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The phobia for mathematics in Nigeria has succeeded in
creating the impression that the subject cannot be passed. Hence a lot of
students don’t come with a doggedness to pass the subject. The few that come determined
to pass the subject are frustrated by administrative failures that make the
implementation of the curriculum bumpy.
If students must succeed in mathematics, there are steps and
conditions that are inevitable. First, there must be an inclusive curriculum, covering
all the key sections necessary for building up a student with a sound
mathematical foundation. Secondly, the curriculum must be implemented by an
experience teacher. A teacher must meticulously keep a record of what he has
taught. This is important to enable a succeeding teacher understand the
starting point in his new assignment. Where a child changes school, it is wise
that the parent get a record of what the child has already learnt and what has
not been learnt to enable the child reconcile issues with the destination
school. Then there has to be the relevant book(s).
Mathematics has extremely sensitive topics that can be seen
as the pillars of the subject. If the knowledge of these topics are lacking in
a student, any mathematic knowledge a teacher attempts to build in a student
collapses. It is important that the
teacher covers the curriculum comprehensively to ensure the sensitive topics
are not left out. From my own experience, the sensitive topics include
factorization; formulae and subject of formulae; standard form; handling of
mathematical signs; handling of decimals in addition/subtraction,
multiplication/division. Once a child gets a grip of these sensitive topics, he
could become independent in mathematics and less reliant on the teacher as a
result.
Teaching a mathematic topic successfully involves the
initial stage of carefully working out examples by the teacher. Then the
teacher gives out exercises to enable him understand individual student’s
challenges and then carries out corrections with emphasis on the areas students
find difficult as reflected by the exercises.
The next rung is the student practice, which is synonymous
to rehearsal. At this stage a student must carry out as much examples of
exercises as possible to enable him build a photo, of the procedures for
solving the problem, in his mind. For a new topic, this can be achieved in a
matter of hours, perhaps three at most. This is where the text book becomes
very important as the exercises are taken from the text book with answers at a
specified page of the book, for self appraisal. There is often no adequate time
in the school’s time table for this. This is why it has to be done
independently by the student at home or in the dormitory. At this point, the
role of parents or teacher on duty, as the case may be, becomes very crucial.
When a teacher is working out examples, it is important that
he touches different angles of a topic at different lessons with a week spent
in handling each angle. If for instance a teacher is teaching the topic,
“Changing the Subject of a Formula,” using the equation shown above, he must address
making a term in the numerator a subject of the formula in one lesson and then
address making a term in the denominator the subject, at a letter lesson. The
one-week gap between the two lesions is to give adequate time for the practice
of exercises in the class but also at home or dormitory.
The fact that results in mathematics have perennially been
poor in Nigeria is an indication that these conditions are not been fulfilled.
The bedrock challenge is the verity that the school appendage of the Nigerian
nation has been forgotten continually. As a result there are always inadequate
teachers who work mostly without supervision; teachers are always on the move
in search of greener pasture, greater days within the session are lost as a
result of teachers sharing their time between their jobs and sources of residual
incomes elsewhere, the best brains are not always in the profession plus the
neglect has given the basis for subversive actions. The result is that it is
impossible to implement the delicate stages of teaching a subject that should
be taught with extreme caution.
To an encouraging decree however, the conditions necessary
for successes in mathematics are fulfilled in private schools. This explains
why the result is often good for private schools but also why the fiscally
capable prefer to educate their kids in private schools. Since bulk of parent population
cannot afford private school tuitions that are constantly on the rise the
results are generally poor for consecutive sessions creating a nation with a
culture of mathematics phobia.
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