GOAL-SETTING AND MY COWBELL EXPERIENCE

Due to the impact it had on my academic life, my focus today is on Cowbell mathematics competition, now known as Cowbellpedia.

Cowbell National Mathematics Competition was started in 1998 by Promasidor Nigeria Limited, the manufacturers of the popular Cowbell milk to boost the learning of mathematics among kids in secondary schools and to increase the passion of students towards the dreaded subject.

I first participated in the competition in 2008, the year of its tenth anniversary. I was in JS3 at the time, meaning I was eligible to participate in the junior category. There are two categories; junior and senior categories. The junior category is for students in JS3 and the senior category is meant for SS2 students. I had the lucky opportunity to participate in both categories. The competition is done in two stages; the state and the national. At the state level, the two best maths students in each registered school participate in a standard written examination and the first position represents the state at the national level. At the national level, the top students in each state compete also in a written exam. It was simple back then when I participated.

In 2015, the competition morphed into the current entertaining television show we enjoy. In its current form, the competition is conducted in two stages. Stage one is the same as the stage one of its previous incarnation, where students participate in a written exam across all the states of the federation. In stage two however, instead of another written examination to determine the overall winners, the 54 best students per category converge in Lagos to compete in a studio-based competition for the prize of the next future inventor.

When I was in JS3 during our second term, around February, 2008, one of our mathematics teachers came into our class and called out two students. I was one of those called. At the time, I was so disciplined and uptight that I was confident that I cannot be guilty of a wrongdoing. I didn’t know the reason I was summoned; I was just sure it had to be something good. We were led to the mathematics department where I discovered that other students from the other JS3 classes were also summoned. It was then announced to us that we would be taking a test to determine who represents FGC Kaduna at the Cowbell Mathematics Competition. That was the moment I knew of the existence of the competition. I immediately became anxious. I was good at maths. Maths was my favourite subject but I kind of felt I wasn’t prepared to take an impromptu test. We took the test and I was second. Two students were needed and I barely made it. It was a call to action. I was consoled by the fact that the students who participated in the test were selected by checking the best performers based on the average of most recent tests and exams scores. At least, it was a worthy competition. For the next three days, we were subjected to intensive lesson sessions on problem solving techniques. Prior to that moment, I had never had the luxury of getting lessons from a private tutor one-on-one. It was a crash course and I learnt so much within those few days. On the fourth day, we stepped out to represent the school. The exams took place at Government College, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna. The transport to and fro was so organised. I was impressed by the efficiency of our teacher. We were transported together with the students that represented us in the senior category. I learnt about the senior category from them. To cut a long story short, we wrote the exam, returned home and the result was released about six weeks later. My partner was fourth in the state, narrowly missing out on a prize positon (the first, second and third positions get prizes, and the first represents the state). I on the other hand was thirteenth in the state. That wasn’t the plan! Seeing the result led to the formulation of my Cowbell plan.

I planned out how I intended to win the competition. The plan was formulated immediately I saw my poor performance in the junior category. The implementation began during our junior secondary holiday. At that time, students in JS3 write their junior secondary certificate examination in May and proceeded to a four-month holiday before they begin senior secondary school. Part of my activities during that four-month break was solving maths problems. I also did other things. I enrolled into a computer learning diploma course, but that’s beside the point. In spite of my numerous activities, I ensured that I solved some math problems each day unfailingly throughout the break. I had a vision and I wanted to achieve something.

The preparation reached full gear when I began SS1 in September, 2008. At that time, I knew that I had about fifteen months to prepare. I put in my best towards the preparation. As part of the preparation, I taught myself the entire mathematics and further mathematics senior secondary syllabi by the end of my first year of senior secondary school in July, 2009. As I was preparing, I was hit by self-doubt; What if I can’t do it? What if I focus too much on mathematics and my other subjects at school suffer as a result? I had to remind myself that achieving any goal requires sacrifice and that I was ready to make any necessary sacrifices. In addition, I motivated myself into believing I could have the best of both worlds. In retrospect, it was actually a miracle I was still getting good grades and retaining my first position when all my focus was on mathematics. I put in hard work and I was lucky.

The senior category competition I competed in held in February, 2010.  I remember being nervous. I was so prepared yet I was nervous. I had to calm myself down by controlling my breathing. A day before the examination, a pre-test was administered to the best math students in SS2 just like it was done when we were in JS3. I aced the test as expected. What was the point of all the preparation if I wasn’t able to be selected to compete in the actual competition?

As fate would have it, this time around everything was haphazard. There was no vehicle to convey us. We went via commercial transport. Our passports on the registration forms were not stamped. It was an absolute disaster. We had to wait for our teacher to head back to school and stamp our passports. Others had started the exam and we were waiting for our teacher to return. I am a person who likes to be in control. Things were getting out of control. I became confused, uncoordinated and extremely anxious. When we eventually got into the exam hall, I wasn’t myself. We were allowed to write the exams within the actual time; extra time was given to us to account for our starting late. As I was writing the exam, I was just silently weeping. I was so sad. The exam was a disaster. That’s what I thought. All the months of preparation and I didn’t prepare to calm my nerves. I was devastated. I did all I could. I actually answered most of the questions but I wasn’t calm enough to attempt some key questions. I also did not utilise my time effectively. In the end, it was an average performance when I was gunning for an excellent performance.

Imagine my surprise when the results were released and I was second in the state. It was awesome and a miracle. I was really thankful to Allah. Though my target was the first position, I was at least lucky to get the next best thing as a consolation.

Even as I write, almost a decade after, I vividly remember the day Cowbell representatives visited my school and presented my prizes to me on the assembly ground. It was a day of pride. I received a cash prize of fifteen thousand naira, a Cowbell bag and other prizes. I missed out on the chance to represent my state at the national level.

My Cowbell experience is one of the key moments in my life I look back to. It’s full of lessons to me. On the one hand, I saw how good planning and implementation pays. On the other hand, I also learnt first-hand how my inability to effectively control my emotions cost me. I don’t like dwelling on what ifs, but I could have easily won the competition if things were a bit different, given my level of preparation. Well, things happen for a reason, and the way this particular episode panned out was definitely for the best. There is more to be learnt in failure than in success.