The Fear of All Sums

The Fear of All Sums

Noel Laflin

8-16-18

A friend pointed out to me recently, in what I know was a joshing sort of way, that math was never my strong suit.

But, boy, was he right.

I remember being honored with a math award during my first semester of 9th grade algebra, only to see me struggle to maintain a barely passing grade in that same class by close of the year. I do believe the teacher must have thought he was crazy to have honored me in the first place. I tend to still think that myself.

Tenth grade plane geometry wasn’t any better. I recall the quarters being marked with solid C’s, verging on a D, and finally ending with a C-. I had a compassionate teacher to thank for allowing me to avoid what I figured could have been a solid D. And although I feared the subject material, that teacher remains an inspiration in memory, as he was an empathetic soul, and was always in my corner when it came to my struggle.

I was relieved to know that I would no longer have to take another math class for the rest of my life. Back then, you could substitute other courses for math, even in college, which I did masterfully.

But twenty-eight years ago right now I was studying like a fiend as I was preparing to take the CBEST exam. I had decided that I had had it with sales and looked forward to going into teaching. I would start as a sub and work my way into a full-time teaching position.

The problem with the CBEST exam was that one third of it was devoted to math. And one had to pass it in order to teach.

So I studied math tutorials all summer long. I took on dreaded algebra, geometry, and even trigonometry – a subject quite foreign to me.

I cursed a great deal that summer. I even threw the damn study guide across the room once and broke a lamp.

But I took the three-hour exam and actually passed the math portion by eight points, as I needed to score at least a forty.

It was one of the proudest moments of my life.

And I do know that forty-eight is the greater sum of thirty-nine, so I must have learned something in the process.

As it turned out, I never did go into teaching, which might have been a shame for any kid whom I might have taught struggling with math. At least he or she would have had an empathetic soul in their corner.