When engineer Nicholas Aggor's sons Samuel (14) and Joshua (13) brought home bad grades in math, he didn't just help them with their homework or call their teachers for a conference. No, he decided to rewrite their textbooks. Now, the two boys are in advanced math classes and Dad's textbooks--14 of them--have caught the eye of several school districts and publishing companies. At Seitz Middle School in Riverview, Michigan, where Aggor lives, his books are the only texts used in the geometry class. Math teacher Shelley Zulewski loves them. "There's step-by-step instruction," she said. "If the kids don't get the concept from the teacher, they can just about teach themselves." Aggor's wife was a principal in their native Ghana, so he is acutely aware of k-12 education's importance. According to the engineer, his "hope is to have students stay in school, so they don't drop out, and then they'll be able to be somebody some day." Thanks to his innovation, it seems, a sizable number of youngsters may now have a better shot.
"Dad's math book makes the grade," by Karen Bouffard, Detroit News, July 20, 2007