Europe, leave my f*&"ing chemicals alone!
Discussion
Jeez, what will these 
ers think of about with next?
I'm bloody angry, in my short career as a chemistry teacher, I've noticed that the reasons I did my degree, got inspired, want to inspire are increasingly difficult. The other day I had to teach some boring shit to some uninterested kids. That is basically the subject matter and it is incredibly dull, unless you bring it to life with some bangs and stinks. I regard myself as inspiring and my subject worthwhile, the whole thing which makes kids want to know about molecular orbitals and -CH3's are people like me using larger than they should amounts of stuff to make big bangs and purple smoke, etc.
I've had the opportunity to really use my knowledge to do some spectaclar stuff and turn some really naff theory nonsense into something worthy of telling friends, parents, etc. So, I find out that since I was at school (10 years ago) most of the stuff has been banned, you can't distill crude oil because crude oil is dangerous, you can't burn peanuts because some feeble specimin may die, you can't preserve what you hacked up because one sniff of formaldehyde in your whole life will cause your babies to melt and the children to grow tusks. Making coal gas creates benzene which causes skin to char (yeah, the same benzene there is loads of in super unleaded), my demonstrations I wanted to do have mostly been banned because some weirdy beardy english tree huggers want it banned. Now the Brussels bunch want a piece of the action, when I heard radio 2 bleating on about the WWF beardy inclusive tree hugging s bleating on about how 2-methoxy-iodo-magnesium manganate causes pandas to fall out of their trees it made my blood boil.
If you are going to ban all the chemicals, how do you expect me to do my job? Surely as a expert, I can decide better than some moustached flowery women in the civil service, let alone bloody europe what shit is dangerous and what shit I can explode with relative safety. All these classical demonstrations which are truly inspiring are being throttled by this big government of ours. No wonder there are a shortage of chemists and science teachers. Turning white powder into more white powder, deliberating over pages of statistics is shit, chemistry is very dull, please don't take the illusion away that it isn't.
I for one will be applying for a head of department job, despite my pyramid climbing refusal and I WILL BE DOINGING EXPLOSIONS WITH BANNED CHEMICALS DESPITE WHAT ANY ING EUROCRATIC OR NEW LABOUR NONSENSE SAYS (and my bloody children will not melt or grow tusks as a result).
GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ers think of about with next? I'm bloody angry, in my short career as a chemistry teacher, I've noticed that the reasons I did my degree, got inspired, want to inspire are increasingly difficult. The other day I had to teach some boring shit to some uninterested kids. That is basically the subject matter and it is incredibly dull, unless you bring it to life with some bangs and stinks. I regard myself as inspiring and my subject worthwhile, the whole thing which makes kids want to know about molecular orbitals and -CH3's are people like me using larger than they should amounts of stuff to make
big bangs and purple smoke, etc. I've had the opportunity to really use my knowledge to do some spectaclar stuff and turn some really naff theory nonsense into something worthy of telling friends, parents, etc. So, I find out that since I was at school (10 years ago) most of the stuff has been banned, you can't distill crude oil because crude oil is dangerous, you can't burn peanuts because some feeble specimin may die, you can't preserve what you hacked up because one sniff of formaldehyde in your whole life will cause your babies to melt and the children to grow tusks. Making coal gas creates benzene which causes skin to char (yeah, the same benzene there is loads of in super unleaded), my
demonstrations I wanted to do have mostly been banned because some weirdy beardy english tree huggers want it banned. Now the Brussels bunch want a piece of the action, when I heard radio 2 bleating on about the WWF beardy inclusive tree hugging s bleating on about how 2-methoxy-iodo-magnesium manganate causes pandas to fall out of their trees it made my blood boil. If you are going to ban all the chemicals, how do you expect me to do my job? Surely as a
expert, I can decide better than some moustached flowery women in the civil service, let alone bloody europe what shit is dangerous and what shit I can explode with relative safety. All these classical demonstrations which are truly inspiring are being throttled by this big government of ours. No wonder there are a shortage of chemists and science teachers. Turning white powder into more white powder, deliberating over pages of statistics is shit, chemistry is very dull, please don't take the illusion away that it isn't. I for one will be applying for a head of department job, despite my pyramid climbing refusal and I WILL BE DOING
ING EXPLOSIONS WITH BANNED CHEMICALS DESPITE WHAT ANY ING EUROCRATIC OR NEW LABOUR NONSENSE SAYS (and my bloody children will not melt or grow tusks as a result). GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mate was a chemistry teacher, but he isn't any more.
Cos what he thought was H2O was H2SO4
Actually, I might have enjoyed it more if we hadn't had to spend two years copying down what teacher wrote on the blackboard (not whiteboard, noticeboard or any other kind of board: BLACKboard) and blew sh!t up instead
Cos what he thought was H2O was H2SO4
Actually, I might have enjoyed it more if we hadn't had to spend two years copying down what teacher wrote on the blackboard (not whiteboard, noticeboard or any other kind of board: BLACKboard) and blew sh!t up instead
Dear Love Machine,
My name is Abdul Hazkab Elmakkah. I am interested in going to your class where you can teach me these things. I travel from Afghanistan next year, shortly before the Queen's Birthday celebrations in London.
I look forward to hearing good things from you.
Regards
Abdul
My name is Abdul Hazkab Elmakkah. I am interested in going to your class where you can teach me these things. I travel from Afghanistan next year, shortly before the Queen's Birthday celebrations in London.
I look forward to hearing good things from you.
Regards
Abdul
The best part seemed to be the WI woman on the Today programme this morning who's whole argument for the "Chemicals are like bad man" was that, as a teacher, she had noticed that more kids had asthma these days.
"Well we didn't have these chemicals before so that must be the reason".
FFS
"Well we didn't have these chemicals before so that must be the reason".
FFSI had a chemistry teacher like you. Regular sodium on water exploits, with far too much sodium. Practicals, he'd leave the room and we'd try and gas the weakest member of the class, or nick magnesium powder and essentials for making gunpowder from the store room. Sniffing aromatics (oooh, smells like pear drops..) with no idea of the effects on our synapses, bunsen burners on the water taps for a good wet scrap, light gas jets straight at the nozzle......ah happy days.
Looking back I'm amazed that I learnt anything AND still have all my digits! But it did make it fun - fight back FFS, chemistry as an abstract exercise on the blackboard won't go far with the pupils.
Looking back I'm amazed that I learnt anything AND still have all my digits! But it did make it fun - fight back FFS, chemistry as an abstract exercise on the blackboard won't go far with the pupils.
YarisSi said:
Why not do it anyway. No one will be bothered.
Yep,
'em. The two chemistry lessons I remember are;
1) The dichromate volcano, set off by some magnesium ribbon, which filled the room with smoke and left a pool of molten chromium in the bottom of the crucible.
2) The time when the teacher invited the class hard-nut to sniff a gas jar of chlorine
And probably related, green clouds of chlorine, extracted from the fume cupboard, wafting past the lab windows... WW1 comes to town
simpo two said:
1) The dichromate volcano, set off by some magnesium ribbon, which filled the room with smoke and left a pool of molten chromium in the bottom of the crucible.
Still do that one...
simopo said:
2) The time when the teacher invited the class hard-nut to sniff a gas jar of chlorine
Doubt that ones allowed anymore!
los angeles said:
Europeans are interfering lentilists?
Having given the matter some thought, that seems a pretty good description.
If you were wondering why you now have to work until you're 67 years old for £sodall, it's because the above mentioned are very expensive to keep in paperclips and big lunches. Yep, money that could be going to *your* pension is going to pay the Brussels jobsworths so *they* can tell you how to live your life.
Frik said:
The best part seemed to be the WI woman on the Today programme this morning who's whole argument for the "Chemicals are like bad man" was that, as a teacher, she had noticed that more kids had asthma these days.
"Well we didn't have these chemicals before so that must be the reason".
She really made my blood boil.
When did ignorance become a point of view?
[/scottadams]
This legislation is about to destroy what's left of my livelihood as a Chemical Engineer.
I bet he doesn't talk like that in class. But saying "aw, shucks" just doesn't vent the anger as well as profanity.
I see his point. Part of learning chemistry is learning how to safely handle materials, even if you aren't fully aware of all their properties (as a student), in addition to demonstration purposes. Plus, you don't learn the importance of precision, or really grasp the effect of chemical contamination, for example, without laboratory experience. That's why kids need to have real experience with real chemicals. Reading about it simply isn't enough. There are some things that you need to learn about chemical safety that you can apply in every day life. For example, you should not clean with a product that has bleach at the same time that you are using an ammonia product. The fumes from the two (if the area isn't well ventilated) can combine and make a noxious chemical (free chlorine gas?) that will damage the lungs. Lovemachine will know what I'm talking about, but I don't know what the exact reaction is. Anyway, without laboratory experience, people ignore warnings, don't heed instructions, because they don't understand what the dangers may be. It's a disservice to society. Granted, you are going to have some unruly kids that could be dangerous with a bunsen burner, but you just have to enforce harsh penalties on those few. Most kids want to learn and value their safety and the safety of others. The government attempts to protect people from themselves so much that the result is utter dependence and ineptitude. People are less independent and self sufficient because these protections make everything someone else's responsibility---so they don't read and don't look after themselves as well as they could, and don't figure out how to solve their own problems.
I see his point. Part of learning chemistry is learning how to safely handle materials, even if you aren't fully aware of all their properties (as a student), in addition to demonstration purposes. Plus, you don't learn the importance of precision, or really grasp the effect of chemical contamination, for example, without laboratory experience. That's why kids need to have real experience with real chemicals. Reading about it simply isn't enough. There are some things that you need to learn about chemical safety that you can apply in every day life. For example, you should not clean with a product that has bleach at the same time that you are using an ammonia product. The fumes from the two (if the area isn't well ventilated) can combine and make a noxious chemical (free chlorine gas?) that will damage the lungs. Lovemachine will know what I'm talking about, but I don't know what the exact reaction is. Anyway, without laboratory experience, people ignore warnings, don't heed instructions, because they don't understand what the dangers may be. It's a disservice to society. Granted, you are going to have some unruly kids that could be dangerous with a bunsen burner, but you just have to enforce harsh penalties on those few. Most kids want to learn and value their safety and the safety of others. The government attempts to protect people from themselves so much that the result is utter dependence and ineptitude. People are less independent and self sufficient because these protections make everything someone else's responsibility---so they don't read and don't look after themselves as well as they could, and don't figure out how to solve their own problems.
How about if the hazards of all the chemicals are listed, and the parents and kids both had to sign a release form? It could be like a contract, where they promise not to use the materials recklessly in such a way that endangers others, and that they take responsibility for the risks involved? I'm sure the parents of your students recall their own chemistry classes, that were more exciting, and if they knew the way this regulation threatened to curtail their child's education, they might fight for it along side you. If the kids are old enough, it might be a good experience for them to get some insight into the beauracracy, plus they will have to see the responsiblities/liabilities that they will undertake as adults when they use chemicals.
seafarer said:
For example, you should not clean with a product that has bleach at the same time that you are using an ammonia product. The fumes from the two (if the area isn't well ventilated) can combine and make a noxious chemical (free chlorine gas?) that will damage the lungs.
No wonder I have a bloody cough... I always thought it ponged a bit wedg1e said:
For example, you should not clean with a product that has bleach at the same time that you are using an ammonia product. The fumes from the two (if the area isn't well ventilated) can combine and make a noxious chemical (free chlorine gas?) that will damage the lungs.
That particular combination can make a variety of things, depending on concentrations etc... one of them in particular is MUCH more fun than chlorine gas
or maybe
....
....
... Edited for quoting and to tweak smileys
(smileys weren't designed for this
) >> Edited by Pigeon on Friday 18th November 05:39
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