If you ask young children what they want to be when they grow up, many say they want to follow in the steps of their parents. This was exactly the case for 16-year old Gemma Burnett, whose YouTube channel Gem Stones inspires children across the globe to love learning maths through her fun and engaging videos.
After spending her early years watching dad James Burnett build his successful mathematics education company, ORIGO Education, Gemma found her personal love for the field of numbers. “I have always admired Dad and his business, and as I am in my senior years of high school, I am thinking more seriously about following in his footsteps by studying a teaching degree, which would enable me to focus on primary mathematics,” Gemma says.
“I started uploading videos to YouTube as a place to begin that journey, where I can help primary school students who are struggling with mathematics or just don’t have a strong understanding of the ideas they are learning in class,” she said.
The name of the channel, Gem Stones, is a play on words with her first name and her father’s mathematics program Stepping Stones, that he wrote and developed for primary students. Each video is only a few minutes long and explains mathematics ideas and skills in the easiest way possible to help students learn from home. “I use real objects and pictures to help explain ideas and strategies,” Gemma said. Some of Gemma’s YouTube videos have had more than 7900 views.
Gemma wants to encourage young students to consider STEM careers as she believes it’s the way of the future. “The world is becoming more digital and the jobs of the future will require more of us to be able to understand and apply mathematics. I hope my videos motivate young children, and especially girls, to keep learning mathematics which will give the opportunities to have exciting and well-paid jobs,” Gemma said.
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