Teacher and founder of YouTube channel infinityplusone Subash Chandar K at his home in South Auckland, from where he broadcasts live maths tutorials for NCEA students around the country. Photo / Alex Burton
Teacher and founder of YouTube channel infinityplusone Subash Chandar K at his home in South Auckland, from where he broadcasts live maths tutorials for NCEA students around the country. Photo / Alex Burton
Subash Chandar K started infinityplusone YouTube channel a decade ago to help Kiwi teens.
The award-winning teacher livestreams from his home five nights a week and has a legion of fans.
The dad-of-one’s lessons are maths-focused, but words of wisdom are for all students ahead of NCEA exams next month.
By day, Subash Chandar K is in the classroom, teaching maths to the year 7 to 10 pupils of Ormiston Junior College.
But by night, he switches on his computer, logs into his YouTube channel infinityplusone and goes live for some of the 52,000 subscribers tuningin as Chandar K solves maths problems, goes over NCEA curriculums and talks viewers through previous exams.
This time of year is particularly busy, with thousands of Kiwi teens across the country preparing for end-of-year NCEA exams under way from November 5.
“Now I’m on my tutorial run”, the married dad-of-one told the Herald in a brief gap between the responsibilities of work, home and his online moonlighting gig helping some of our youngest mathematicians.
“So I basically have five nights [a week] of tutorials leading up to the exams.”
Not bad for a guy who failed one maths university paper three times, and spent nearly twice as long as expected to get his degree.
“I actually took five-and-a-half years to pass my three-year maths degree. I failed one stage one paper three times.
“I tell that story a lot with the kids. I say, ‘Did you know I actually failed at uni? And they’re like, ‘What?’”
But he never gave up because he believed – still does – that you’re “meant to make mistakes in maths”, Chandar K said.
“And, you know, that process builds resilience. If we can reframe that maths is actually a resilience builder, we might see things differently.”
Despite his own struggles and philosophy around failure, several of those who tune into the 1500 livestreams the 42-year-old has hosted for the past decade told the Herald the online tutorials had changed the trajectory of their lives.
Former Auckland high school student Katelyn Smit was alerted to the infinityplusone channel's livestreams after emigrating from South Africa.
Among them, Katelyn Smit, who found herself struggling in the subject after emigrating to New Zealand from South Africa in year 10.
“I went from having tutors in South Africa to coming here where it wasn’t as affordable, and I started doing pretty bad in maths, but I also started developing a love for science.
“So I knew if I wanted to get into the science field I’d have to get better at maths.”
Friends at Botany Downs Secondary College told her about Chandar K’s channel and soon her marks improved to the point she was moved into extended classes, and later accepted into the competitive Bachelor of Pharmacy degree – which the 20-year-old is now studying at the University of Otago.
“[His online tutorials] gave me a lot of confidence, because he’d go through past NCEA papers. Before [I would always] get to about the middle of the equation and then be stuck on what to do, so watching his videos taught me what strategies to use, and each step of it.
“[He] definitely helped me get where I am right now.”
Subash Chandar K gives tips on how students across all subjects can best prepare for NCEA exams next month. Photo / Alex Burton
Chandar K – who in 2019 received the National Excellence in Education Awards top honour for his work as a mathematics and statistics teacher – put his followers’ success down to being ready to learn, because they’d chosen to click on a video or join the livestream.
“Therefore, you’re actually already opening your mind to learning.”
He originally took his lessons online at the request of several students while teaching at Ormiston Senior College.
“Initially I was helping my own students, but I also realised that other kids could use that resource as well.”
When he met some of his followers, during visits to other schools or when they recognised him on the street, many asked him to sign their calculators, Chandar K said.
“My wife thinks it’s really funny. [Initially] I was like, this is the strangest thing, but [now I think] whatever makes them happy, and whatever gives maths a positive light.”
Subash Chandar K does maths revision livestreams to an audience on his YouTube channel that includes more than 50,000 subscribers. Photo / Alex Burton
He’d monetised the channel recently after tiring of increasing regulation, but the money coming in varied depending on the time of year.
“In January, I think I got less than $100 for it, but in November you can make a couple of grand a month, but I don’t really do it for the money.
“I’m not a spiritual person, I don’t go to a temple or church, but I do believe in giving back something to the community. When I help people, it fills my cup – I don’t expect anything in return, and I don’t really need anything in return.”
Subash Chandar K and Katelyn Smit’s top tips for NCEA students
Don’t cram. Give yourself time to learn the material and then test yourself to learn any places you might be going wrong.
Read all the questions in the exam before beginning. The easiest questions aren’t always at the beginning.
Deep breath, stay calm, do your best – and if it doesn’t go well, don’t despair, universities offer foundation courses for those who lack the grades to enrol in their programme of choice.
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
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