A 10-year-old boy was failing math. His parents tried everything from tutors to hypnosis, but to no avail. Finally, they decided to enrol their son in a private Catholic school.

After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he walked in after school with a stern, determined expression on his face, and went straight to his room, where he quietly closed the door.

For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room -- with math books strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime. This pattern continued ceaselessly until it was time for the first quarter report card.

The boy walked in with his report card -- unopened -- put it on the table and went straight to his room. Cautiously, his mother opened it. To her amazement, she saw a bright red "A" under the subject of MATH.

Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room. "Was it the nuns?" the father asked. The boy only shook his head. "Was it the one-on-one tutoring? The peer-monitoring?" Another shake. "The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?"

"Nope," said the son. "On that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy they nailed to the 'Plus' sign, I just knew they meant business."