from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor

Summer is really here though it seems like school just ended, and I just finished going through the turmoil of choosing textbooks once again this year. My school changed its online book vendor, so each instructor had the option of making changes in course textbooks. Perhaps “turmoil” is not the best word, but it sure feels that way to most of us at the end of the school year. I decided to stay with the same textbook I have been using in my first year chemistry course. Selecting a book for my Introduction to Organic and Introduction to Biochemistry course is more difficult. For this course, I look for a book that is descriptive but not too detailed. For example, I do not teach mechanisms of reactions in my organic course, so the book does not need to include mechanisms for organic reactions.

Thus, you might wonder why am I still on the topic of books? Books captivate me—they also provide a wonderful place to escape to when I am tired of all the “noise”. By this time of year, a bit of quiet is satisfying and very much needed. If you feel the same way, this month’s issue of the Journal of Chemical Education offers great resources to find a book for your own quiet escape.

The Summer Reading issue remains one of my favorites. Summer Reading has appeared in the June or July issue of JCE for many years, and you can search the JCE online index for past lists using Summer Reading as the title. Each typically contains at least two or three books that I add to my own Summer Reading list, and I have never been disappointed. The honest and open manner in which the summer book reviewers share their insights causes me to ponder and want to explore further the books suggested. For example, I really like Oliver Sacks’s Uncle Tungsten, and his book, Musicophilia, that Cheryl Frech describes sounds very interesting. I am always trying to learn more about why so many of my students seem to be equally motivated by music and chemistry, and I am beginning to learn more about the underlying connections between the two disciplines (1).

Unfortunately, I cannot completely escape my professional responsibilities and I have added Hal Harris’s recommendation Measuring Up, to my summer list as well. My world was consumed by assessment this year more than any other to date. Until this year, my school did not have to do state-wide subject testing; however, if we want to remain in the high school athletic tournament brackets, we have to include end-of-course assessments at appropriate places in our curriculum. This did not impact my classes this year, but it will soon. I am looking forward to any additional insight Measuring Up might provide in regard to student assessment.

Earth Day Update

My first-ever classroom Earth Day celebration went well. As I mentioned in my Take on the Issue column in February 2009, I decided to save the topic of gas laws until closer to Earth Day this year (2). It seemed odd to do gas laws so late in the year, but I am glad that we celebrated Earth Day at my school. My students seemed to like the 100th JCE Classroom Activity: How Heavy Is the Balloon? (3), but the students did not continue talking about it as I thought they might. The school did re-start our school-wide recycling program and it is going well. I am grateful for the resurgence of this program and the enthusiasm the students seem to have for ensuring that everyone is participating in the recycling program.

Beautifully colored Marangoni flow patterns are generated on top of a floral motif background. To make your own, see Mundell, D. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 833.

Erica’s Take on the Issue

from Erica K. Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor

JCE staff and friends are heading to Radford, VA. We’ll be there Sunday, August 2 through Thursday, August 6 as part of the ChemEd meeting, hosted by Radford University. We hope to see you there! Look for us in the exhibit hall Sunday night as well on as Monday and Tuesday. We’ll be staffing booths for JCE, the ChemEd Digital Library (ChemEd DL), the ACS Exams Institute, and ICE (the Institute for Chemical Education). Stop by to start or renew a subscription (and get a piece of free JCE Software), find out about great ChemEd DL resources, discuss publication ideas, and more. We’re also leading several presentations about helpful resources you can take back to your classroom and use this fall. For a listing of JCE-related presentations, see “News from Journal House”.

Literature Cited

1. Slocum, Laura E. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1897.

2. Jacobsen, Erica K. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 141.

3. Johnson, Bettie Obi; Milligan, Henry Van. How Heavy Is a Balloon? Using the Ideal Gas Law. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 224A–224B.

JCE High School Chemed Learning Information Center (CLIC)