Tuesday, April 12, 2005
"Sweet dreams and boiling machines in pieces on the ground..."
Finally, after about (let's see...starting w/September) six and a half months or so I am beginning chemistry with my classes for the first time this year. As you may or may not recall, the district's much-vaunted core curriculum insisted that I take time at the start of the year to teach astronomy, earth science, environmental science, and meteorology...none of which are really physical science, but who am I to judge. Physical science, as far as I am concerned, is chemistry and physics, and I only started really doing that in January when we got into mechanics.
Now, for better or for worse, I never taught freshmen physics before this year. I HAVE taught chemistry however, so I feel a lot more comfortable with the material. I can play and experiment a little more. So, in that spirit, I decided to go borrow some equipment from an experienced chemistry teacher. We're starting with physical properties, and I thought it would be fun, while we were talking about stuff like mass, volume, and so forth, I should bring up boiling point. And what better way to demonstrate than with hand boilers? A hand boiler is a glass tube formed with a reservoir at the bottom connected via a helical tube to an empty bulb. The tube is filled with a chemical (methylene chloride) evacuated of oxygen and the combination of lower vapor pressure and a boiling point of around 40 degrees Celsius lets the liquid boil in the palm of your hand! It's pretty nifty actually; the sort of gift you could get at a science museum gift store and not feel badly giving to a younger relative.
Before passing these hand boilers around to my students, I decided to give a very strict warning. Be very careful, I said. These do not belong to me. They are very fragile If you break them, you will not be going to the lab.
So what do you think they do within 10 minutes?
Go on...guess.
Oh, you better believe they broke it! So I gave them the storm and thunder. Not that it made that big a difference. And then I calmed down a little stepped back and commented that I wouldn't be that angry about the boiler if it were mine, but I had borrowed it. And I could not have been more explicit in my warnings unless I wrote them in big yellow letters on the board. I was, and still am, disappointed. And the four kids who were laughing and playing around got assigned a detention with me for tomorrow afternoon. This led one kid to cuss me out, so he's getting suspended. Even if he doesn't know it. And the kid most likely responsible for the actual breakage? he was already on the ninth grade academy leader's hit list. So he's suspended. Works for me.
2 out of my 5 classes already have lost their lab privileges. I would not feel safe taking them up to the lab. That's it. Plain and simple.
At the same time, I'm really looking forward to Dry Ice Day next week. I wonder if those kids will listen when I warn them not to lick the sample in the ziploc bag...
Finally, after about (let's see...starting w/September) six and a half months or so I am beginning chemistry with my classes for the first time this year. As you may or may not recall, the district's much-vaunted core curriculum insisted that I take time at the start of the year to teach astronomy, earth science, environmental science, and meteorology...none of which are really physical science, but who am I to judge. Physical science, as far as I am concerned, is chemistry and physics, and I only started really doing that in January when we got into mechanics.
Now, for better or for worse, I never taught freshmen physics before this year. I HAVE taught chemistry however, so I feel a lot more comfortable with the material. I can play and experiment a little more. So, in that spirit, I decided to go borrow some equipment from an experienced chemistry teacher. We're starting with physical properties, and I thought it would be fun, while we were talking about stuff like mass, volume, and so forth, I should bring up boiling point. And what better way to demonstrate than with hand boilers? A hand boiler is a glass tube formed with a reservoir at the bottom connected via a helical tube to an empty bulb. The tube is filled with a chemical (methylene chloride) evacuated of oxygen and the combination of lower vapor pressure and a boiling point of around 40 degrees Celsius lets the liquid boil in the palm of your hand! It's pretty nifty actually; the sort of gift you could get at a science museum gift store and not feel badly giving to a younger relative.
Before passing these hand boilers around to my students, I decided to give a very strict warning. Be very careful, I said. These do not belong to me. They are very fragile If you break them, you will not be going to the lab.
So what do you think they do within 10 minutes?
Go on...guess.
Oh, you better believe they broke it! So I gave them the storm and thunder. Not that it made that big a difference. And then I calmed down a little stepped back and commented that I wouldn't be that angry about the boiler if it were mine, but I had borrowed it. And I could not have been more explicit in my warnings unless I wrote them in big yellow letters on the board. I was, and still am, disappointed. And the four kids who were laughing and playing around got assigned a detention with me for tomorrow afternoon. This led one kid to cuss me out, so he's getting suspended. Even if he doesn't know it. And the kid most likely responsible for the actual breakage? he was already on the ninth grade academy leader's hit list. So he's suspended. Works for me.
2 out of my 5 classes already have lost their lab privileges. I would not feel safe taking them up to the lab. That's it. Plain and simple.
At the same time, I'm really looking forward to Dry Ice Day next week. I wonder if those kids will listen when I warn them not to lick the sample in the ziploc bag...
