IN JAMAICA (GOOD HEART) : Math whiz and Campion College Bound, 12 y-o Mikhail Morris wants to help students pass the subject

BY DENISE DENNIS  Sunday, July 05, 2015    

He's just a few months shy of his 12th birthday, but Mona Heights Primary student Mikhail Morris is already quite clear about the career he wants to pursue.

Mona Heights Primary School head boy Mikhail Morris (centre)
 shares a moment with his grandmother Loretta Graham and his
 younger sister Kalila Morris, following his graduation ceremony,
on Thursday. Mikhail is on his way to Campion College as
a result of his outstanding performance in the Grade Six
Achievement Test (GSAT).

Concerned about the challenge that mathematics poses for many of his peers, Mikhail said his dream is to become a teacher of the subject.

Mikhail, who is hailed by his teachers as a top student, is regarded as a math whizz. In fact, he scored 100 per cent in mathematics in the 2015 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

"In the future, I would like to be a math teacher because I am very good at the subject," the confident young man told the Government's news agency, the Jamaica Information Service.

"I know that a lot of people do not do well in this area, so I would want to assist them with it," he added.

The head boy impressed guests at the school's graduation ceremony last Thursday, July 2, where he eloquently delivered the valedictory address.

His father, Clyde Morris, who is an information technology (IT) professional, said he knows that some persons would question Mikhail's desire to be a teacher, but as parents, they encourage him to do what he loves.

"We are not stressing him about that, because if that's what he loves, that's what he loves. He could become a math professor, you never know. We know there is so much that he can do," Morris said.

Mikhail Morris (centre), Mona Heights Primary School
 head boy and top-performing Grade Six Achievement
Test (GSAT) student, shares a moment with his proud
 parents Clyde Morris and Mitzie Graham-Morris, at his
 graduation ceremony on Thursday.

In addition to his perfect marks in math, Mikhail scored 100 per cent in English Language, Social Studies, and Communication Task, and 98 per cent in Science. These impressive scores earned him a spot at his secondary school of choice, the prestigious St Andrew-based Campion College.

Mikhail was also a member of the Mona Heights Primary Junior School's Challenge Quiz team which placed third in the competition. He had responsibility for the mathematics questions.

"We are very proud of him. We knew he was going to do well on the GSAT," Morris said.

He described Mikhail as quiet, disciplined and very focused on his school work.

"When he has work to do, you don't have to tell him to do it. He will pressure you to help him with it if he can't complete it himself," Morris said. more