ABRACAMATICS!

A three-year old being compelled to write 1-100? I'm sure at some point we can count to infinity, but that's not the point! Number work grows overtime, it is the application of the sequence of these numbers that matters. They could literarily recite the same numbers like a magician. What would a three-year old need such skill for?  Through early years of life, children notice and explore mathematical dimensions of their world. They compare quantities, find patterns, navigate in space, and grapple with real problems such as balancing a tall  Lego block or sharing a bowl of biscuits fairly with a playmate. Shouldn't math at this very young age be concerned about building creative minds? It is bad enough that Math is considered one of the least favorite subjects. It is not even taught in our mother tongue to allow pupils appreciate it's sequences better. Pupils are taught by rote learning to recite and write 1-100 but if asked where 76 belongs on the line, they are confused. Let them use number and spatial  sense, establish real-life relationships of smaller numbers and perform simple problem solving tasks. Throw away the huge tasking numbers and create a mind that could re-invent Nigeria.

GOING, GOING, GOING........GONE? - Vernacular and our native tongue

The Association of the Teachers of Yoruba Language and Culture in Nigeria has condemned the alleged reduction of Nigerian languages such as Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, from core to elective subjects in WAEC and the National Examination Council. The development had led to the reduction of candidates seeking admission to study these national languages in higher institutions. The recent retrenchment of Yoruba teachers in some state secondary schools has not been helpful. According to UNESCO, 'approximately 600 languages have disappeared in the last century and they continue to disappear at a rate of one language every two weeks. Up to 90% of the world's languages are likely to disappear before the end of this century if current trends are allowed to continue'. Saving our indigenous languages is a matter of urgency and is crucial to ensuring the protection of our cultural identity as well as safeguarding our linguistic heritage. Who is to blame? Government, traditional custodians or all of us? Looks like everyone who can speak an indigenous language has a part to play in this quagmire. Phew!