Learning his ABCs — and whys; Getting good grades was a tough grind until a teacher quietly let the failing pupil in on a secret: the Spice Trade was really about sex. That was something a 14-year-old boy could understand

Learning his ABCs — and whys; Getting good grades was a tough grind until a teacher quietly let the failing pupil in on a secret: the Spice Trade was really about sex. That was something a 14-year-old boy could understand

This is one of a series of 24 essays that Brian Doyle wrote for the Ottawa Citizen in 2012. This feature was published on July 23, 2012.