Is Zero Nothing?

I overheard the teacher telling the kids to repeat after her. "Zero means nothing." As I pass by, I thought of saying loudly that, "Zero means something." I had a lot of things in my mind and didn't want my okro mouth to invite another wahala into any space in my head. 

I walked pass the school, a thought came into my head. Thought: "Zero is nothing, what if a smart kid writes 10 = 1 because why keep nothing with the 1. I remembered mathematical statements we used to answer with < > or =. If there is a mathematical statement like 25.......2500, will the child be wrong to use an equal sign (=) to make the statement true? Zero can't be nothing." 

In sets: if set A={ } and set B={0}, will you say the sets are the same? According to the teacher in question, they will be the same. Set A has nothing in it and Set B has zero in it. And zero means nothing. These sets aren't the same, not at all and never will it be. Set A is called Null/Empty set and Set B is termed as Unit set. And as a matter of fact, the zero (0) in B is terribly important. 

I made a U-turn to go and correct the teacher and save the kids. I paused and thought: "the greatest harm can come from the best intentions." This is a female teacher and she might think I am a braggart. She can create a scene. Women are very unpredictable. I could risk with a male teacher. Another U-turn, off I go. 

But then, I couldn't help the soliloquy. How can zero be nothing? Zero is not nothing, it is a value, it is something. Zero is a value of high repute. Zero might be nothing in 2+0 but it is certainly something at 2×0. 

In the night, I related the event to life. In life, so many people are regarded as zero but it takes people with foresight to understand that these people have value and useful to life. Never mind if society perception about you is like the zero. Your time will surely come to show how important you are. 

Lest I forget, I know nothing in maths but I can still remember something in my e-maths.