TRAINING CHEMISTRY TEACHERS in PENNSYLVANIA'S TEACHERS COLLEGES* JOHN ARTHUR LEWIS State Teachers College, West Chester, Pennsylvania
A
YEAR ago a very splendid report? was given this meeting, having to do with the training of highschool chemistry teachers. With the rapid development of survey, orientation, and integrated courses, with emphasis on more or less hazy and immeasurable values, and with a clamor for functional teaching, we hardly know what to teach our prospective high-school teachers. We almost overlook the fact that i t is not only wholesome for the teacher to know the fundamentals of chemistry, hut i t is, in fact, necessary-just as i t was twenty years ago. As Fitzpatrick says, "Our teachers know so many things which are not true." Wray, of Pennsylvania State College, has shown that we are teaching much that is unnecessary and leaving untaught much that is greatly needed. In Pennsylvania we are trying to keep our feet on the ground and our heads clear. Entirely new curricula are proposed for Pennsylvania's State Teachers Colleges, taking effect in September, 1937. A basic twoyear program is proposed for all students-elementary, secondary, and special. This is provided with the idea of giving all young folks of college age a broad, cultural two-year post high-school education. Such students as show suitable ability are then to be admitted to two years of specialized and professional training leading to a bachelor's degree, and equipping them to teach. Provision will be made during the first two years for the election of special courses leading t o such fields as chemistry, history, mathematics, and so on, so that the student may have a t least three, if not four years, of work in the field of his special interest. A brief summary of the work of the first two years of 'Presented before the Division of Chemical Education at the ninety-third meeting of the A. C. S., Chapel Hill, N. C., April 13, 1017 .ow,.
t Committee Report, "High school teaching of chemistry," Ind. Ilnp. Chsm..News Ed., 28, 147 (Apr 20. 1936).
the basic curriculum i s E n g l i s h (including literature) fifteen hours' credit, geography, six, health education, four, education and psychology, eight, social science, six, biological science, six, physical science, six, music and art, four, and elective, ten. During the second two years are included teaching, conference, and selection of materials, fifteen, American government and law, four, education and psychology, eleven, and electives, thirty-one. The basic curriculum is to he taken by all students; the following two years, summarized above, applies t o the secondary group only. The chemistry courses listed as "required" for those who specialize in chemistry are general inorganic, eight credits, analytical, six, and organic, six. Provision is made for additional electives in chemistry, the nature and extent of which will depend somewhat upon the local conditions. This chemistry program is essentially the same as the one recommended by a conference of all of the science teachers in the state teachers colleges. It is believed that it will give adequate preparation for a high-school teacher of chemistry and a t the same time will give him sufficient background with which to pursue graduate work. It is one thing to attempt to give students adequate preparation-it is another thing to get our state departments to back ns up, although I must say that our own department has been fairly good in that respect. At present we have a state certificate in "chemistry" granted upon completion of eighteen credits in chemistry. But we also have a state certificate in "science" which permits its holder to teach any and all science courses. This certificate is granted upon completion of eighteen credits, distributed as follows: physical science, nine, including three in physics and three in chemistry; biological science, nine, including three in botany and three in zoology. In other words, the
holder of this certificate may teach chemistry in any high school in the state if he has completed one semester of it in college (providing, of course, that he has fifteen credits in biology and physics). This is decidedly weak, and we are hoping that with the adoption of the new teachers college program the certification requirements will be revised. In fact, we have been assured that they will. Certification revision is being urged by the Teachers College science teachers, by the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, and by the Conference on the Education of Teachers in Science. These three groups are almost unanimous in their recommendations, which are well stated in a report given by Dr. Ellis Haworth of Wilson Teachers College, Washington, D. C. This report was adopted by the Conference on the Education of Teachers in Science a t their meeting a t Montclair, New Jersey, last November, and a copy has been sent to our state department. I quote from the report. 1. "The Candidate should have a bachelor's degree from an accredited four year college. (Teachers college, Arts college, or University.) 2. "The candidate should have thorough preparation in one field of specialization, sufficientlyintensive and extensive to make it possible for him to take up graduate work without appreciable loss of time. 3. "The candidate should have included in his program courses in English and the social studies such as will insure his ability to serve successfully as a professionally trained teacher. 4. "The candidate should have included in his program one or more minor fields in which he can teach in case of need. 5. "The candidate should have completed satisfactorily a series of courses in education representing a definite program of preparation for teaching in the secondary schools. Included in this program there should be two courses, one in observation and practice teaching of science in the secondary schools, and the other in the materials, methods, and technics of teaching science in the secondary schools. These two courses should he given, preferably, by the science department of the training institution. 6. "Certificates shall be issued to teach specific subject fields, such as general science, biology, chemistry, or physics; a general certificate to teach science shall be granted subject to the provision of the completion of I, a, b, and c, below. 7. "That no certificate in a specific subject field be granted and that no teacher be assigned to teach in that subject field, unless the prospective teacher has a minimum of a t least twelve semester hours of courses on the college level in that field. 8. "That credits for survey courses (or integrated courses) in science shall be allowed if accompanied by additional courses in allied, specialized science fields. "To put into effect the general principles outlined above, the Committee recommends the following speafic requirements to teach the subjects indicated:
I. (a) Biology or chemistry or physics (as a major field) a t least twenty-four semester hours (b) Biology or chemistry or physics (as a minor field) a t least twelve semester hours (No one may be certified to teach biology or chemistry or physics who has not completed a t least twelve semester hours in that field in college. In addition he must have completed a major of at least twenty-four semester hours in some field.) (6) General science (in junior high school) a t least thirty semester hours must be completed in science courses in college with a t least six semester hours each in general biology, general chemistry, and general physics, plus a course or courses in earth science and astronomy Education and psychology (including obser11. vation and practice teaching, and methods and technics or teaching science in secondary schools) twenty-four semester hours English and literature nine semester hours 111. Social Studies nine semester hours IV. V. Free Electives variable Courses in physical education shall he in addition to above." I have no intention of arguing in this paper for or against either our proposed curriculum or the recommendations for certification. I present this with the hope of receiving the benefit of your reactions. However, there are two questionswhich Iwish to add for your consideration. In the first place, our graduates seldom get positions in which they teach only one science. These jobs are found in larger schools, schools which pay larger salaries and demand experience. R. D. Reed, of Montclair, New Jersey, reported in a study of the range of subjects taught by science teachers in New Jersey, that one hundred thirty-six teachers were teaching only general science, or chemistry, or biology or physics, but that three hundred seventy teachers were teaching a total of one hundred fifteen combinations of sciences with sciences or sciences with non-science subjects. While this is a deplorable condition, still it is afact which wemust face. Is i t a possibility that we may require such intensive specialization in science that our graduates will not have sufficient equipment-that is, sufficient spread of subject matter-to get the jobs which will be open to them? Are we in danger of swinging from one extreme to the other? Has the time come for us to urge a fifth year of training? By taking a fifth year, a student would he able to get a wider spread during his first four years and a more intensive preparation during his fifth. Thus he would be better qualified for the generalized type of job open to beginners and a t the same time be prepared for the higher salaried promotion. We are interested in receiving comments upon our proposed program in Pennsylvania, as well as upon the Certification Report and the proposed fifth year of study.
