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Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 11:34:43 -0500 (Est)
From: Plus or Minus
Subject: BLAGUES-L: Do the Math


Date: Sun, 02 Aug 1998 23:43:55 -0600
From: E.W. Smith

Hello:

The following came to me from a ham radio operator and trucker friend of
mine in Edmonton (Fernand Lemire), who in turn, got it from another ham
radio operator friend.  Something different.

Earle Smith - Grande Prairie AB
--------------------------------

A ten year old public school boy was finding fifth grade math to be the
challenge of his life.  His mom and dad did everything and anything to
help their son... private tutors, peer assistance, CD-ROMs, Textbooks,
even HYPNOSIS!  Nothing worked.

Finally, giving up they enrolled him into a small Catholic school to
await another destiny.

At the end of the first day of school the boy walked in with a stern
expression on his face, and walked right past the parents and went
straight to his room - and 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 only emerged long enough to eat, and
after quickly cleaning his plate, he went straight back to his room,
closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime.

The parents were not sure if they should comment on the boys extra
efforts for fear of him losing this new found fervor, so they seemingly
ignored it.  This pattern continued ceaselessly.

One day the first quarter report card came out.  The boy dropped the
unopened envelope on the family dinner table and went straight to his
room.  His parents were petrified.  What lay inside the envelope?
Cautiously the mother opened the letter, and to her amazement she saw a
bright red "A" under the subject, MATH.

Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room, thrilled at
the remarkable progress of their young son!

"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?", asked the mother.

Again, the boy shrugged, "No."

"The textbooks? The teacher? The curriculum?", asked the father.

"Nope," said the son. "It was all very clear to me from the very first
day of Catholic school."

"How so?", asked his mom.

"When I walked into the lobby, and I saw that guy they'd nailed to the
plus sign, I knew those people meant business!"



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