VOL.2, No. 9
PLAN FOR
THE
A. C. S. PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST
776
A PLAN FOR THE A. C. S. PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST C. ALLEN CARLSON, DELMAR(MARYLAND) HIGHSCHOOL, DELMAR, DEL.
Last year the writer attempted to formulate a plan to stimulate interest in a local prize essay contest. The plan as used was very successful when judged by the enthusiasm exhibited by the pupils, the number of pupils participating in the contest, and the appreciation gained by the pupils. Since one of the great objectives of the Chemical Prize Essay Contest is to extend an appreciation of the value of science to every-day life, the writer thought that there might he something of merit in the plan which could be adapted to the Chemical Society Prize Essay Contest. The plan explained below is the adaptation of the original one. Features which were unsatisfactory or cumbersome have been eliminated and more direct devices employed to obtain the maximum of efficiency. This is especially true of the personal conferences. The local conditions were unfavorable for trying out such a plan in the chemistry class during the past year, but this adapted plan will be used during the coming year. It is possible to require each member of the class to present a paper on one of the subjects offered by the society. This is hardly good policy because in some cases the subjects offeredare beyond.the ability of a pupil to treat intelligently to the extent expected. In other cases the pupil may have aptitudes and interests in some other subject which may prove equally valuable, and in such cases the pupil may profitably expend his time in accordance with his special interest. In fact, the strength of the plan presented lies in the arousal of interest. This creates in the pupil a desire to undertake a project. It offers the further adcantage that each pupil in writing the initial paper experiences much of the benefit which the prize essay contest seeks to confer. It is well to lay the plans for the Prize Essay Contest as early as possible during the school year and preferably during the first month. This will give ample time to carry out the suggestions without undue crowding to get the papers in on time. It offers the further advantage of permitting the contestants time to gain experience with the subjects which the Society presents for consideration. The main idea is to secure and hold the interest of the pupil. During a class period take up some interesting topic, or read some magazine article and talk informally with the members of the class during the period. Designate sources where further subject matter of this nature may be obtained. These references should be specific as to where the book may be found, its title, page, etc. Alist may be placed upon the board or mimeographed copies given to each member of the class. It is best to bring all such reference books from the library and have them placed on a stand in the class-room. The pupils should be encouraged to bring books pertinent to the subject from their homes, as well as to accumulate magazines
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JOURNAL oa CHEMICAL EDUCATION
SEPTEMBER, 1925
and magazine articles which may be placed a t the disposal of the members of the class. Many of these articles will be worth placing upon the bulletin board. The next step is to make up a list of titles dealing with various phases of science. The titles should be suggestive, such as: "How is table salt prepared for market!" "Sulfur mining in the United States," or "How does Baltimore purify the city water?" Any number of such studies will suggest themselves to the instructor, hut the instructor must he sure the topics are worth while. From this list of subjects the pupil may choose one and write a short paper during the first quarter of the school year. The instructor should carefully examine these papers and give each pupil proper credit. Many papers will be found which contain much good subject matter. The instructor may keep these on file and have the pupils report on them to the class from time to time as the respective suhjects discussed are brought up for study. Those pupils who have presented work of real merit should be called into conference. The instructor should go over such papers with the respective authors and point out the strong and weak points of each composition. When conference work has been completed this select group should be assembled, and the plan of the American Chemical Society Prize Essay Contest explained. The pupils should be advised that some commendable material was found in their papers and encouraged to continue their work along these or other lines in competition for the prize., If a pupil's weakness in the first paper was in organizing material or in composition, the teacher of English may co6perate in rendering service. This ifthe best type of training in written composition. To prevent wasted energy and consequent discouragement the teacher should aid the pupil by directing him to sources of material for the Prize Essay. The experience in looking up material for the first composition should prove helpful to the pupil now. The instructor should see that sufficientcopies of the set of books* recommended by the Essay Committee are on file, that no pupil may be hampered by lack of material. The pupil must be urged to read widely upon his subject until thoroughly conversant with it. It is best not to fix upon a definite title until the pupil has read quite extensively. By proceeding in this manner the title selected may be a crystallized statement of the topic of his interest. After this he should be able to make a fairly complete outline. This should be presented to the teacher for suggestions or approval. When the pupil begins to develop his topit the instructor should examine the papers from time to time and render aid as to sources of material, style, etc. The encouragement which the pupil receives from this personal *The set of five books may be secured by addressing The Chemical Foundation, New York City.
VOL.2, NO.9
PLAN FOR
THE A.
C: S. PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST
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contact is essential, and is a very important part of the instructor's work. These conferences are often the factor which determines whether the pupil turns out a mediocre or a good piece of work. When the essay is completed it may be presented to the teacher of English to he scored upon its grammatical and literary merits. The paper is next presented to the chemistry instructor and credit given for it as extra class work. Should the instructor prefer, the pupil may be exempted from a monthly test in recognition of the growth attendant upon this extra preparation. If any paper is found unworthy of consideration it should be discarded from the competitive set, and the remaining papers forwarded to the committee designated in the state by the Society. Interest plays an important part in this type of work. The teacher is the agency for inspiring this interest. Once the interest is aroused, the teacher assumes the role of the guiding, controlling, and stimulating spirit. When a desire to investigate has been instilled, the teacher may feed the interest of the pupil by live discussion in conferences and by placing literature pertinent to the subject where the pupil has access to it. Credit extended in the subject as recognition of the pupil's expenditure of extra time and effort is truly deserved; while credit extended by the English Department is a recognition of thoughtful composition on a worthwhile subject. This is the highest type of correlation.
E
New Syphilis Cure Found in France. What may be a sensational new cure for syphilis was unfolded before the French Academy of Sciences by Dr. Roux, the director of the Pasteur Institute, when he related the experiments conducted by M. Lavatte, one of his assistants a t the Institute. M. Lavatte has discovered a new chemical substance which he calls acetylozyamynaphenylynate; i t is composed in part of arsenic and bismuth, in the respective percentages of 15 and 45. When injected into the muscles of infected rabbits, this proved t o have astonishing curative properties, small injections resulting in the symptoms of the disease disappearing within forty-eight hours, apart from sores, which took from four to five days to heal completely. Two medical men, Drs. Fournier and Schwartz, tried this treatment on human patients. They selected thirty cases, in varying stages of the disease, which they treated with intramuscular injections of two cubic centimeters of the substance with the twentyave letter name. One curious Eeature observed was the utter absence of any discomfort, of any painful reactions during the whole course of twelve of these injections. The therapeutic effects were startling, the main symptoms disappearing within a few hours after the first injection and the sore healing with great rapidity. The Bordet-Wasserman test, on being applied a t the end of the series to each subject, gave in every single case a negative reaction. Dr. Roux added the remarkable fact that in every case, the treatment appeared to have a tonic effect on the general health of the patients.-Science Senice
