Our High School Colleagues
In this insue (0.669) we introduce the latest addition to the Arlyne M. Sarquis-who has agreed to serve as editor for our exoanded Secondarv School Chemistry Section. This is the latt,st step in the continuing attempt of the Division and the JO(1HNAL to enraae - - rollcazues - who teach a t the secondary school level. As described bv a former editor (WTL). from its earlvdavs of the JOURNAL has heen to provide "the primary chemistrv teachers with information, ideas and materials for improving and updating their background and their understanding of chemistry, and for helping them in their teaching and in their effectiveness in developing the talents of students." In 1977the Secondary School Section, as it is currently canstituted, was introduced in an attempt to provide the help high schoul tearhers smght from the .JOURNAL pages. Since that time there has been a growing awareness within the Division of Chemical Education of the needs of high school teachers. The Division's concerns in this area have been n~anifrstcdin the iormation of a new HighSchool Committee I the DeHose CommirtceJ: a r e a r t of the ('ommitree's first ;ear's activity appeared & the iast issue (September 1979) of the JOURNAL. In addition. the Division was snccessfnl in ohtaining funds from the Amerlcan Chrmiral Society tor the exmew uurnose ot exoand~nrthe Secondarv School Section of the JOURNAL to a~proximatelytwice its current size. The eenerous erant from the ACS Board of Directors provides Funds for editorial assistance to produce the new material, covers the cost of printing these additional pages, and assists in getting the JOURNAL subscriptions into the hands of new readers from among high school teachers. Two points should be stressed: the expanded Secondary School Section will come from new pages added to the JOURNAL, and the funds available from the ACS nrovide for a three-vear oroiect. I t is anticipated that interest in the new expanded ~ & o n d a r y School Section will lead to a sufficient increase in number of eubscrihers to becume self-sustaning by tho end of the project. Onlv lime will tell whether this stratecv will be successful in pro;,iding for the perceived needs of high srhool teachers. High svhool tearhers of chemistry, as a hody, deserve this expandrd attention for the simple reason that they are the sourre of students who eventually study rhcmistry in colleges and universities. Student;;'stritudes toward chemistry and scienw are shaped in thnie early years, and the quality oftheir barkpounde. for the most part, are adirect reflection of their teachers' understanding ot'chcmistry. If we hrlieve, as the report uf the Hurison rnnterence recommends, "that teachers are an essential resource l'or sucr:essful programs in rhemistry for the general student," it is incumhcnt on us LO make every effort to asiiit that hody of chemistry teachers who are, perhaps, in closest contactwith students who have not yet formulated their educational goals.
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The Harrison conference renort notwithstandine. -. loeic dictates a similar conclusion. Chemistry instruction is a continuous huildina ormess. each course deoendine on the efforts and attitudes ij'previous instructors. 'High srhool teachers stand in the iirst rank of this continuum and are faced with the dual task of rapturing--or creating-an imaginative spark ofcuriosity and building the foundation un which future w deritanding of chemistrv will he built. We owe our very best effort 11, help provide the assistance our collttagues who teach in high schioiperceive they need. High school teachers are concerned with the same types of prohlems that beset those who toil at more advanced levels. Issues concerned with students' interests and backgrounds, curricular concerns. and administrative auestions which are perceived as intrusidns on pedagogy seem pervade all levels of chemistrv teachina. The intensitv with which these issues intrude upon teaching may vary from one level to the next to that the casual ohserver-and indeed even the chemistrv teacher-may feel that teachers (and courses) a t different noints alone the instructional wectrum could have little in common. he courses taught a i the high school-college interface are the obvious points of mutual interest. Typically, students in a college-level general chemistry course are only one summer-three months-removed from their high school chemistry course. It should be obvious that this student is essentially the same person he was three months ago. The process of leaving high school and enrolling in a college or university provides no magic insight into human development. Whatever they may be, the student's intellectually and pedagogically hased problems are essentially the same a t these two levels of teaching. Accordingly, teachers a t these levels should eain comolementarv insights bv.sharine each others' perceptions of, and solutions to, such problems. We anticipate that the expanded Secondary School Section will begin to provide a bridge for an interaction between teachers at two administrativelv different levels of instruction. much as we currently provibe for interactions among teachers of the chemistrv subdisci~lines. If nll goes on sch~dulr,we enprct the new secondary school material T O begin aplwaring in the first quarter of 1980. The process will b i ev&tionary, undoubtedly with numerous changes in direction. Ms.Sarquis has indicated the preliminary direction in her comments which appear on page 669. Those who wish to contribute along the lines she has suggested or who feel other directions need more elaboration.. . nlease write. We need and welcome assistance and suggestions from college teachers as well as from high school teachers.
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JJL Volume 56, Number 10. October 1979 1 629
