I USE MUSIC TO INSPIRE!

For teacher Barry, rap is a big part of the equation when it comes to making maths more accessible to learners

- BOHEMIA HOFFMEESTER

POP quiz: what’s the differ­ence between rap music and teaching? 

If you asked Barry van Neel this question, his answer would be that there’s none. In his class­ room the two go together hand in glove – and his unorthodox tools have helped him unlock the mystery of maths for many a learner. 

“A rapper is a teacher,” Barry says. “Rappers and teachers both use words to teach, or to educate, or to instil know­ledge. Both convey a message with a goal that’s greater than just the message itself – whether you’re in front of a classroom or an audience.” 

Barry is head of the maths department at Ceres Secondary School in the West­ern Cape and the youngest member of the school’s management team. 

His dream is to launch a mathematics academy in the Winelands town, “because our schools are places where dreams die, especially if reading and comprehension of schoolwork starts too late”.

Barry (33) knows what he’s talking about. 

When he was a pupil at Witzenberg Primary School in nearby Wolseley, he made it all the way to Grade 4 without being able to read. 

He recalls that when he was in Grade 2, his late father, Bazil, refused to allow him to attend the remedial class and he was simply pushed through to the next grade, where he was mocked by his class­ mates “for being stupid”. 

It didn’t take long for the insults to stick and Barry began to believe they were true. 

“I know what it feels like not to under­ stand,” he says. “I know what it’s like to be talked to without being seen.” 

He recalls a time in Grade 1 when he was made to stand at his teacher’s desk and read from a book.