Maths adviser

The frenetic pace of maths re-invention continued today. Our maths boot camp resources are now ready for the ‘Let’s get going’ meeting tomorrow and I now have a fairly in-depth understanding of the Kenyan Primary Maths Syllabus. Talking to my wife Judi tonight we agreed that it doesn't really matter whether you are planning for a new project in a large school or a small school. The initial planning and preparation is as time consuming in either case. The only thing that really differs is the size of the photocopying bill at the end.

In a rare moment of self-indulgence I did take a short time out as dusk was approaching to empty all my bins and burn the rubbish. There’s something quite satisfying about poking a fire round to make sure everything catches, especially as the light is fading. It might just have been my choice of friends in my childhood but I think setting fire to things is pretty much hard wired into boys. I just never grew out of it. It was also nice to spend twenty minutes or so watching the children playing before the sun set and they all had to go indoors to do their homework. The girls were playing a game which involves hurling a ball at anybody in the middle of the playing area to get them out. Some of the girls could pitch for a baseball team. I’m surprised we don’t get more injuries. I haven’t been out to catch the sunset much during this visit so it was really good to see the sky slowly catch fire then fade away to darkness. A bit like the embers of my bonfire.

It’s late now so I’m going to call it a day. Tomorrow is an important day for the primary school as we set out our stall for the ‘Maths Symposium’. I’m not taking the old school Larium tablets to avoid malaria any more so don’t suffer from the associated crazy dreams. I've had one or two mildly strange ones though so hope I’m not plagued by maths nightmares tonight.