Kaitlin

Rad seems to be having a LOT of math homework this year. I mean, noticeably more so than before.

This alarmed me at first, because I am SO not a math person. I was afraid he was going to need my help, and I wouldn’t be able to give it.

Plus, they do such strange math these days. I mean, they don’t ever seem to learn “the real way” to do anything. They are so busy learning all of these newfangled, bizarre methods, which leave me completely confused, and they never seem to learn the method I learned – or was supposed to learn – umpteen forty years ago. Really, even if they used the “real method,” I am not so sure I would be of any help.

Rad doesn’t seem the least bit phased by it all, though. He never complains about all the math homework he has. He even seems downright cheerful about it at times, which I find INCREDIBLY strange. Yeah, it’s true, Rad always liked math. In fact, it’s probably his favorite class. After gym and lunch, of course. But he has never been big on homework.

I will ask him, on occasion, to show me his completed homework. Which he does with no problem. I’ll even have him explain a problem or two to me, and he always seems to know what he is talking about. I can’t really tell if he is right or not, but he always sounds pretty confident. I figure, if he can explain what he has done to me, he must know what he is doing.

At least, I hope so.

He’s doing fine in math, at any rate. I mean, not spectacular, but certainly very well. WAY better than I ever did! That’s for sure.

At parent/teacher conferences, I mentioned to Mrs. Gentilucci, Rad’s algebra teacher, how it seemed like Rad had an awful lot of math homework this year. I mean, I was just trying to make conversation.

The woman stared at me for a moment, like she had no freaking clue what I was talking about, and then she smiled. Mrs. Gentilucci actually has a very nice smile.

“I thought you were making fun of me,” she said finally.

“No, of course not!” I said. “I would never do that.”

She smiled again. “I know, I know. It’s just that so many parents here in Delphi are always telling me how I don’t give ENOUGH homework. Can’t their kids work ahead further?”

“Oh.” I felt all color drain out of my face. “I would never do that.”

Mrs. Gentilucci patted my knee. “Oh, hon’, I know you wouldn’t. You’re just not that… sort.”

I nodded.

“People in Delphi tend to be hyperactive overachievers,” I confided, before I realized what was coming out of my mouth.

Mrs. Gentilucci chuckled. “Ohhh,… if only I had a few more parents like you, Mrs. Belknap.”

I sat up, suddenly, not wanting to get too chummy with a teacher of a subject I knew virtually nothing about. “Well, Rad’s doing OK, isn’t he?”

“Oh, yes. He’s a solid B+, B, C+, A- student. Always turns in his homework on time, though.”

“Well, I certainly hope so!” I hadn’t really considered that Rad might do all that homework and then not turn it in. That wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.

“You would be surprised, Mrs. Belknap. Middle School students, especially boys, are notorious for doing homework and not turning it in. Conrad is very good at turning in his assignments, though. And on time, too. Unlike some young men I can think of….”

Mrs. Gentilucci didn’t come out and say it, but I was sure she meant someone like Boover Hoover.

I asked Trey how Boo was doing in math not long after that, and he sighed.

Deeply.

Heavily.

“Not very well,” he said. “Unfortunately, that may be because ‘the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.’”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, I SUCKED at math!”

“Oh.” I am sure I blushed. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was never all that great at math, either.”

“No, but your ex is a banker computer whiz millionaire. Rad probably inherited his math smarts from his dad. I was a dolt in math, and Boo’s mother was a stripper.”

“I thought she was an exotic dancer.”

Trey blinked. “She didn’t take a lot of advanced level math, OK?”

I nodded.

“But, ya know… now that I think about it, Boo has had an awful lot of math homework lately. WAY more than before….”

“Yes!” I shouted. “That is exactly what I told Rad’s math teacher, and she thought I was a nutso. She said, Delphi parents usually complain that their kids don’t get enough math homework. I feel like every time I turn around, Rad is telling me he has to go do math homework.”

Trey’s eyes widened. “Me, too! Well, except it’s with Boo.”

I felt like I was suddenly seeing things more clearly. These kids really were getting a lot more math homework than they used to, but no one seemed to want to admit it. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it had to do with No Child Left Behind and all of those standardized tests they were always taking. The teachers probably were feeling a lot of pressure to teach them how to take the tests. The Delphi School District probably had to score in a certain percentile. Or else.

Trey grunted. “Ya know, Boover doesn’t even like math, but it seems like he always has math homework. Even on weekends. And I guess he does it. But, I have to tell ya, it doesn’t seem to be helping his grade all that much….”

“Hmmm.” I nodded sympathetically towards Trey and took solace in the thought that Rad was probably helping Boo with his math, since the two of them seemed to study together so much.

Maybe Rad was turning out to be a much kinder, gentler young man than I had ever imagined.