“Diverse college classes make you more well rounded,” my parents said.
The only rounding I got out of college algebra was how to “get around” using math at all costs.
Our younger son is a freshman in college. He has his sights set on the skies and is studying aviation. In his first semester he pulled off a Dean’s List honor, however he said, “Don’t get used to it. I have math 1220 next semester.”
Ah, the dreaded M-word.
Just a few weeks into his second semester, math 1220 was the bane of his existence. I feel his pain. It’s not that he is a poor math student like his mother was (is), math 1220 is just a lot of information in a short amount of time. So much so, that he is exploring other majors; majors that do not require extensive math courses.
Being an aviation enthusiast though, it’s hard for him to envision his future as anything other than an airline pilot.
“A lot of majors cross over into other things,” I tried to explain to him. “You could major in business and work for Cessna.”
Still airplanes, right? But it’s not the same for him. He wants to have his head in the clouds with an unparalleled and unobstructed view of the world (despite the anxiety it causes his parents).
“I am a writer and am working in education,” I tried to explain. “At some point you just need to graduate with a degree. It does not mean you will be pigeon-holed into a specific career. Skills grow and interests change.”
A college degree is an accomplishment — an expensive accomplishment — but nonetheless, it’s the goal he has chosen. And I hope he achieves it. I hope he is able to see past the horrors of math 1220 and literally close the book on it sooner rather than later.
What he doesn’t see is that surviving math 1220 will clear the air and open up the skies for him. Well, that and the Federal Aviation Administration medical approval he is still waiting for (Dear FAA, can you hear me yet? Come. ON.)
Math 1220 is temporary, although to him it will feel like an eternity. And I am sure pilots actually use math when calculating weights and balances, among other things. So, it’s fair to say, he will thank his college for this one day, just maybe not this semester.
And if I have to suffer through updating the FAFSA for him every year during financial aid season, then he can manage Math 1220. It’s pretty much the same thing.
Motherhood, Part II, is a recurring column in the News-Sun.
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