My Order Of Operations!

I am seventy-four years old and fairly  very set in my ways.  When I was in school many many many okay enough years ago. I did fairly well in school. I got mostly A's and B's except in Math. I had to work for my grades in Math. It goes clear back to fourth grade in my memory. My poor teacher, Mrs. Fransisco, had the privilege of attempting to teach me long division. Of course, my mother always went to parent/teacher conferences. She told my teacher I almost committed Harakiri. I spell it Harry Carry when I got a C in Math that quarter.
Ok, I keep drifting away from the subject. I'm trying to confess my school day sins. I could easily memorize things for tests. I crammed the night before the test and Aced it the next day. And easily forgotten never to be thought of again.  Not happening with long division. It just did not compute. When Mom got home from the conference we had a chat. Oh, how I hated that word when it had to do with a quiet visit with my mother. She informed me that every day she would help me with my homework. I also was informed that my C would improve to at least a B because of my doing my homework and not playing piano etc. etc. She was very nice, but I knew she meant business. It was not about just my grade. She wanted me to understand what I was being taught, not just a "get it done" attitude which I may have had. She got the job done and I indeed understood what my teacher was saying. I now, years later can do and understand long division.
Along comes Facebook sixty plus years later with their silly little "tests" people enjoy taking. Oh, oh, I saw one that I knew the answer to, I was so proud. However, since I am seventy-four I read the comments before I put my comments down. What?? I did not understand why my "correct" answer did not match most of them. I read and reread the test and then I asked my husband what he thought the answer was. He agreed with me. Hmm, I still did not want to commit to stating my answer to the test. So, being logical, I sent the test to my daughter. I said, Why is the answer xxx according to many folks that took the test. She said that is correct. It is called the Order of Operations. Well, I"m sorry, I don't care if she has a PHD, I was not satisfied with her answer, and neither was Fran.
Google, being my right hand man explained to me in many different ways that my daughter and most of the people that took the test was correct.
You need to go to the beginning of this post and let my fourth grade C in long division sink in. Oops, I let my freshman Algebra get in my brain long enough to pass the test and promptly forgot it. Fran didn't take Algebra so at least he and I were on the same playing field. I still think if the Facebook test would have used parenthesis I would have come up with the correct answer. Oh well, like I always used to say, "When will I ever use this stupid subject?" Enter Facebook stage right sixty years later.

Miss Fransisco my favorite teacher!