CORRESPONDENCE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE JOURNAL issues a year a task which should have been and wasn't done during college years, is asking too much of any . . DEARSIR: magazine. If I disagree with this author, what constructive sugDue to the fact that I am one of the younger members of the teaching profession, I have often felt that my nestions have I to offer? First. let me make mv ~osition opinions would not be of enough importance to bother clear. I am a teacher in a small Presbyterian liberal anybody else. However, since the JOURNAL OF CHEMI- arts college, with a student body of five hundred, which CAL EDUCATION can be of great value to us younger has a very high scholastic rating. I feel that I was teachers, may I, at your request, suggest a few changes engaged not only for my ability as a chemistry teacher, for the JOURNAL which would help me. but also as a personality which might be able to do as First of all, I do not entirely agree with the author of much constructive work outside of the classroom as in the letter published in the October issue. I agree with it. I chose this type of work because I preferred it to him that some changes could be made in order to be of industrial work or even research and teaching in a unimore assistance to chemistry teachers. I disagree in versity. Having chosen this work it means that my that I feel he was still too general in his suggestions. active participation and interest in research must beThe only concrete proposal that is made is that of in- come secondary if it exists at all. This being the case, cluding in a science journal articles on subjects from I become somewhat lax in keeping up with the very latest researches in chemistry. In order, however, ,‘sociology to engineering." If and when the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION begins to include articles on that my classes be kept up to date, I prefer to turn to sociology, psychology, or such subjects, I shall no longer some magazine, such as Chemical Reuz'ms, which in one be interested in the JOURNAL.Does this imply that I article gives me a complete history of the development of any particular subject. However, Chemical Reviews am interested only in chemistry? On the contrary, I am very vitally interested in the does not quite satisfy my needs since it is written by actual application of such subjects to actual everyday men interested primarily in research for men interested life. However, when I want information on those top- primarily in research. My suggestion is this. The JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ics I prefer to read articles in magazines and books might include two or three articles of the written expressly for those fields. I agree heartily EDUCATION with the writer of the letter, in that I feel that chemists Chemical Reviews type, on subjects directly applicable in general, myself included, are quite deficient in the to chemistry teachers and the subjects they must teach. knowledge of how to integrate themselves with the For example, such subjects as Theories and Examples of community as a whole. I also agree that most of us Catalysis, Modern Theories of Solutions, Acids and need some education along these lines, but to ask the Bases, and so forth. I know that articles and even JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION to do in twelve monographs have been written on these subjects, but
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they have not been written for the chemistry teacher. Could not the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION include articles of this type written expressly for chemistry teachers and of such a degree of difficultythat they might be assigned to undergraduates with the knowledge that the student could understand and assimilate most of the information in the article? In these articles questions apt to be asked by students could be anticipated and answered. For example, such questions as: What proof, which is understandable to freshmen, can be given for the existence of the hydronium ion rather than the hydrogen ion? In the case of catalysts, just what is the type of action of manganese dioxide as a catalyst in the experiment of obtaining oxygen from potassium chlorate?
I think the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION is to be complimented on the excellent articles on chemical industries. Could not these also be continued in shorter form a little more often so as to keep our information of changes in chemical industrial processes up to date?' My suggestions, therefore, are to include more articles of the review type on subjects directly applicable to high-school and college courses in chemistry which, as well as enabling us teachers to keep our courses up to date, also provide a good reference magazine for undergraduate students. C . D. MYERS
