Failing Math

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Failing Math


A ten year old boy was failing math. His parents tried everything
from tutors to hypnosis, but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence
of a family friend, they decided to enroll their son in a private
Catholic school.

After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he
walked in after school with a stern, focused and very determined
expression on his face, and went right past them straight to his
room, where he quietly closed the door.

For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room - with math books
strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long
enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight
back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his
studies until bedtime. This pattern continued ceaselessly until it
was time for the first quarter report card.

The boy walked in with his report card -- unopened -- laid it on
the dinner table and went straight to his room. Cautiously, his
mother opened it, and to her amazement, she saw a bright red "A"
under the subject of MATH. Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed
into their son's room, thrilled at his remarkable progress.

"Was it the nuns that did it?", the father asked. The boy only
shook his head and said, "No."

"Was it the one-on-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring?"

"No."

"The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?"

"Nope," said the son. "On that first day, when I walked in the
front door and saw that guy they nailed to the 'plus sign,'
I just knew they meant business!"


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