the fuming nitric acid and pour it into a bottle I was holding. One boy, in pouring the nitric acid, spilt some straight onto my hand. I knew that this was a problem and I dashed to the sink and turned the tap on to wash my hand. I thought I had everything under control and I half did. I didn’t get any sores, but I had a yellow hand for a week or two, where the nitric acid had burned my skin. What amazed me was how this had marked my hand in the few seconds before I washed it. If it had been left for long, I would have had severe burns.

Watch out for concentrated sulphuric acid and “cleaning mixture”
At university I had been using my flask of cleaning mixture and dropped it. It broke on the edge of the laboratory bench, splashed my lab coat, my long trousers, my shoes and the floor. Even though I had used this for a long time and thought it wouldn’t be too bad, I jumped on the bench and put the splashed parts under the tap and ran water over the affected parts.

My laboratory coat was ruined, my long trousers were full of holes and even my shoes had marks in them for as long as I had them. Again I was lucky that I wasn’t burned, but I also did the right thing in flooding the affected items with water.

SAFETY LESSONS

At this time of the year one is intuitively drawn to think back, so we take this opportunity to start our annual reflective process which will end some time in the early part of 2009 with the publication of our 2008 Annual Report, but here is a sneak preview.

2008 was a successful year for CASME, success in this case being judged on a number of levels:

• We increased annual funding by 13% from 2007
• We reduced our dependency on funding from a single sector to 52% spreading our donor base (and risk) more equitably across foundations, government and corporate social investment sources. 
• We also saw donor confidence climb significantly in 2008 with several signing up to fund more than one initiative.
• We increased the number of projects implemented from 14 to19
• We increased our academic staff complement by 30% and reduced our admin to academic staff ratio, meaning more resources going to project implementation.

On the project implementation side a snapshot shows that we had direct contact with 350 schools and  900 individual teachers thus reaching out to some 180,000 learners. Our internal evaluations all point to the fact that our work is making a difference in respect of the quality of teaching and learning.

Watch this space in the new year for more analysis and the full 2008 Annual Report.

Besides reflecting on achievements the end of the year is also important for remembering those that made it all possible. So we would be remiss if we didn't take this opportunity to thanks some special individuals and organisations:

Of course the funders of our various projects top the list. Many have built strong and long ties with CASME, others are new to the family but have nevertheless shown bold vision in the support provided. We look forward to continuing the good work in your name. We think it's important to mention them, in alphabeticaly order:

Absa Foundation, Absa Capital, Afrox, Basil Read, Bearing Man Group, BHP Billiton, Cadiz Foundation, Council for the Built Environment, Department of Education, Department of Science and Technology, Eskom, Greater Good South Africa, National Business Initiative, Ramsey Son and Parker, South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, South African Mathematics Foundation, South African Social Investment Exchange, Sugar Industries Trust for Education, Sasol, Shell, Toyota, and Zenex Foundation.

We would also like to thank the partner organisations that have assisted in various ways or facilitated joint initiatives: Environment and Language Education Trust (ELET) and Media in Education Trust (MiET).

Our Board of Trustees and Management Committee, who work in the background mostly, offering their rich experience and expertise and who often go unmentioned: Prof John Volmink, Prof Renuka Vithal, Dr Sharma Bhikha, Mr Magnate Ntombela, Mr Sifiso Mncube, Ms Monica Ledingwane, Dr Nadaraj Govender, Dr Angela James.

Finally, the staff of the Centre, who have worked under incredible pressure but with amazing energy and committment, thanks!

Please note the centre will be closed from
Monday 8 December 2008 and will re-open on Monday 5 January 2009

Have a safe, peaceful and restful holiday and may 2009 bring joy and success

Best Wishes

Trustees, Management and Staff of CASME