Glenside resident Shameeka Browne is a mother of five, business owner, and teacher who has recently added another accomplishment to her resume: author. Browne’s new book, *Queen of 24*, tells her personal story while also highlighting her passion for math. She hopes that her book, along with her business called Math is All Around Us LLC, will help children and their parents gain a deeper understanding of math.
Through her endeavors and business, Browne said she has aspirations to open a space for teachers who want to try out new activities to teach math to their students and see if the exercises will work in the classroom.
“I see that there is a greater need for families to be empowered with how they can help their child with their math education,” she said. “The great thing about passion is it becomes contagious, but it just can’t be the passion, it also has to be the love for the young people that are sitting in front of you.”
She credits her love for math to one of her teachers at Wagner Middle School, Mr. Plummer, who is featured in the book as well. Browne plans to release five more books, each focusing on the varying age groups of her five children, from preschool to college.
“I want to help families understand the roles that they have in their child’s math education,” she said. “It truly does start at home, and the math that your child sees—from the time they wake up in the morning to the time they go to bed at night—we can take advantage of that.”
Browne faced some challenges during the writing and creative process. Uncertainty about having enough money to publish, fear that her story was not worthy of being published, and a publisher terminating the relationship two weeks before she was supposed to show the cover to her family and supporters left her with feelings of inadequacy.
“I’m a math person, and it’s ironic that I put myself in the same position that I tell my students not to do,” Browne said. “When they say they are not math people, I prove to them that they are. But on the flip side, I was telling myself that I wasn’t a writer because who could be both? I can be both.”
She was able to find someone who could adequately reflect the story she was telling—illustrator and Philly native Reggie Byers, who also had done some artwork at Wagner.
“I look at the cover, and I want to cry,” Browne said. “What was different from this illustrator was that I did not send him any pictures other than a photo of myself during that time in middle school and my family. When I tell you I saw the cover and said, ‘This looks like me,’ I mean it.”
Browne sold over 200 copies before the book was released to the public, a notable achievement for a first-time writer. The book is currently available at [www.mathisallaroundus.org](http://www.mathisallaroundus.org).
She continues to help the next generation find their love and passion for math as a math specialist and content lead in the Lower Merion School District.
“Her passion for math is omnipresent in much of what she does and sees,” said Jameelah Hairston, a Glenside resident. “She challenges you to see how math is everywhere and present in many everyday activities and tasks.”
https://www.phillytrib.com/business/glenside-teacher-author-and-mother-launches-book-and-business-to-highlight-passion-for-math/article_ffd2b50d-2ed3-4649-9c74-1a7b27608e28.html