Joe had curly hair. But he didn't know how much hair he had. He couldn't count that high. In fact, he couldn't count at all.
When all of the other children went to recess, Mrs. Jewls told Joe to wait inside. "Joe," she said. "How much hair do you have?"
Joe shrugged his shoulders. "A lot," he answered.
"But how much, Joe?" asked Mrs. Jewls.
"Enough to cover my head," Joe answered.
"Joe, you are going to have to learn how to count," said Mrs. Jewls.
"But, Mrs. Jewls, I already know how to count," said Joe. "Let me go to recess." "First count to ten," said Mrs. Jewls.
Joe counted to ten: "six, eight, twelve, one, five, two, seven, eleven, three, ten."
"No, Joe, that is wrong," said Mrs. Jewls.
"No, it isn't," said Joe. "I counted until I got to ten."
"But you were wrong," said Mrs. Jewls. "I'll prove it to you." She put five pencils on his desk. "How many pencils do we have here, Joe?"
Joe counted the pencils. "Four, six, one, nine, five. There are five pencils, Mrs. Jewls."
"That's wrong," said Mrs. Jewls.
"How many pencils are there?" Joe asked.
"Five," said Mrs. Jewls.
"That's what I said," said Joe. "May I go to recess now?"
"No," said Mrs. Jewls. "You got the right answer, but you counted the wrong way. You were just lucky." She set eight potatoes on his desk. "How many potatoes, Joe?"
Joe counted the potatoes. "Seven, five, three, one, two, four, six, eight. There are eight potatoes, Mrs. Jewls."
"No, there are eight," said Mrs. Jewls.
"But that's what I said," said Joe. "May I go to recess now?"
"No, you got the right answer, but you counted the wrong way again." She put three books on his desk. "Count the books, Joe."
Joe counted the books. "A thousand, a million, three. Three, Mrs. Jewls." "Correct," said Mrs. Jewls.
"May I go to recess now?" Joe asked.
"No," said Mrs. Jewls.
"May I have a potato?" asked Joe.
"No. Listen to me. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," said Mrs. Jewls. "Now you say it."
"Very good!" said Mrs. Jewls. She put six erasers on his desk. "Now count the erasers, Joe, just the way I showed you."
Joe counted the erasers. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. There are ten, Mrs. Jewls."
"No," said Mrs. Jewls.
"Didn't I count right?" asked Joe.
"Yes, you counted right, but you got the wrong answer," said Mrs. Jewls.
"This doesn't make any sense," said Joe. "When I count the wrong way I get the right answer, and when I count right I get the wrong answer."
Mrs. Jewls hit her head against the wall five times. "How many times did I hit my head against the wall?" she asked.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. You hit your head against the wall ten times," said Joe.
"No," said Mrs. Jewls.
"Four, six, one, nine, five. You hit your head five times," said Joe.
This excerpt from Sideways Stories From Wayside School is what this issue reminds me of. People who arrived at a correct answer by using an incorrect process and are absolutely unable to see why that's not a good thing.