Are You Smarter Than a............

5th grader? 7th grader? How about a 2nd grader?

Now, as a substitute teacher with fair intelligence and a history of decent grades (effort of course could have improved them, but past posts indicate my propensity for being a punk), I can make it through most assignments. Truthfully, I can usually do much more than babysit and enjoy it.
I still have the ability to figure slope and slant, teach the FOIL system to help a kid with the distributive property. Heck, I can even get through teaching a Spanish lesson on indirect objects.
Today, however, I may have met my match. I always thought it would be Algebra or Geometry that brought me down but I do believe it is science. Molecules, atoms, amino acids, protein strands, etc.
Not completely foreign to me, I do understand what these things are. Through many years of dieting and nutrition reading (yes, knowing it and practicing it are very different) I can expound on the benefits of eating complete protein strands in a meal. I can follow along while watching Alton Brown **swoon** explain the reaction of an acid on a protein, etc. Believe me, if knowing and understanding were equal to doing, I would be a size 3!
So, how did this skunk me, you may ask. Well, today, they are actually building molecular structures of varying foods. Yep, the actual amino strands, etc. I may know what they are, how they work, the need and purpose but constructing them properly is a whole new ball game. Even in the depths of my brain, I am at a loss for some background knowledge here. I am wondering the purpose of needing to learn this in depth of a subject at 12 years old but I'm sure there is. I don't know that I have needed to use this information over the years but I am sure it has some purpose.
with that, I return to my reading. Who says you don't relearn something new everyday?