Mrs. Park gave her class ten maths problems to finish at home. On Monday, Oliver handed in two worksheets with different answers and different handwriting.
“Did you do these yourself?” she asked.
“I started to,” Oliver said. “Then Dad showed me the way he learned long division. Mum said nobody does it that way anymore and took the pencil away.”
By dinner, both parents had a different answer for number six. They found an old schoolbook, argued over the example, and tried the whole sum again. Oliver ate his dinner and went to bed.
Mrs. Park turned over the last sheet. At the bottom, in Oliver’s handwriting, was a note:
“Please mark number six first. And if one of them is wrong, could you phone them? They’re both waiting for the teacher to decide.”