Ask Central High School’s Jane Raymond the
question she says is a common one she hears from some non-educators, “Are you
teaching these kids anything they can use?,” and the answer is yes.
“Chemistry is everywhere!” said the
teacher, pointing to an old road sign hanging on her classroom wall that warns
of frost heaves. “What causes frost heaves? The physical reactions of freezing
and thawing.”
Raymond, who has been at Central High
School since 1999, likes to bring those kinds of everyday life examples into
her lessons. She says chemistry also helps students learn lifelong
problem-solving skills.
“If an experiment doesn’t go right the
first time, they shouldn’t think ‘Oh, well,’ but instead ‘What can I do next?’”
she said.
Raymond’s students respect and thank
her for what she teaches. Like the young
man several years ago who was inspired to continue studying chemistry in
college because she encouraged him to stick with her class and said he could do
it.
“He invited me to his graduation from
Vanderbilt University,” Raymond said. “I can’t believe he remembered me and
thought I had such an impact.”
As it turns out, several of Raymond’s
former students remember her, and they nominated her for the New England
Institute of Chemists Secondary School Chemistry Teacher Award. Raymond will
receive that award, given to one high school chemistry teacher from each New
England state, during the NEIC awards dinner at Brandeis University on April
21.
Members of NEIC, many of whom teach in
higher education, seek out nominations for the annual award from their
undergraduate and advanced degree students. The award honors teachers who have “encouraged
an interest in the field of chemistry through innovative and inspirational
teaching, improved the image of chemists and chemistry. . .and offered
opportunities to students who might otherwise miss the ‘chemistry’ experience.”
Two University of New Hampshire
chemical engineering students who graduated from Central High School thought
Raymond was an obvious choice for the NEIC award.
“I think Mrs. Raymond was the reason I
looked into chemical engineering because I enjoyed her class so much,” read one
of the nomination submissions. “She was
always enthusiastic about teaching every day and presented the material in an
interesting and enjoyable way,” wrote another.
Indeed, Raymond says enthusiasm is
critical, and she’s always coming up with new ideas to illustrate classroom
lessons or to conduct lab experiments.
“If you love your subject, the kids
feel it and know it.”
But Raymond doesn’t want to take all
the credit for her students’ successes.
“Our whole department is a team,” she
said. “We all work hard together to design our lab lessons and make sure
experiments work.”
Teaching since 1974, Raymond says she
couldn’t be happier since arriving at Central 17 years ago. The dedicated and
knowledgeable faculty, along with the diverse student population make teaching
everything she wants it to be.
“I look forward to coming to school
every single day.”
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