A young boy was in school and was having a terrible time with his
mathematics. His parents worked with him night after night but there was
no improvement. His maths marks were dismal. His parents in desperation
decided to transfer their son to a new school. They decided to try a
Catholic school but not until after they had given the matter serious
consideration as neither parent was religious. They checked around and the
school seemed to have a good academic record, so they reluctantly enrolled
their son in the new school.

Immediately the boy's maths marks soared. He went from a failing grade to
become an A student. His parents were surprised at the change and over
dinner one night they asked their son about his improvement. "Was it
better teaching?" they asked, and the boy said, "No, the teachers are about
the same".

"Was it a different text book?" Again the boy said, "No, it is the same
textbook"

Finally they asked their son why he thought he had made such a dramatic
improvement. The boy said, "The first day I went to school I knew they
took their math seriously and that I had better do well or there would be
serious consequences."

Their parents asked what made him realize the school took math so
seriously. The boy answered, "The first thing I saw when I went into the
classroom was a statue of some guy nailed to a plus sign."
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