Recognizing Teachers: Easy, Inexpensive, Meaningful Ways

Is your local section looking for meaningful but inexpensive ways to reach out to and recognize outstanding local teachers? The Journal of Chemical Education is the premier journal in the world for those who teach chemistry at the high-school through graduate-school levels—and it is published by the ACS Division of Chemical Education. It offers several affordable options that can recognize teachers as well as get them connected to the larger chemistry teaching community.

Serving as chair/chair-elect carries many responsibilities, and it can be a challenge to effectively manage these responsibilities. Hearing what other chairs and chairs-elect have done in their local sections can be a real help. When I attended the 2003 Leadership Training Conference in Washington, DC, as the Indiana Local Section chair-elect, other chairs and chairs-elect and I shared ideas about how we could better reach out to high school teachers and students. At the time, I shared several ideas that our local section had used; however, many commented that those ideas were too costly for their local sections to undertake. I understand completely, but also know that we need to continue to find ways to reach out to the educators of future chemists.

I have been teaching high school chemistry for 17 years and have also been actively involved in two ACS local sections in numerous ways. A year ago, I became the Associate Secondary School Editor of the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE). Serving in all of these roles has brought to mind appropriate and meaningful ways for local sections to reach out to high school teachers. Here are some ideas.

Did you know that JCE (www.jce.divched.org/index.html) is published by the ACS Division of Chemical Education (CHED)? Did you know that JCE is the premier journal in the world for those who teach chemistry at the high-school through graduate-school levels? Your local section can support education as well as the ACS and CHED by honoring outstanding local teachers with a gift subscription to JCE. The cost is only $45 per person. Each gift subscription comes with a presentation folder containing a certificate with the recipient’s name and signed by the editor personally. This really is a gift that keeps on giving, as the laboratories, demonstrations, classroom techniques, and ideas live on in the recipient’s classroom.

JCE has several other affordable options. A one-year subscription for an entire high school is only $165. Like an individual gift subscription, this gives full access to JCE Online, which includes PDF files of everything published in JCE since its first issue in 1924. (The bound, printed volumes would occupy a library shelf four feet wide running from floor to ceiling—what a bonus for your local school!) JCE always has the busy high school teacher in mind. Resources of interest to high school chemistry teachers are collected and cataloged online at the JCE High School Chemed Learning Information Center (JCE HS CLIC www.jce.divched.org/HS/index.html), our web portal for high school teachers. This helps teachers find what they need faster and access items more easily.

Another option, created especially for high school teachers and initiated by former ACS President Bill Carroll, brings together JCE and CHED. The Chemistry Teacher Connection (CTC) combines an online-only subscription to JCE HS CLIC along with membership in CHED. Normally, these two items would cost $65 per year, but they are available as the CTC for $40. CTC subscribers will receive access to all articles and accompanying supplements shown on the CLIC website. This includes all published JCE items that have been designated in a print issue’s table of contents as being of interest to high school teachers, from 1996 through the current issue.

Are you planning an education night or other public event? CHED has an Outreach Office (CHEDOutreach@chem.wisc.edu) that you can contact to request materials, especially those involving local high school teachers. Most of the materials are available free and there is no cost for shipping if the materials are requested at least three weeks in advance. These materials can include sample issues of JCE, temporary access to JCE Online materials, information about CHED and how to join, ACS Examinations Institute information, reduced-cost gift subscriptions to the JCE, personalized Gift Award Certificates, welcome packets, and more. This valuable information can help you provide informative and encouraging materials to event attendees at no cost to your local section. I found that including these materials with my presentation materials often opened “conversation” doors where I could further encourage and support my fellow teaching colleagues in very real and tangible ways.

I hope that you will consider utilizing JCE to honor a teacher in your local section. I look forward to serving you and the educators in your section. Please contact me if I can help you or if you have any questions.

Laura E. Slocum
Secondary School Associate Editor, Journal of Chemical Education
2004 Chair, Indiana Local Section

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