Your last thought reminded me immediately of my own childhood. In elementary school, I told my mother I didn't like math, for the same reason. I think I thought I wasn't good at it, too, because school math wasn't a rewarding experience for me. (Plus, I had learned all these non-traditional ways of calculating from my parents and older sibling, with which I don't think the teacher was quite comfortable.) That was the impetus for my parents to advocate for some advancement.

...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...