If you did an unpopularity poll on Facebook right now, the winners would be politicians, opinion columnists and algebra. Of these, the most unfairly judged is algebra.

I recently mentioned to my friend Tim that I was thinking of writing a column in defence of algebra.

Tim is a math teacher.

In truth, this column is as much about another math teacher as it is about algebra. Because of her, when I was Grade 11, I wanted to become a math teacher myself.

It is as well that I changed my mind. I would have been terrible at it.

As I found out in Grade 12, after we moved from Penetanguishene to Toronto, it was the teacher I loved, not the subject — proving what impact a special teacher can have.

Connie Cardenas taught me math at the old Penetanguishene High School and at the Midland........

© Peterborough Examiner