3rd Grader's Unusual Answer To Math Problem Makes Headlines And Earns An A+

On Thursday May 24th, 2013, the third grade class at Columbus Elementary School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, was given a quiz to test their knowledge of multiplication by nines. Among them was nine-year old Maggie Ciara, a normally serious student, who as it turns out has a rather clever sense of humor.

The youngster jotted down the correct answers to all the questions except 9X9, where instead of 81, she put Hossa! Not only did this seem obviously wrong, but also, a little strange. While most teachers would have simply marked it incorrect and deducted a point from the final score, Maggie's teacher Christine Mech, was intrigued and instead circled the answer in red with the question - 'What is this'?

That's when the young girl explained that 81, the correct answer to the math problem, also happened to be the number on the jersey worn by Marian Hossa, the star player of her favorite Ice Hockey team, Chicago Blackhawks.

While some teachers would have deducted points extra points for 'cheekiness', Christine thought it was quite smart of Maggie to make the connection and decided to give her credit for the answer and an A+ on the test. Of course, the fact that the teacher herself is a Chicago Blackhawks fan did not hurt either!

Do you think your teacher would be as receptive if you did something similar on a test? Be sure to let us know, by adding your comments below.

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