Bhutanese students are weaker in Mathematics and English compared to other subjects, according to the records with the Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA).
To encourage students to take interest in mathematics and poetry, a Bhutan Math and Poetry Project conducted a workshop for eighty students of Utpal Junior in Paro.
The project was started last year by a group of six Bhutanese students studying in USA, Japan and Armenia. Through the project, they aspire to change the mindset of Bhutanese students towards learning maths and poetry.
“Our goal is to inspire the children in learning maths and poetry and to break the mindset that poetry is only for the gifted ones and mathematics is a difficult subject,”Kitsho Wangchuk, a student from United World College ISAK, Japan, said.
“The skills required for these subjects are important. Mathematics is all about critical thinking and poetry is self-expression.”
The project targets junior students from grade four to eight. They teach the children fun based mathematics activities, where the children learn while playing games.
Children were also taught that poetry is a means to communicate and contemplate.
“We need to play with numbers and it is fun while studying maths,” a student of Utpal Junior, Chador Dema said.
“After attending the workshop, I learned poetry is not as difficult as I thought and learning mathematics is even more fun,” another student, Padma Khesar, said.
Bhutan Math and Poetry Project conducted their first set of workshops with two schools in Thimphu last summer.
