One of my favorite parts of my life at Rice is working with high school chemistry teachers. For several years now, my colleague Carolyn Nichol and I have offered a graduate course for these teachers in what is called “content pedagogy,” meaning that we talk about successful strategies for teaching Chemistry. This is something I’ve studied and experimented with since 1985.
What I enjoy most is the enthusiasm of the teachers for the material. All of them love Chemistry and love teaching but have experienced the frustration of their students not understanding Chemistry concepts. So they are looking for new ideas and better ways. The dedication of these teachers is amazing: all of them commit to a 3 hour class each week on a Thursday evening after a long day of teaching, and some of them drive more than an hour each way from their schools to Rice. The contrast is stark between the reality of these teachers and the fictitious political attack on teachers as the problem with American education. These teachers deserve our support, encouragement, resources, and gratitude.