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Message to Students |
Welcome to chemistry. Chemistry, as a science, is part of the dynamic process by which we answer questions concerning the complex world we live in. This year, we will share in a learning experience. For my part, I will serve as your chemistry coach. I will seek to provide you with extensive brain training and a better understanding of your world. I strive to be challenging, fair, and fun. I will always give you my best effort. For your part, I expect your best effort in return. I want to maintain an informal atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable, contributes, and has a voice in our classroom. Each of you has much to share. Your questions and willingness to participate will only enhance all of our learning - yours, your classmates, and mine.
From even the moment before you were born, you have been learning about yourself and your surroundings. Some things, such as breathing and crying, were genetically programmed. Other things were learned as you began to explore your world through the use of your senses. You began to listen to sounds, respond to light, and use your muscles to kick.
After birth, your learning curve was greatly accelerated. Your senses were now bombarded with information as you entered the world as an individual. Your brain was gathering this sensory information and processing these experiences. Humans have a great capacity for storing and organizing information into knowledge. Think about what you learned in your first year of life? Among many things, you learned how to make sounds other than crying, you learned how to grasp objects using your hands, and you learned your first mode of travel (crawling).
As you grew, you continued to learn at a rapid pace because so many things in your immediate surroundings were new to you. However, there comes a time when sandboxes and blocks will not continue to provide the stimulus for more learning. Your learning curve would become flat if you were not being exposed to new experiences. You can continue a steeper learning curve by being exposed to organized learning experiences prepared by a knowledgeable, interested person (teacher).
Off you went to kindergarten to begin the adventure that we call school. The hope is that each grade level presents you with new learning opportunities that challenge you and maintain a good learning curve. You are now more than half of the way through the organized learning process. A significant part of the rest of your schooling should be devoted to preparing you for learning without the organized structure of schools and teachers. Hopefully, you will develop into active, independent thinkers and learners who will leave school and embark on a lifetime of learning.
My job is to provide you with new experiences that will lead to your individual learning and growth. I have chosen to use chemistry as the main source of these experiences because I find chemistry to be particularly fascinating. Many of you have been involved in sports. Your coaches are there to teach you the fundamentals, guide your practice of them, and then allow you to apply them in competition. As your chemistry coach, I will be teaching you the fundamentals of chemistry. I will create assignments to guide your practice of the fundamentals of chemistry. This practice will lead you to exercise your brain just as you might exercise your muscles in sports. Having a brain that is in good shape will offer more opportunities for success just as well-toned muscles prepare you for success in sport.
A common complaint from students is "I will never use this". Consider that learning is not solely for the sake of accumulating information that will be spilled forth in some money-producing way. School is for brain training. Thinking like a chemist will provide brain conditioning which will allow you to think and understand at higher levels than you previously could. Don't be bothered if you never solve the same algebra problem again in your life. It was the ways in which you were required to use your brain that you will carry with you in your life. Now you will be able to learn about and solve larger, more complex problems. A runner needs to practice running two miles before their muscles are conditioned to run ten miles. Your job as a student is to put forth your best effort in practice so that you can enjoy success in competition.
You see there are actually two parts to my job: (1) teaching and (2) measuring. Your success in chemistry will largely be measured by the grade that you achieve. Why do we have to measure? First, this will provide feedback to both of us on how well our teaching/learning relationship is working. Secondly, to find your place in society, society needs information about you. Our society has been organized such that certain information carries weight as far as judging your abilities and character. If you decide to continue your organized learning at a college, that college will be interested in knowing about your previous success in those activities. Colleges typically receive thousands of applications, therefore they don't have two weeks to spend with you to allow them to get to know you and see if you are a worthy candidate. They will look at a few pieces of paper that summarize the experiences that society feels are most important. Of course, your grades in high school fit in this category. Keep all the doors open by doing your best.
You will be given assignments that require independent time and study on a consistent basis. The time required to complete these assignments is difficult to estimate because the nature of the assignment and the student will vary. The assignments will frequently involve reading your text book, completion of LAD questions, practice problems, or activities related to a project.
The study of chemistry includes many ideas and principles which tend to build on one another in a cumulative fashion. For example, material covered during the first unit will be needed throughout the course, thus a failure to master this material can cause a student problems on more than one test. Many times the success of a student is determined by their willingness to keep up with assignments.
I am aware of and sympathize with a student's many and varied time commitments. It is not my intention to overburden you with assignments, however, chemistry will be a new subject for most of you and consistent practice will be important. Traditional daily homework assignments will not be corrected. I want you to complete the assignments to the best of your ability, check your answers when an answer key is available, and ask questions/seek help when problems arise. One of the most important skills you can develop, is learning to ask for help at the right time.
Chemistry can be a challenging subject. Instead of giving up, you might want to consider analyzing your effort. Sometimes you can achieve greater success not by doing the same things for longer, but by adjusting your current practices. Taking an honest look at your own personal effort can be the first step towards making necessary adjustments. One way to check, is to measure your effort in AMPS.