DCHAS-L Archives, Oct 03 2019 - Re: [DCHAS-L] [EXT] Re: [DCHAS-L] Letter to the National PTA regarding the rainbow flame demo

Debbie and Sammye -- never forget that the exact same chemicals are used in art and theater: solvents, acids, bases, metals, minerals, organic substances such as wood and dyes, and more. Performance art and theater special effects are big now which you can translate into demonstrations of chemical reactions. These reactions may not involve people not just watching, but people enveloped in the chemicals. So what you teach is applicable to almost all teachers.

Monona

-----Original Message-----
From: Samuella Sigmann <sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**APPSTATE.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Thu, Oct 3, 2019 7:40 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] [EXT] Re: [DCHAS-L] Letter to the National PTA regarding the rainbow flame demo

Try to get into the pre-service teacher methods class. The folks in the our College of Ed have been really welcoming to me, but the Profs who teach that class have recognized how large the hole is for science teacher education and want to help get the word out.

Baby steps it is....
S-

On 10/2/2019 7:34 PM, Debbie M. Decker wrote:

I presented safety training to high school science teachers last week and I meet with middle school science teachers next week. I kinda threw everything but the kitchen sink at them and hope some of it sticks. They have had minimal to no safety training and certainly none in their credential programs. Hopefully, I'll be invited back. <heh> My next windmill - the school of education, next door to my building.

I feel like it's baby steps but it's a step.

Debbie

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow

Past Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety

Councilor and Programming Co-Chair

University of California, Davis

(530)754-7964

(530)304-6728

dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction

that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,

can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Samuella Sigmann
Sent: Wednesday, October 2, 2019 2:35 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] [EXT] Re: [DCHAS-L] Letter to the National PTA regarding the rainbow flame demo

I have guest lectured in our secondary science educator methods class for the last 5 years and so can make sure that our pre-service teachers at least get 2 hours of education on risk assessment - Not near enough, but something. I went about 2 weeks ago to do this for the fall semester. You better believe that they got pointed to NFPA 45, Chapter 12. Also, that "10 ft" distance goes right back to NFPA, Chapter 12. That distance has been used in several cases and I think whether adopted or not is now "best practices". They hear this as well.

So at least a handful of teachers have this info!

I have reached out several times to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) to get the safety curriculum changed for K-12 teachers - particularly those who will be teaching middle and high school. The last time I emailed the Chair of AACTE was in June after the Beacon case. So far my attempts have been recognized with, "how tragic that it is that students are getting burned", and "we will look into this".

I believe more pressure needs to be put on this group.
S-

On 10/2/2019 10:56 AM, Harry Elston wrote:

I would think it's a safe bet that not one secondary school educator (including education management) has ever read NFPA 45 (the current edition, the one with the demonstration requirements); understand "Authority having jurisdiction" and probably few have ever heard of the National Fire Protection Association.

Then there's the secondary issue in local areas where NFPA standards are not regulatorily enforced. NFPA standards are just that - standards; not regulation. They can (and have been) adopted by various jurisdictions as regulations, but there are areas where they have not been also.

The root cause of the problem cannot be solved by the Society but the Society, and particularly AACT, can assist in solving it. The root cause of the problem is that, in general, secondary educators are not chemists (or "chemistry majors"); they are education majors with some science background. Chemical safety is learned in the teaching laboratory and when one does not have extensive laboratory experience, they do not gather the knowledge and skills necessary to perform safely.

"People change when the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same." It=E2=80™s been painful enough for individuals to act and begin to affect change; however, it is not been painful enough for the Society or AACT get involved at an "in the dirt" level. As organizations go, we're great about talking about a problem; less so about working to solve it.

Harry

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Richard Palluzi
Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2019 7:59 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] [EXT] Re: [DCHAS-L] Letter to the National PTA regarding the rainbow flame demo

Nfpa 45 has an extensive set if recommendations for demonstrations.

--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

******************************************************************************

We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do everything with nothing. Teresa Arnold paraphrased from Konstantin Josef Jire=C4=8Dek (1854 =E2=80" 1918)

Samuella B. Sigmann, MS, NRCC-CHO

Chair, ACS Division of Chemical Health & Safety, 2019

Senior Lecturer/Safety Committee Chair/Director of Stockroom

Chemistry

Appalachian State University

525 Rivers Street

Boone, NC 28608

Phone: 828 262 2755

Fax: 828 262 6558

Email: sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**appstate.edu

--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas