Green Chemistry

Background and Rationale

I teach in a Title I High School that has a demographic population of 98% African-American, 1% Hispanic and 1% Caucasian. My typical student is in the 10 ^th to 12 ^th grade, enrolled in Algebra II, and has difficulty applying Math to real world problems. Most of my students perceive Math as a dreaded subject, and Science as irrelevant to their lives. They are motivated by finding paths to success. They perceive success as having money and the freedom to pursue opportunities that money can provide.

I originally intended to relate Green Chemistry to the amount of money (green) that my students could earn by 'Going Green'; I originally thought that if they knew how profitable being a Green Chemist could be, then my students would participate in the 'Sustainability Revolution'. As my knowledge and scope of Green Chemistry increased, I went through a transformation and certain realizations became absurdly obvious; we as a society ARE on a collision course; we are creating more waste than we are recycling, and even when creating new products, the amount of toxic waste created is more than the amount of products created. Sustainability is no longer an option, it is a requirement for our existence. President Obama acknowledges that to improve the quality of life for all Americans, we need to renew our commitment to science, technology, and innovation;² I believe this to be true. We need stewards of the future who will understand the needs of our society and earth; these stewards need to be advocates of Science, and in particular Chemistry, for the future will belong to those who are able to apply unique, new, innovative solutions to solve our energy crisis.

I intend to spark my students' passion in Science and in their ability to Change The World. The lessons have been designed to show them the collision course we are on and the disparity of our environmentally unconscious society. The lessons will then show my students the opportunities that can be had to Change The World using Green Chemistry. Rather than advocating 'Green' to my students by telling them to be 'Green', I will teach my students how to interpret the facts, and allow them to come up with their own conclusions. I will teach them about new 'Green' initiatives, and have them interpret the facts of those initiatives, coming up with their own conclusions. By teaching them how to apply the principles of Green Chemistry in their lives, and understanding how they can have an impact on their future, I believe they can find a successful space to create and be creative. My goal will be to have students experience what has been, and to create what can be. All of these experiences will be wrapped around the 12 main principles of Green Chemistry (see appendix A).

Scaffolding is a pedagogical approach that uses consecutive skill sets to teach something. The skill sets are taught in an order such that skill 3 needs skill 2, and skill 2 needs skill 1. Thus, if you wanted to teach someone how to balance their checkbook, you would first teach them how to identify and count money, then how to add and subtract money, and finally how to balance their checkbook.