When Nico Wiggil, a mathematics teacher at Laerskool Secunda in Mpumalanga, was told he was among the teachers who had won a trip to a prestigious United States-based space and rocket centre in Alabama earlier this year, he thought he was dreaming. ‘Incredible, overwhelmed, too good to be true” were the words Wiggil used to describe his feelings.
He can be forgiven for not believing his ears, given the rigorous selection process for a scholarship that exposes teachers to space science and exploration in the hope that they take this knowledge back to their classrooms and stir up interest among their learners.
About 1 000 teachers entered but, in the end, only 200 from 19 countries (including South Africa) and 43 from US states made the grade. One of the requirements was that teachers write an essay explaining what tools they use to generate interest among learners to enter science-related and technology-based fields of study.
Wiggil’s classroom leaves no doubt about his passion, which must have shone through in his essay. There is a rich assortment of wall charts and posters depicting rockets, spaceships and illustrations of basic maths concepts.
Wiggil said the nine-day trip —which included 40 hours of theory-based training — was enlightening. A highlight was taking part in real-life astronaut training, which covers a spectrum of activities and aspects involved in space missions.
‘This included laboratory and field training where we took part in astronaut exercises that covered a high-performance jet simulation, scenario-based space missions, land and water survival training and state-of-the-art flight dynamics programmes,” said Wiggil. ‘Today, when I stand in front of my class and talk about space-related issues, I know what I am talking about.”
He brought back videos and DVDs that capture in detail exactly what he and the other teachers went through. His view is that if schools could purchase these materials, not only would they bring in a practical element to maths and science, but also demystify the subjects.
‘It offered us an opportunity to meet with teachers from other countries and we shared ideas and perspectives on how to address challenges, as well as different teaching approaches. I have established regular contacts with teachers from countries such as India and England — to mention some,” he said.
One thing he noticed was that the Americans invest a lot of money and resources in technology. ‘And because of this they are able to tackle every aspect of the syllabus practically. I think, technologically, we are still lagging behind,” said Wiggil. He is confident that if more resources and facilities could be made available to all schools, South Africa would produce more astronauts and launch its own space mission in the future.
To date, about 250 teachers have graduated from the programme, which also reached nearly 100 000 maths and science learners and teachers in 26 countries and 41 US states.
Honeywell International employees pay in full for the scholarships. Honeywell is a diversified technology and manufacturing company that provides services in aerospace products, control technologies for buildings, home and industry, automative products, turbochargers and specialty materials. It is based in Morris township, in the US.
‘I would encourage more teachers to apply next year. The more of us there are getting this knowledge, the better for our education and country,” said Wiggil.