Thank you for the lovely reviews, and apologies for the short chapters.. this fic is almost complete (on my harddrive), but I can't seem to stop fiddling with it!
Major Carter decided that he wasn't in the mood for small talk any more. The military dealt with straight answers, not bluster, and this frothing bezerker imitation in a plaid suit was an A-grade case of pure bluster. Then again, the physics teacher seemed a little lost for words right now. Time to lay it all out for the good Doctor in plain English, before he got his second wind.
"One. You say that Sammie uses different theories to those you've been teaching to do her homework. Did she get the answers right or not?"
"Well, yes she did, for the most part, but –"
"I haven't finished yet!" It was Jacob's turn, and he was going to have his say – even if a few heads were turning toward the sound of his raised voice. "Do experiments take longer because Sammie doesn't understand, or because she's trying out more of these theories?"
The teacher drew himself up in indignation. "Not at all! She questions the very method that underlies our practical teaching! Her comments that variables have not been accounted for properly, measurements of mass, velocity, voltage and so on are not accurate enough.. it is simply maddening! There is no other way to conduct Physics teaching in a public high school!"
Jacob ducked a fleck of spittle and paused for a moment.
"Ok, so she's opening her mouth and questioning your experiments, but her complaints are simply that the inputs and outputs aren't being measured adequately?"
"Yes! And –"
"And this wastes time, but brings up important issues that future physicists should remember years down the track when you're not there to remind them?"
Dr Cuthbertson was taken aback. "Well yes, in a sense, but there is a limit to how much time we can spend on these failings. I too would prefer a perfect laboratory, but the funding simply is not there. The majority of these boys will never be physicists as it is, and their age and curriculum requires only an understanding of the principles at this stage."
"And girl."
"Excuse me?"
"You said 'these boys will not be physicists', but you also have a girl in your class, remember?" Jacob was leaning back on his chair now, quietly eyeing up the parents now waiting their turn with Dr Cuthbertson. He would have to wrap this one up quickly.
"Physics has rarely been a female pursuit, Major Carter, and I have always maintained that it is an unsuitable occupation for women."
"What about Marie Curie, and that woman who helped out the DNA guys?" Jacob wasn't going to let this one lie now. All he could see right now was that Sammie had done nothing wrong, and this guy with the cowboy boots was insisting otherwise. The fact that he still had doubts about whether she should take Physics was a completely different matter at this point - or maybe he was simply trying to avoid an internal debate with his own conscience by covering it up with a self-righteous argument with someone else.
"Rosalind Franklin? Well yes, there have been some notable exceptions to the rule, but they truly are exceptions. It's not simply the work you see, it's the conditions!"
"Conditions?" Jacob was bemused. He'd seen a few labs in his time, and they weren't too bad. "I wouldn't call an air conditioned laboratory bad – I reckon some of the Air Force scientists get far better 'offices' than mine, very spacious in fact!"
Dr Cuthbertson leaned forwards to reply. "How many of those scientists are female, Major Carter? None? I thought so. And so, regardless of how spacious the accommodation may be – and I'm sure these must be lucky scientists to receive such funding – do you really wish to see you daughter working in male-dominated laboratories for the rest of her life?"