High School Chemistry has recently earned a dangerous and incredibly flawed reputation. Yes, I teach chemistry. No, I don't know how to manufacture drugs. Yes, I can perform some interesting and exciting chemical reactions. No, I don't create large explosions. Perhaps I should take it in stride and laugh when students ask if I could become rich making drugs but it draws focus away from the true nature of chemistry.
Chemistry is the science that seeks to understand matter by studying the behavior of atoms and molecules. Atoms have predictable characteristics and they react in predictable ways. As a "sequential" thinker, I love the predictability of atoms and the beautifully organized Periodic Table. Not every aspect of science is as predictable...such as earthquakes, weather, animal behaviors, and supernovae.
There are many different branches of Chemistry but my students learn the basics used by all chemists: the Periodic Table, chemical bonding, the mathematics of chemical reactions, aqueous solutions, and equilibrium. Some experiments we perform do require the use of fire and concentrated acids but safety is always a priority.
I want my students to be interested in what we study but I don't want them to enroll in my class thinking they will learn ways to break the law. Chemistry is about so much more than that. Chemistry has the ability to unite us all because no matter our race, color, or creed...we are all made of the same elements.
Chemistry is the science that seeks to understand matter by studying the behavior of atoms and molecules. Atoms have predictable characteristics and they react in predictable ways. As a "sequential" thinker, I love the predictability of atoms and the beautifully organized Periodic Table. Not every aspect of science is as predictable...such as earthquakes, weather, animal behaviors, and supernovae.
There are many different branches of Chemistry but my students learn the basics used by all chemists: the Periodic Table, chemical bonding, the mathematics of chemical reactions, aqueous solutions, and equilibrium. Some experiments we perform do require the use of fire and concentrated acids but safety is always a priority.
I want my students to be interested in what we study but I don't want them to enroll in my class thinking they will learn ways to break the law. Chemistry is about so much more than that. Chemistry has the ability to unite us all because no matter our race, color, or creed...we are all made of the same elements.