Friday, March 27, 2009

I'm not a Chemistry teacher...

... but I played one on TV. Actually, I spent the better part of my 20s teaching Chemistry 101 to the masses in the Midwest. In the end, probably 100 students later and one Chemistry TA wiser, I knew, lived, breathed, worshiped Chemistry. That was my life 30 years, three jobs, and 3,000 diapers ago. And now, at night, after the English and Math are done, I'm called upon to TA Chem again.

My only criteria: Leave the book and the page numbers I need to review for the next session. For I haven't revisited the magic for years. Last night was Hess's Law and all that related to Enthalpy. I read, breathed, lived again the stuff that makes my heart light. Worked a few problems, took bulleted notes, and then waited to be called to up from the Chemistry on deck circle. Then we sat together, worked problems, changed problems to find different concepts and talked. Me trying to layout the balance and beauty of the building blocks of all around us, living and nonliving, and her trying to suck it all in for the quiz.

"See the dance, see how it all fits together; the relationships between products and reactants."

And she does, for there is that spark in her eye that Ah-Ha in her voice.

My own eyes widen as I remember that night, sitting alone at different kitchen table, when I was able to move seamlessly from Enthalpy, Entropy and Free Energy. That night I knew there was a God.

3 comments:

Kris said...

Only 3000 diapers? I would have estimated about 3000 diapers per year per child. ;-P

P.H. said...

Maybe it was... I'm trying to repress those memories. :-)

Tammy H. said...

Beautifully written - totally get what you are saying.