X=Why? The Adventures of Pete & Pete : Season 2 Episode 8

Ellen, fed up with algebra word problems, asks the question high school teachers dread most: "Why (do we have to know this)?" Her inquiry spreads like wildfire throughout the school and soon students are rebelling against the textbook knowledge forced upon them in every class. Ellen realizes that things have gone too far when math teacher Ms. Fingerwood disappears, and she desperately tries to put things right.