edited by: DAVID A. PHILLIPS Wabash College IN 47933 Crawford~ville, PRUDENCE PHILLIPS CrawfordsvilleHigh Schwl Crawfordsville. IN 47933
Cool/ Why Teach Biochemistry? GI1 Downs
Central High School Twelfth and Chestnut Streets Louisville. KY 40203
When questioned about the high school curriculum, the classic comment of chemistry teachers is "There's just not enough time or money to do it all in the brief academic school year!" So why make a place for the esoteric topic of biochemistry in the secondary school chemistry curriculum? I t is mv contention that biochemistry is the one topic that intepraies u,hat ii presented in a typical high school chemiitrv class with r>reviousl\~ studied science courses. Hiurhrmistry offers numerous bridges between inorganic and organic chemistry and, a t the same time, offers a more humanistic aspect of secondary education. The foreboding statement concerning the scarcity of time should not he ignored. Biochemistry does have a place in the high school science curriculum, but that location should he well defined. The t o ~ i cof hiochemistw in the Jefferson County Public ~choofsis included as one of 14 suggested as nossibilities for allocation of time in a secnnd-year chemistry course. While it is considered optional, bi&hemistry has been well received bv both instructors and students. While only a smalipercentage of students in the Jefferson Countv enroll in Chemistry 11, those who do fre. svstem . quently have aspirations of careers in medicine, science, dentistry, engineering, and other technical fields. This course aiso attracts students who are more inclined to follow such diverse paths as those in art, law, education, sociology, and the other humanities. Biochemistry as a curriculum topic of Chemistry I1 offers a first glance at an invigorating
aspect of science. It also presents an encounter in science for the gifted, yet nonscientifically oriented student. Riorhemiitry typically takes 4-5 weeks of Chemistry 11 sequence. Students are expected to master the important idra of orennir functionnlitv for the carhohvdrates, proteins, -~~~~~ lipids, andY nucleic acids. In this same area, &xperimer&l quditative testing for distinguishing the first three of these functionalities are introduced. Students are also confronted with the task of understanding and appreciating the subtleties that are characteristics of biologically active compounds. Once thestudents are proficient in the identity and structural considerations, links are made between the biological functions of these molecules and the systems in which they occur. The emphasis is placed on understanding the details of a few select systemsrather than on learningalittleabout a lot. This philosophy falls in line with the major underlying goal justifying biochemistry in a high school chemistry curriculum. As science educators we all must face the fact that, while there is not ample time to cover all of chemistry in our curriculum, time must he made to cover issues relevant to the students. Biochemistry motivates, inspires, and even incites students to yearn to understand the complexities of the life process. The rapidly changing and progressing field of biochemistry should indeed he within the reach of our better secondary science students. This topic should he part of every advanced chemistry curriculum. ~
Copies of the author's syllabus will be mailed upon request if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Volume 64 Number 4
April 1987
339
