A
SYMPOSIUM
Introduction Something new has been happening under the sun. Quietly, almost surreptitiously, one after another of our friends tells us he was overseas last year and not as a tourist, but following his trade as a teacher of chemistry. There is a marked difference between science in America and science in a country "in process of development." In our country science largely means "better thimgs for better living," more comfort, more leisure, better entertainment, more breakthroughs a t the frontiers of knowledge. But for the countries of Asia and Africa, of Central and South America and even in parts of Europe, science means the ability to feed the population and to have enough trained teachers to train the teachers of tomorrow. If the major theme of science in America continues to be the raising of our standard of living above even its present dizzy heights, we may find our scientifically talented youngsters turning to less glittering pursuits. We should note that the Peace Corps and the War against Poverty are uncovering a reservoir of idealisill and dedication that many thought no longer existed. And we should realize too that the Peace Corps and the Poverty Campaign can succeed only if enough people become involved in basic scientific and technical education--overseas, on the one hand, and of our own 580
/
Journal o f Chemical Education
poor on the other. I t is this dimension of science as a basic ingredient of love for one's neighbor in the modern world that may yet arouse our students to see in science once again one of the noblest vocations to which they can devote their lives. The purpose of the symposium was twofold: (a) to alert college teachers to the needs of countries overseas for science educators; to appeal to them so to arrange their lives that they can devote from a summer to a year or two to such an assignment; and (b) to bring to today's students, through their teachers, the old, yet startlingly new, dimension of a scientific careerbringing scientiic knowledge to areas of the world where its presence may make the diierence between life and death, between decency and squalor, between misery and joy. It was, of course, impossible to report on all types of international education activities. We have tried to take examples from a number of different areas: the project of a university, of a professional society, of a nation, of the United Nations; work a t the high school, university, and technical industrial level. Iuevitably many very important projects had to be left out. We apologize for the arbitrariness of our choice. 0.1. Benfey, Symposium Chairmon Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana
