MATHEMATICS SHOWED ME PEPPER!
I was always afraid of morning classes. If I had my way, I would not resume school until the late morning when uncle Agbonu must have finished administering his morning dose of the cane to as many who were diagnosed of the math illness.
At the time, I was always with the math illness so the morning doses never escaped me. Whether it was slim and long or fat and short, this uncle's cane never lost mastery. They would land on your hand or back or butts with so much energy!
On the other hand, Uncle Appiah however was proud of me for being the best English pupil. I was never to be caught in the group of those diagnosed with English problem.
But dad was not satisfied. Mathematics was the king of all subjects. If I didn't do well there, then every other area was as well bad.
I mean how can my report card be filled with just blue with no red marks to create the beautiful colours?
Math always did the design. The red Biro marks did the art work on the card every term.
Dad came to school one day to complain bitterly to the head teacher who doubled as our English teacher, Uncle Appiah. Uncle Appiah assured him that I would certainly improve and be better.
Azeez and Yetunde were the super stars in maths and they were my friends. They would wonder why I was so good at English but terrible at math; the reverse was the case for them. Little wonder they both studied mathematics in the university. A thing I would never imagine to do in my wildest dreams. Mathematics in the university as a course? Tufiakwa!
I was tired of Uncle Agbonu's cane every morning. The awful thing about him was his towering height and bulging eyeballs that told of no mercy when he lifted his cane, he hated seeing math failure. But trust me, he put in great effort to teach. His writing on the board was so sweet to behold but they weren't finding ways into my head.
But one day I took time to look into my odiaka textbook(Dad made sure I had it) and also borrowed the Ugo C. Ugo text from Yetunde I guess and tried to compare and learn. After school, I would ask Yetunde questions. Azeez was a darling, he was so good at maths.
The young lad went about with his skinny body that looked like he would soon break in two, but he was such a pro at math.
He was usually able to answer my questions and I was amazed.
It happened that after the morning math drill on that fateful day, Uncle Agbonu called out the names of those who failed. That was his style. The ones who failed remained standing while those who passed sat down with pride and glory.
Oh praise the Lord, that day I sat down, first of all in shock that I was not called up, then followed by pride and admiration for myself. I earned the handshake and smile of our almighty Uncle AGBONU!
Azeez and Yetunde my friends were happy for me. "Let's do a collabo, we help you with math and then you help us with English".
Of course! I wanted that feeling of greatness to continue.
So, this time my report card didn't need all the red Biro creativity anymore. The blues told of my victory.
When I got into Secondary school, although I had a late entry, my math was cool!
Infact, it was better than my accounts in senior secondary.
Let me gist you.... I scored 60/60 in one unified exam we did. Can you beat that? An exam organised not just by the school but by external body. Yaaaaayyyy!
But don't come and bring math questions to me now o. I am moving on please. Lol
You know what?
We can do whatever we put our minds to.
But most importantly we need one another
To achieve greater success....
Parents, be patient. The strength of a child in one aspect should not be frowned at because of his weakness in another aspect.
Many a time, parents carry that feeling of perceived failure of the child because he is weak in one area, rather than encourage, inspire, motivate and prompt them to be and do better
#shout out to my Ghanaian teachers
#cheers to my primary school mates, particularly Azeez and Yetunde
#childhood memories
#sciencefoundation schools
#Shout out to parents
At the time, I was always with the math illness so the morning doses never escaped me. Whether it was slim and long or fat and short, this uncle's cane never lost mastery. They would land on your hand or back or butts with so much energy!
On the other hand, Uncle Appiah however was proud of me for being the best English pupil. I was never to be caught in the group of those diagnosed with English problem.
But dad was not satisfied. Mathematics was the king of all subjects. If I didn't do well there, then every other area was as well bad.
I mean how can my report card be filled with just blue with no red marks to create the beautiful colours?
Math always did the design. The red Biro marks did the art work on the card every term.
Dad came to school one day to complain bitterly to the head teacher who doubled as our English teacher, Uncle Appiah. Uncle Appiah assured him that I would certainly improve and be better.
Azeez and Yetunde were the super stars in maths and they were my friends. They would wonder why I was so good at English but terrible at math; the reverse was the case for them. Little wonder they both studied mathematics in the university. A thing I would never imagine to do in my wildest dreams. Mathematics in the university as a course? Tufiakwa!
I was tired of Uncle Agbonu's cane every morning. The awful thing about him was his towering height and bulging eyeballs that told of no mercy when he lifted his cane, he hated seeing math failure. But trust me, he put in great effort to teach. His writing on the board was so sweet to behold but they weren't finding ways into my head.
But one day I took time to look into my odiaka textbook(Dad made sure I had it) and also borrowed the Ugo C. Ugo text from Yetunde I guess and tried to compare and learn. After school, I would ask Yetunde questions. Azeez was a darling, he was so good at maths.
The young lad went about with his skinny body that looked like he would soon break in two, but he was such a pro at math.
He was usually able to answer my questions and I was amazed.
It happened that after the morning math drill on that fateful day, Uncle Agbonu called out the names of those who failed. That was his style. The ones who failed remained standing while those who passed sat down with pride and glory.
Oh praise the Lord, that day I sat down, first of all in shock that I was not called up, then followed by pride and admiration for myself. I earned the handshake and smile of our almighty Uncle AGBONU!
Azeez and Yetunde my friends were happy for me. "Let's do a collabo, we help you with math and then you help us with English".
Of course! I wanted that feeling of greatness to continue.
So, this time my report card didn't need all the red Biro creativity anymore. The blues told of my victory.
When I got into Secondary school, although I had a late entry, my math was cool!
Infact, it was better than my accounts in senior secondary.
Let me gist you.... I scored 60/60 in one unified exam we did. Can you beat that? An exam organised not just by the school but by external body. Yaaaaayyyy!
But don't come and bring math questions to me now o. I am moving on please. Lol
You know what?
We can do whatever we put our minds to.
But most importantly we need one another
To achieve greater success....
Parents, be patient. The strength of a child in one aspect should not be frowned at because of his weakness in another aspect.
Many a time, parents carry that feeling of perceived failure of the child because he is weak in one area, rather than encourage, inspire, motivate and prompt them to be and do better
#shout out to my Ghanaian teachers
#cheers to my primary school mates, particularly Azeez and Yetunde
#childhood memories
#sciencefoundation schools
#Shout out to parents
Comments
Thank you ma. One can be anything he chooses to once there is determination