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From: r.calhoun**At_Symbol_Here**moreheadstate.edu Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] 2 Re: [DCHAS-L] Glove use in academic teaching labs Date: August 10, 2009 4:12:11 PM EDT >From an industrial standpoint (i.e. employers), you will help us tremendously if those in education require gloves for all lab operations short of keyboards. > From an educator's point of view, requiring gloves for ALL lab > operations only teaches students that ALL chemicals are dangerous. > It does not teach the student to evaluate risk; to think about what > they are doing and what precautions they need to take. In many ways > it fosters an atmosphere of carelessness and disregard for real > dangers. If I make my students wear gloves when they determine the > density of salt water, they'll underestimate the danger when I make > them wear gloves for experiments where there is real risk. Yes, it > is easier to make hard and fast rules - "Do This", even if it's not > really appropriate - than to look at each individual situation. But > if anyone ever told you teaching was easy, they lied. Kay Calhoun