Why Arewa will never fail math again: the first successful - TopicsExpress



          

Why Arewa will never fail math again: the first successful steps Category: Opinion Published on Saturday, 03 August 2013 06:00 Written by Ibraheem Dooba Hits: 5 When I asked Mal Bashir Ahmad, the Algebra Ninja coordinator in Adamawa State, about the progress of the project over there, since I knew that he was expecting delivery of some of the books, he replied saying that the teachers and students were enthusiastic and had already favoured our recommended book over others. Below is Mal Bahir’s update. “Yes, 50 copies of the book [Algebra Survival Guide: A Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled] ordered arrived Abuja Wednesday and I took them to Yola last week. Two experienced mathematics teachers with the FCE [Federal College of Education] Yola evaluated the book and rated it the best, so far. One of them recommended the book for all secondary school mathematics teachers. Also two SS3 students, after browsing through the book, said any one who still has problems with mathematics after using this book will never understand math. “Meanwhile, we will, in sha-Allah commence classes tomorrow Thursday, 1st August, 2013 with a platoon size of 20. The size will expand to maximum of 50 students in two groups after four weeks. My strategy is to get a feedback from the initial set of students before expanding. This will enable the teachers to adjust teaching method, if necessary, in order to carry the students along. It will also enable us to have the students’ own evaluation of the book which can be used to plan future groups. From all indications you will not rest until you find similar books for other aspects of math. Meanwhile, I am ordering for more copies of the book and the corresponding work book to ensure there is enough in stock to keep the cycle going. Regards to the family. Bissalaam. Bashiru Ahmad” May Allah reward Mal Bashir with the best reward. I urge those with the intention of donating or those who have already pledged donations to (take advantage of Ramadan and) do so as soon as possible. You can order the books from Abdul Majid’s bookstore in Kano or you can go the whole hog and order directly from Amazon, like Mal Bashir did, or buy directly from the publisher (let me know if you need the contact information). Although Amazon sells at around $14, the publisher has agreed to sell to our people for $7.50, but we have to underwrite the cost of shipping to Nigeria. From FCT, our coordinator, Alhaji Nahuche has pledged 50 copies also, but he’s waiting for me to make the books available. But I’m also waiting for Mal Abdul Majid from Kano to take delivery of the ones he ordered for his bookshop so that we can buy from him. Besides us, many people in Kano are itching and urging him (he confessed to me) to stock the books. Also, Mal Idris from Katsina wants to help. However, since we don’t have a coordinator in Katsina, he requested for the mailing address of either the coordinator of Kaduna or Kano; he was given that of Kano, Mal. Hussain Jibrin. The update from Kaduna is a rather funny one. Remember the chairman who first promised to donate 100 books? Well, we’re yet to receive the money or the books. They requested that I provide my account number, however, I told my friend who informed me that I don’t want any of the donations to go to my account. So I provided the book seller’s (Mal Abdul Majid’s) account details instead. The chairman, who was actually eager to help, cashed N100,000 and gave one of his aides to give the Kaduna coordinator. The aide, who saw an acquaintance going to the bank to transact some business, asked him to help him bank in the money into the Kaduna coordinator’s account. However, this acquaintance favoured using the money for his personal needs. When he was asked why he didn’t deposit the money, he retorted that he borrowed it and intended to pay back. It was learnt that this borrower is a politician. Now you know why I don’t want politicians to take ownership of our projects. However, we wait for the borrower to pay back his debt. If you’re not familiar with this exciting project, please email me for details or read the past columns on WeeklyTrust.ng. Finally, to corroborate what the students and teachers have said from Adamawa about Josh Rappaport’s book, here are a few more reviews from around the world. “This book is excellent. I took all the math offered in high school and college algebra (20 years ago!) My 7th grade daughter is struggling with pre-algebra and I couldn’t remember a thing to help her. I ordered the Survival Guide and workbook and they are both fun! My 12 year old works out of this book on her own. It really is self-teaching. Each section takes you step by step through the concepts explaining in simple terms how to do the problems. I am learning all the Algebra concepts and love the way the book is laid out. Very direct, simple, engaging & great to look at visually. I am an artist by profession and give you kudos on the graphics. I also substitute teach in our public schools and this is a great book to learn how to teach basic algebra. I work with a lot of special needs students and knowing how to explain the algebra in fun and practical ways is a blessing. I recommend this book to teachers, parents and students.” Sue Lee, Somerset, KY “Let me start by saying that in High School, I felt like a mathematical retard. I failed math horribly. I never got the basics. It didn’t help that I was a bit lazy, but never mind that! At age 30, and a liberal arts degree later, I decided it was time to learn Algebra properly, once and for all. This book, and the workbook that goes with it was a balanced and enlightening start that truly was painless. I have just about finished the book and will be moving on to harder algebra. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking to simplify the fog that surrounds the word ‘ALGEBRA’.” John D MacDonald (Maryland).
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 08:08:29 +0000

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