Why High-'School Chemistry? A. B. KINZEL
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H E Engtneermg Societies have long been inter.: andg Scientific students ested m g u ~ d ~ nhigh-school in the choice of an engineering vocation. The Four Founder Societiesr have a group of volunteer members who visit high schools for talks on various branches of engineering. These men also hold individual conferences with students who intend to follow engineering in college, as well as with science students who will go directly from high school toinduetry. I t has invariably been our advice to the earnest young man or woman in either group that breadth of subject matter is most desirable. This advice contrasts with the current trend toward vacational concentration, even in the early stages of science education. I t has been quite apparent to the counselors that the average student's preference is strongly influenced by the particnlar branch of science most in the public eye a t the moment. Thus it is not strange that recently students have tended to elect only physics. This is primarily due to the more widely recognized wartime accomplishments of this science as exemplified in ordnance and aviation. Moreover, the armed services have urged schwl administrators and teachers to emphasize physics. The accomplkhments of chemistry and its subdivision, metallurgy, in the popular fields of ordnance and aviation have been spotlighted to a lesser degree. This is primarily because chemist3 and metallurgists had accomplished so much even before Pearl Harbor. Processes for the production of TNT and other explosives were ready. Methods for producing synthetic rubber were a t hand. Alloys for guns and aircraft had been largely dev e l o ~ e d and , the . Eases for chemical warfare had been provided
' The American Institute of Civil Engineers, the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers
for use if necessary. Marked and evcn revolutionary improvement in these processes and products has since been accomplished. But such developments have not been given as much publicity as those in aerodynamics or electronics. No student can hope to take enough physics in high school to he proficient in its use in engineering applications. Nor can he hope t o acquire enough chemistry in a high-school course. However, a student who takes both physics and chemistry in high school can acquire enough understanding to apprcciate what lies ahead. So chemistry, too, should be a must for those intending to follow scientific or broad industrial work, as well as for those who do not expect to have further scientific training. Engineers adapt materials to useful purposes. I n past ages, men used the materials nearest t o hand. Today, chemists provide materials of specified properties. It is significant that each civilization has been designated by the best type of structural matter in use: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the present Steel Age. Tomorrow bids fair to he labeled the Age of Plastics and Alloys-materials of specified properties to he produced by men applying the principles of modern chemistry and metallurgy. The new automobile, high-speed train, superstratosphere liner, the mehanized all-comfort home, not to mention practicable rocket propulsion, will he dependent on materials created by those skilled in chemistry. And there will be no limit to the demands on those so skilled. For an understanding of the world of tomorrow, some idea of the way atoms and molecules combine to form useful materials and react t o provide useful processes is essential. He who would understand and be a part of this world should grasp the opportunity in high school to acquire some knowledge of the basis of chemistry.-Reprinted, with permission, from Books in Their Courses, Henry Holt and Company.
