‘The Math Paper’

K S Sivakumaran

This is a true story, believe me. But it is a depiction of an amusing incident. It happened in Anderson High School in Cincinnati, the second biggest city in the State of Ohio in U.S. Yours truly was a substitute teacher in the Forest Hills District during 2002-2004. As a routine assignment one morning I was asked by the coordinator to supervise a class that was sitting for a term examination.

We entered the class –Grade 8. A group of 20students - most of them Caucasians, some Hispanics (Mexicans, and other Latinos, and a few Blacks) were seated chatting and of course munching their customary chewing gum. They know us already as we had had classes with them previously. As we had suggested to them on previous occasions to stand up and greet the teachers (which they had not done before), take a deep breath and smile, automatically they did those willingly. We were pleased. They sat with excitement and eagerness to answer the test paper.

We had not set the paper and yours truly is weak in Math and is essentially an English (Literature especially) teacher. Without wasting any more time we distributed the test paper (the educational system there is something amazing and exemplary as the students learn anything in a simplified but thorough way).

The cheerful children went on answering the problems in the paper. After 10 minutes or so, we noticed that a Black boy with an impish smile struggling with his question paper. He had his hands capping both sides of his little head.

We went near him and asked “Son, what’s the matter?” Blushingly he spoke aloud “Oh! Mr Siva, this Math paper is damaging my brain!”

There was soft giggling heard within the classroom and everyone’s face blossomed like a red rose. I too beamed and to encourage him to be confident I whispered in his ears, “Try, try again, you can win,” as the saying over there was.

Encouraged perhaps by our little words he smiled and went on answering his paper more assured.

We wouldn’t know whether he did well in the paper; only the examiner would have known. Bemused I still recall his unusual and creative way of expression of the English language.