Since the first days of Kindergarten to the days before graduation, most kids take a math class every year. First we add, then subtract, then multiply, then divide. First whole numbers, then fractions, then percentages, then square roots. There's algebra, geometry, trigonometry & calculus. With so many years of mathematics, you would think we would be all be accountants and physicists. This is far from the case.

As May comes upon us again, kids all over America will graduate from our public schools. Hip hip hooray! They are free of an institution forced upon them before they knew what they were capable of, and we all celebrate their freedom.

The truth is many of them can't read. The truth is that most of them can't really write. The truth is that a bunch can't even multiply. Recently I found out that my girlfriend is one of those who can't really multiply.

It's not that she doesn't know the concepts. She just let a lot of bad habits and frustration stunt her mathematical growth. Like most girls, she has a bent toward the verbal and not numerical, but it turned into a phobia for her. I know she is not alone.

For some strange reason, people think math is supposed to be done with an internal timer like a pressure filled game show. What's 9 times 8? If people can't think of it in five seconds, they don't want to think about it any more. Is it 76? Nope. They also think that if their first guess is wrong that the question is done. They don't need to figure out the right answer. Once they've guessed wrong, they don't see the point of trying again. It's somewhere in the 70s, right? Yes. I give up. What's the answer? We give up. We reach for a calculator. We look for a way to end the torture of 9 times 8. How long will the question go on? It's been such a burden. Tell me the answer so we can forget it ever happened. The answer is 72. What's 8 times 9? The torture begins again, and nothing is retained.

I remember the torture of math tests. It was a time to separate the brains from the boobs. Some people finished quickly while others labored. I usually finished quickly, but on occasion, a question would stump me. I just couldn't figure it out. Other kids finished and turned in their tests. They knew the answer! What is the answer? I can't think! What formula should I use? What is this question asking? I don't know. I don't get it. Pressure, panic. Suddenly, math is not fun. Math is painful. Maybe I should avoid it as much as possible.

Kids will always look for the easiest way. They will always reach for the calculator. The older I've gotten, the more I see people rely on little gadgets for every little thing. Talking to people with text messages. Blackberry notices tell people where to go and what to do. Computers of all shapes and sizes keep us staring at glowing boxes far too long. What's 7 times 7? What's seven squared? What's the square root of 49? These things are all connected.

How many kids are in algebra classes right now completely lost because they never mastered the single digit multiplication tables? My uncle taught algebra at a Tulsa high school for over twenty years, and by the end, he despised his job, his students, & basically everything surrounding teaching math. He was shellshocked. Kids couldn't multiply fractions (they probably couldn't multiply much at all). If they couldn't grasp numbers, how would they handle letters? Badly. Very badly. He wanted to flunk everybody who couldn't hack it, but high school administration kept forcing him to pass the kids even though they didn't learn the material. You could say that's just pitiful Okies, but this is going on all over the nation.

What is the answer? What should we do with these math-illiterates, Mr. Jungle? We need to take them off the track. This illusion that everyone should learn at the same speed and rate is just bunk. Schools have advanced classes and remedial classes, but let's stop putting all the stigma on everything. The word 'remedial' just makes you feel stupid. There should be enough advanced classes to accommodate the math whizzes, but there should be plenty of basic math classes for those who need more time. If some kids don't get around to geometry in twelve years, that's not a big deal. If kids are graduating without being able to figure out 6 times 8 without getting flustered, that is a big deal. Not everyone student needs to be a mathematician, but they do need some basic math life skills.

There are literacy programs all around America, and this is a good thing. People who can't read English just aren't that interesting. I don't hear so much about math literacy programs. There are so many interesting things to do with numbers that I can't even begin to get into it in this column. Statistics (sports, business, psychology, politics) affect our lives. Finding bargains stores and figuring out taxes (percentages) creep up all the time. If you can't multiply, then you can't divide. You can't play music. You can't have as much fun if you can't really count.

If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that everything counts.

Chris Jungle still plays with numbers every day.