Chemistry Education
Have you seriously considered what you will do with your chemistry degree after your time with us at KSU? We invite you to join us in preparing the next generation of chemistry majors by enrolling in our undergraduate chemistry education track. By completing this program, you will earn both a bachelors of science (B.S.) degree in chemistry as well as a certificate to teach in a secondary school setting as soon as you graduate from KSU. One of the attractive features of this option is that you can complete this option within the same four-year course of study as our general chemistry majors. If you also are considering an advanced degree in the a science-related field, you will already have the necessary coursework for admission to most graduate programs across the country!
Stay tuned as we update this web site to help you in your journey. Utilize the hyperlinks we have included in our navigation bar to help get you started!
Program Coordinator
Dr. Greg Rushton earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of South Carolina and joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2004. He has worked both as an environmental chemist in southern California and taught high school chemistry, physics, and mathematics for seven years in South Carolina prior to his arrival here at KSU. He is responsible for the program coordination and advising of those interested in pursuing this option. Dr. Rushton can be reached in his office (SC 435), by phone (678-797-2046) or by email (grushton@kennesaw.edu). We look forward to hearing from you soon!
ACS President speaks of urgent need of chemistry teachers
Taken from: Chemical & Engineering News, January 3, 2005, Volume 83, Number 01, pp. 2-4
NSF tells us that 60% of high school students take chemistry, but fewer than half of their teachers have even a minor in chemistry. When I was campaigning last year, senior members wrote me long letters about the high school teachers that changed their lives. Years ago, unlike today, chemistry teachers were most likely chemists. They conveyed a passion born of their personal commitment to the field.
The U.S. needs more chemist high school teachers, and here's one approach to addressing that need. Many of our members are voluntarily or involuntarily early-retired, technically competent, and not ready to hang up their spikes. Some are already considering teaching as a second career. We can help.
I'm not suggesting that chemists go straight from the office or the laboratory to the classroom--it's not that simple. New teachers of any age need to come to class with the right set of pedagogical tools, a great apprentice teaching experience, and mentors from whom they can continue to learn.
But given the temperament, the desire, the technical expertise, and those tools, we have members who can shape our future by becoming second-career teachers. I also believe more of our students would choose teaching as a first career if they understood more clearly what was involved.
This year, we will have presidential events at the national meetings highlighting what it takes to become a teacher--early or late in a career--and we'll hear from people who have made the transition. We will capture the information for our website and provide it to local sections for use in their employment activities.
We have recently passed bylaw changes to enable greater teacher membership in ACS, but we need to demonstrate the value of such a membership. I've already asked the Division of Chemical Education, the Journal of Chemical Education, and ACS staff to help develop new products that address high school teachers' need for easy-to-find and easy-to-use classroom aids. We should have results to announce at the spring meeting.
Local sections can encourage teacher involvement by organizing low-cost teacher workshops or by bringing the excellent ACS program "Inquiry Matters" to the section. Retired members can volunteer at elementary schools as a resident science consultant for teachers who may have little hands-on science experience or science course work.
Many companies have "Adopt-a-School" programs. It's not too much of a stretch for those of us in chemistry to "Adopt-a-Teacher."