The Mole

When I do this it makes me feel like a bad parent. My daughter is taking Pre-Calculus and Chemistry this semester. Unlike her father she can handle it. She is ranked number nine in her class. She is motivated and a self-starter. I am certain that she will excel in these subjects though it will take some work. Why is she taking these classes anyway?

I received a ‘D’ in Chemistry. The only reason that Mr. Gobble did not fail me and my friend is that we were ‘nice kids.” Chemistry confused me. I could do the Table of Elements but the math killed me. To this day I’m still not sure what a mole is. Chemistry caused some sleepless, sweat-filled nights. Due to that experience I permanently shelved any thought I’d ever had of pursuing marine biology and becoming another Costeau. As for Pre-Calc I wasn’t even in the running.

The thing I’ll tell my daughter is that there is no reason on Earth for taking either of these classes. Finding a mole for Uranium? I think that there is an App for that. What percentage of her fellow high school students will ever use chemistry again? Regarding Pre-Calc, they have Calc-ulators that do all that work for you. The stress caused this semester by those classes will only be worth it for the character it produces not as a marketable skill for 99%.

I’m certain it will come up. My daughter’s forte is debate. So she’ll talk it out of me. I’ll have to admit at some point that it’s a worthless pursuit. I’ll focus on the character aspect. The classes will produce proven character, and proven character will produce hope which doesn’t disappoint though chemistry and pre-calc most certainly will.