My classmates included a young parent studying after work, a mechanic hoping to run his own shop, and a retired teacher who wanted to understand the accounts at her church.

The instructor, Mrs.

Alvarez, had a habit of asking everyone to explain not just an answer but how they reached it.

She told us that being wrong wasn’t a character flaw; refusing to check was.

One evening I volunteered to explain a reconciliation problem at the board.

My voice shook at first.

Halfway through, the numbers began making sense.

After class Mrs.