This is not a girl story, or a math story, or even a teacher story.  This is a union story, because unions make it impossible to reliably guarantee that American public school teachers demonstrate confident mastery of <i>second grade math</i>.<p><i>Regular assistance from math coaches might diminish math anxiety among elementary school teachers, she suggests.</i><p>Spiffy, we can spend more money on professional development (and pay union members to offer it, and pay union members to attend it) so that people with graduate degrees can bone up on their <i>second grade math</i>.