The Language Barrier

Our nine-year-old was having trouble with his math. "I don't know what I did wrong," he said. "The question is: What month comes eight months after September? That's easy, but the answer book keeps saying I'm wrong."

I held up eight fingers. "Count with me," I said, and counted up to May.

He gave me a funny look. "I didn't do it that way," he said. "I said to myself, if September is the seventh month, then there are five months left in that year, and then three months into the next year would be March."

"That's a better way to do it," I conceded. "But September isn't the seventh month. It's the ninth one."

"It can't be the ninth. Sept means seven."

"That's right. And oct means eight, but October is the tenth month." I held up my fingers and counted out the months while my son shook his head, incredulous.

"Well, I guess I have to go with that," he said. "But in my opinion, somebody didn't think it out very well."