HIGH SCHOOL NOTES ELBERT C. WEAVER1 Bulkeley High School, Hartford, Connecticut
A STUDY of HEALTH MATERIALS in HIGH-SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TEXTS J. 0. FRANK AND C. A. DISCHER State Teachers College, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
T
EACHERS colleges are engaged not only in the preparation of teachers but also in theimprovement of education in all of its aspects. The high-school course of study is a matter of great interest and the content of subject matter in chemistry courses, as indicated in textbooks, is a subject of careful study by all those who try conscientiously to prepare teachers of chemistry for high schools. Nearly three decades of study of high-school science teaching has convinced the senior author of this paper that the valuable materials of high-school chemistry may be classified under four heads. (1) Inspirational Material.Such as historical references; stories of discovery and invention; anecdotes relating to the work and accomplishments of the scientists; strange, unusual or unique facts; romantic "human interest" narrations, and so forth. of chemistry which (2) Factual Material.-Facts can be applied largely because remembered by individual items, hence things which are largely lifted directly out of the environment and used id texts to illustrate chemical laws or principles. These things enable the average individual to read the papers and magazines, to listen to the radio, to view the movies more intelligently. They also enable the individual to keep in better health, to be more efficient in his daily activities, to receive a better salary because he will be able to carry on his vocation more effectively. (3) Pure Chemistry.-The laws, theories, abstract principles, hypotheses, and so forth, which are illustrated as far as possible with concrete things-but which become patterns or plans for mental processes. These are the materials with which new things are created, from which new ideas are evolved, without which progress in quality or quantity cannot be made. In a world of change these are the most solid things of chemistry, the most useful tools with which to meet new situations. (4) Afiphztions of Chemistry.-These are usually illustrative materials. They are taken from industry,
from the home, from the street. They consist of principles, laws, facts, episodes, in fact, anything which when narrated or explained, will help the individual to understand better the underlying laws of nature which happen to be involved. Reports on studies of Historical Items in HighSchool Chemistry Textbooks and on the Content of Health Materials as Related to Chemicals Involved in Cases of Accidental Poisoning in the United States have already been made by the senior author of this paper. The present paper is in a sense a continuation of a report of studies being carried out by the chemistry department of the State Teachers.College a t Oshkosh, and which are designed to assist in the improvement of the quality of chemistry textbooks and the high-school courses of study, especially in Wisconsin high schools. HIGH-SCHOOL COURSES The rBle of secondary-school science as a legitimate factor in the maintenance of our national health is unquestioned. Items relating to personal and public health have always been accepted, with some limitations, as legitimate in high-school chemistry courses. It has been quite as proper for the chemistry instructor to deal with the physiological &ects of carbon monoxide as with its physical and chemical properties. Likewise, a.small number of other items relating to personal or public health have become a part of high-school chemistry and have been accepted without question because of their importance and because en masse they have not added up to a burdensome percentage of the subject matter of the course. I n the last few years, however, teachers, textbook writers, curriculum specialists, and others have noted the appearance of difficulty in connection with this body of materials. Due to changes in our national life, the extension of chemistry into thousands of small industries and so into daily life, the introduction of chemistry as a major factor in warfare, a subject now for some years a part of our everyday thinking, and to many other influencesthe body of health materials PLACE OF HEALTH MATERIALS I N
Present address: Polytechnic High School. Long Beach, California. 7::fi
TABLE 1 (Conlinurd)
in high-school chemistry has been rapidly growing in size and importance until it now consists of many items, in fact, whole subjects, with which many teachers, though well informed, feel unprepared to deal. While the newer textbooks are including much more material which must be classified as health material, there is little agreement as to just what items shall be included, nor are any principles of .selection apparent. The author's knowledge and interest seem to be the .only criteria, upon which selection has been based in many cases. I n general, i t can be said that those sec-
The following table illustrates the method used i n tabulating the various health items. I t was found t h a t all materials could be clasrified under t a r l v c dirrercor hcsdiogr In all c n r o the meaning or each itrm rather t h . m its laorcllnl: dctcrmtnrd its dam6eation. All stern%from all t h r texts were tntcrrd in the table xithout misioz oucrtioor of sccvraev c d *tltco,ent or dcsimbility of inclusion.
-.
Owzrn N c e c s m for Life Rble of oxygen:
~ a o idcnrijicorion k wdn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9101112 X X X X X X X X X X
AS a scavenge.
reducing anima1 and vegetable rubX stances t o harmlea~onen Dsny-praecs. of stow o d dation, aided by haetetia X While free oxygen in a eompound is being released. germs are oxidized and killed spontaneous eombustionslowly oxidizing subp c a eirstance-with eulafioo of air-temperaturc may tire t o t h e kindling point and result i n a fir; X X Cnrc with: hay, grain, eoal. oil" raes and ro lorth X X T o prevent i n eoal piles put in iron tubes t o conduet the heat away from the pile T o prevent i n eoal piles sprinkle with water X
.
. -.
X
X X
X
X X
X
The lungs have about six times t h e eapaeity needed u, t h a t we can continue t o live. despite lung injury, diseare, or thin air People -ending to great heights suffer from thin air Often troubled with nose bleed and dizziness: due to the air being 1ew dense In d r o w n i o g d e ~ t his due t o lack of oxygen When "doocu." hreathc more oxygen and you will feel better one breath of oxygeo equals five breaths of air Dissolved i n water maker the drinking water more palatable
.~..
X
,be$: ~-~~~
TO destroy offenrive adi n drinting w a t a When patients are too wear to breathe air (oxygen tent) Asphyxiation treatmmt Mine rescue work Firemen Divers Pneumonia (easeson lungs) Aviators for highaltitudes As explo.ive water of r i v a r purified In baby incubators In rubmariner a h e n heneath surface In tuberculosi., fr& d r is supplied for the patient in an effort t o kill xerms hv oxidation Sources: S o d i u m peroxide-oxygen generator "red for oxygen in isolated places
-
X X X
X X X
X X
X X X
X
X
Gotten when air enters the lungs X X X The hemoglobin picks up the oxygen forming o w hemoglobin Blood carries from t h e lunes to all o u t s of the bod; X X X The oxyhemoglobin gives u p its oxygen to oxidize food, dead ti.ruen, end &"isonourprod"& Source of heat i n t h e body from oxidation of foods and worn out tissue Oxidation furnirhes heat and energy to the body X X X Oxidation in the body slowed down by nitrogen in t h e dr we breathe This p r o c e s yields heat, water, earban dioxide Carbon dioxide combines with the hemoglobin and is carried, i n the dark blood, by the veinstothe lungs where i t ir exhaled Necessary for purifying the blood. so must have plenty of fresh air The products ot oxidation arc carried back t o the lungs and there exhaled larzd~ascarbondiaride
X
ozone: Is irritating to human b, ings Should not be breathed i n quantity Some seientirts insist a layer of ozone high in t h e at&phere abrorbs rays highly destctruetive to livingcelln user: Dirinfeetine scent-kills bacteria Deodorizer Used in sufficient qua=titien will deatrov baetens X Purify drinking water X X X X Chlorine is used more often than ozone Purify air X X 1n tunnels and unr X I n halls X Bleach N a a u s e d voylittlerinee certain other chemicals employed more coovenient1v and eronomica1iy Not yet s"cce%3fullg adapted for pra"tiea1
X
,
X X
* X
-
X X
X X
X X
X
-
X
X X
X
US
