Immediately the boy's maths marks soared. He went from a failing grade to becoming an A student. His parents were pleased but yet most surprised at the change and over dinner one night they asked their son about his improvement .

"Was it better teaching," they asked. 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 text book."

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."

The 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."