In 1960, when I turned six, the “police village” of Manotick, Ontario, had a public school that started at Grade One. No kindergarten — that was introduced just in time for Brother Andrew. My first year of school was miserable, not just for me but for most of my classmates as well. I could at least read, but I was very short-sighted and therefore struggled with everything else. The teacher was inexperienced and often overwhelmed, and she treated us so harshly that one kid developed a debilitating stutter. I just shut down.

Reading skill saved my bacon, but I never caught up with my age cohort in numeracy. I learned arithmetic by following the steps (like a recipe), but never mastered any of the higher functions.