VOL. 2, NO. 6 SODIX SUGGSSTBD CHANGES IN HIGH-SCHOOL CHEMISTRY
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SOME SUGGESTED CHANGES IN HIGH-SCHOOL CHEMISTRY* GEORGE MERVINBROWNE, SO~ER ILLINOIS N STATE NORMAL UNIVERSITY, CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS The object of education is to prepare the chiid to live a useful happy life in the midst of his fellows and his natural environment. He can do this only by conforming to the laws established by his fellows and by his creator. Chemical processes are the foundation of his living, and only as he conforms to them can he be healthy, happy, or efficient in his living. Of the subjects in the high-school courses of study the following: agriculture, botany, physics, physiography, physiology, cooking and zoology are dependent on chemistry or applied chemistry. No one can any more understand or enjoy these subjects without an elementary knowledge of chemistry than he can without a knowledge of reading or arithmetic. A study of chemistry should therefore precede the study of the abovementioned subjects. That is, chemistry should be a second and not a fourth year subject as in most high schools at the present time, and the other natural sciences should follow chemistry. This i s the first change that I suggest: That chemistry be moved to the second year of the high-school course of study. Since chemistry is the foundation of the other sciences, the topics selected for study should be those that contribute t o the understanding of these sciences. Man's contact with the natural world demands knowledge of that same world, hence he must have knowledge of the chemistry of air, water, salts, acids, alkalies, and of the action of these upon one another and upon metals and other substances in common use. He should have a knowledge of the foods of both plants and animals and of the chemical changes that take place in these during their digestion, assimilation and the elimination of their waste products. He must also be familiar with the chemistry of growth, of death and of decay of plants and animals. He must also know the chemistry of fuels and combustion, the influence of light, heat, electricity, vibration, catalytics, and inhibitors on the chemical activity of aU those elements and substances that enter into the experiences of everyday living. Of course some of the topics that are now studied in high-school chemistry must be omitted to make room for these. But many of them do not belong in high-school * Read before the Southern Illinois State Teachers' Association.
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chemistry and should be omitted. They were put into the texts to fill them up and are not needed nor do they belong in an elementary course in chemistry. They belong in more advanced courses, to college courses in chemistry. Why study Boyle's law? It belongs in quantitative chemistry and not in a beginner's course. The same is true of Charles' law. Why spend time on chemical arithmetic? Chemical calculations belong to quantitative chemistry, not to elementary, and quantitative chemistry does not belong in the high school. Why spend time over the distinction between physical and chemical changes? Few expert chemists make such a distinction. There are no chemical changes that are not accompanied by physical ones. Why spend time over the periodic law? If i t were true, its importance is not great. Are atomic numbers of importance to the average citizen? Of what use is i t to a farmer to know that uranium and thorium radiate helium and degenerate into isotopes of lead? Is it not much more valuable to know that compounds of lead are poisons and are to be used carefully for the protection of his fruits while growing, but must not be left around for his stock or for his children to eat? When we consider that the average family spends more than 75 per cent of its income for food, fuel, shelter and clothing, it would seem that a t least a fourth of his time in the chemistry class should be spent on the study of the compounds of carbon. Every graduate of the high school should be familiar with the chemical behavior of such common things as fats, oils, soap, glycerine, and of the numerous carbon acids like acetic, formic, oxalic, citric, malic, tartaric, benzoic, salicylic, etc., and of the carbohydrates, starch, cellulose, dextrin, and the various sugars. If every high school boy knew all about fermentation and its products he would never become a moonshiner or a moonshiner's customer. A chemical knowledge of organic nitrogen compounds would tend to prevent the formation of the drug habit and tend to reduce the death rate among our young men and women. We are trying to educate our boys and girls to become good citizens; and t o be good citizens they must be useful citizens and enjoy themselves and each must do his share of the world's work. They get joy out of work,only when they are healthy, and they cannot be healthy unless they conform to the laws of their environment as shown forth in the chemistry of that environment. My second suggestion is: That all quantitative topics and all theoretical topics be omitted and the time thus sawed be devoted to the study of the more common carbon compounds. The colleges of the North Central Assodation have no set entrance requirements, hence there need be no special consideration given to those students in chemistry that intend to enter college. My third suggestion is: That no persons be graduated from high school without one year of chemistry.
