From Classroom Hustle to Cease & Desist - Jacobo’s Substack

The year was 2009, I was in eighth grade, grappling with the infamous Pythagorean theorem. Math wasn't my nemesis, but this particular concept just wasn't clicking. Our teacher, Ms XYZ, droned on about a² + b² = c², but it felt like a cryptic code I couldn't crack. The upcoming vacation, likely October break, meant homework, and I was determined not just to complete it, but to outperform a classmate, Gabrielw, who seemed to effortlessly grasp every mathematical concept thrown his way.

Back at my grandparents' house in Valencia, I decided to ask my grandmother for help. It wasn't something I did often, seeking assistance from family members with academics. But this theorem had me stumped. "Oh, I don't know about maths" she confessed, leaving me back at square one.

This was before the age of readily accessible online tutorials. I sat before a computer my parents' had gifted me – a clunky laptop, the kind that whirred loudly and took ages to boot up, quite a novelty at the time. I had the school-issued math textbook, but its explanations seemed to be written in a foreign language, or I didn’t want to understand it. Frustration mounting, I flipped to the back where I discovered the holy grail: the answer key section. But it was locked behind a digital gate, accessible only to "verified teachers."

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