THE NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS AND HOW IT HELPS TEACHERS OF CHEMISTRY *

OCTAVIA C E A P ~ . HIGH SCHOOL, MALDBN, MASSACHUSB~~S

In February, 1898, the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers was established. Sixteen teachers signed the constitution and became charter members. Membership has increased so that at present i t is about 400. Complete reports of all meetings are sent to members and have been since the third meeting. This fact has obtained and held teachers from such distant parts of New England, and even outside of New England, that they could not conveniently attend many meetings.

The work of the Committees has been very important. Reports from the Committee on Current Events, the Committee on New Apparatus, and the Committee on New Books are given at each meeting. Lists of books for teachers have appeared twice in the reports. In one report a list of books suitable for a Chemistry Library for Secondary Schools was published. This was probably an original idea as far as chemistry is concerned and seems to have been the forerunner of several subsequent chemistry lists from different parts of the country.

The Committee on Industrial Trips has arranged visits to industries such as those manufacturing glass, soap, candy, iron, oxygen, sugar, and acids. Various processes have been studied such as photoengraving, lithography, and refrigeration.

The object of the association as stalgd in the constitution, namely, the promotion of efficient teaching in chemistry, has never been lost sight of. This aim has been accomplished by listening to papers on the teaching of chemistry in high schools and by discussions of such topics as laboratory notebooks, second-year chemistry, chemical arithmetic, etc. The practical side of chemistry has been presented by specialists. At four merent times courses have been given for the help of members of the association by professors of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Five years ago a special investigation was carried on by one of the mem- bers in regard to "The Laboratory, Its Proper Function, How It Is Used and Regarded in One Hundred Schools in New England." A questionnaire was sent to about 200 schools. The tabulation and discussion of the returns made a 45-page report printed in the 25th anniversary number of the association's reports.

In 1911 the association was incorporeted under the laws of Massachu- setts. At this time it was voted to appoint a permanent curator of all gifts, such as books, apparatus, specimens, and lantern slides. The curs-

' Read before the Division of Chemical Education at the 76th Meeting of the A. C. S., September 12, 1928. at Swampseott, Mass.

tor is the custodian of the library and museum, collects and preserves the literature of the association, assists in the preparation and circulation of the traveling chemical exhibits, solicits teaching material of all k ids , and makes the property of the association available for its members.

The association has taken advantage of opportunities to cooperate with other organizations. At a meeting of the National Education Association in Boston, in 1903, several members read papers and the association gave a reception to President Ira Remsen of Johns Hopkins University. It has always been active in interesting its members in the affairs of the American Chemical Society and in encouraging them to join the A. C. S.

One of the most inspiring gatherings was held in conjunction with the Eastern Association of Physics Teachers in 1911. It was a reception tendered Professor Svante Arrhenius. The association is proud that Dr. ~rrbenius was an honorary member and that Madame Curie, Dr. Edward Berry, Dr. Charles Herty, and several others are honorary members.

Anniversaries have been celebrated with special programs. At the fiftieth meeting Drs. Eliot, Richards, Roberts, and Talbot were the prin- cipal speakers. Dr. Newell spoke a t the 25th anniversary meeting and Mr. Segerblom gave a complete report on the laboratory questionnaire. At the 100th meeting Drs. Noms and Herty were the speakers.

The New England Association of Chemistry Teachers has wished for a long time to see more associations of chemistry teachers in states outside New England, because we recognize what this would mean to the teachers of chemistry, knowing what we have derived frym our own association. We therefore welcomed the organization of the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society because of the service it could render in organizing chemistry teachers throughout the country.

One factor which has spelled success for our Association has been the splendid cooperative spirit between college and high-school teachers work- ing side by side, each getting the other's point of view, each trying to help the other. Together they have attacked the problem of the bridge be- tween high-school and college, each correlating his work with that of the other, eliminating the gap which had kept these teachers apart, andestab- lishmg some of the "Kameraderie" which is so characteristic of the Ameri- can Chemical Society as a whole.

For thirty years the association has been of value to every member because of his contact with other members, his opportunity of visiting the various industrial plants under the guidance of experts, and his oppor- tunity of observing laboratory equipment and facilities in the various schools where meetings have been held, and of observing demonstrations of new apparatus and methods of successful teachers. Of special importance has been the summation of most of these in the reports published from time to time during the year.