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Bunsen
Burners & Chemical Reactions
by
Susan Povinelli
Reprinted in Future Reflections from the
Vigilant,
a publication of the NFB of Virginia
From
the Editor: Susan Povinelli is an engineer and
is often asked how to do engineering or scientific work.
Susan has often shared her experiences with Federationists
in the Braille Monitor and in Kernel Books. Susan and
her lawyer husband Larry are the parents of two elementary-school-age
daughters. This is what she says about taking chemistry:
It
was a typical night at my home. I was in the middle
of a reading lesson with my younger daughter when the
phone rang. I paused for a moment to listen to my talking
caller ID announce the caller. If it had been an unknown
number, we would have continued reading, but it was
not.
It
was Debbie Prost, who has taught blind children in the
Portsmouth, Virginia, public schools for over twenty
years. She was calling to solicit my help in developing
an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for one of her
blind high school students who was scheduled to take
chemistry in the fall. Debbie was getting a lot of resistance
from the chemistry teacher, who believed that the blind
student could not participate safely in the lab. The
teacher was afraid that the student would burn herself
on the bunsen burner or chemicals. Debbie Prost was
adamant that the student should participate fully in
the lab.
When
Debbie first asked me how to modify the laboratory so
that the student could be an active participant, I drew
a blank. It had been many years since I was near a chemistry
lab. However, as we talked, I realized that chemistry
is no different from cooking. The basic concept of chemistry
is to measure and mix chemicals in precise amounts,
then apply heat or ice to cause a reaction. The same
principle applies to cooking, but instead of chemicals
you use food and spices.
Is
working on a bunsen burner any more dangerous or difficult
than working on a gas stove with an open flame? No!
It is a matter of learning the proper technique of placing
the pot or beaker on the burner. I suggested that the
student practice placing a beaker on an unlit burner.
This would allow her to get the proper orientation without
spilling chemicals or burning herself. I also suggested
that Debbie have a bunsen burner cover made. Such a
cover would allow the student some protection from the
open flame and would ensure that she would not accidentally
knock the beaker over.
Since
glass beakers do not have handles, it is difficult to
grab them with a pot holder. I suggested making a wire
handle out of a coat hanger to attach to the beaker.
The student could then lift the beaker by the handle
using a pot holder and keeping her hand away from the
flame.
The
other issue Debbie needed to address was measuring.
How could the student measure liquid accurately? The
sighted student pours the liquid into a long test tube
up to a line marked on the tube. This method was not
practical for the blind student since she was unable
to feel the line on the test tube or use her fingers
to determine the right amount of liquid because she
could get chemical burns from the solution.
I
can remember the grief I went through measuring liquid
medicine for my children. Pouring it into a measuring
spoon would not work because it was impossible to get
an accurate reading. Then I remembered another Federationist
who used a syringe with a notched line in the plunger
to indicate the amount. The same technique could be
used to measure chemicals. The
student could suck up the liquid with the syringe and
then push the plunger down to the required level. Measuring
dry material would be no problem since the student could
find containers of the correct size and pass a plastic
knife across the top to level the dry material the way
Mom taught us to measure flour when baking cookies.
The
student would need the help of her lab partner to tell
her when a solution changes color or describe the physical
appearance of a chemical reaction. With slight modification
there is every reason to think the blind student can
be an active participant on the lab team. She can take
notes using Braille, measure the chemicals using the
techniques outlined here, and use a talking or Braille
timer to time the reactions. She will not only learn
chemistry but also gain the skills needed to be a team
player and experience working in a sighted world. Her
classmates will learn that blind students can work to
meet the same science requirements they face.
Note:
Since Susan submitted this article, Debbie Prost reports
to the NFB Vigilant that the IEP for the high school
student contains the requirement that the student enroll
in the chemistry lab and earn her grade along with her
peers. Once again our collective wisdom has paved the
way for a blind person to participate equally. This
time it is a blind student who has the chance to discover
whether she has the interest and aptitude to study chemistry.
Chalk up one more reason for the National Federation
of the Blind.
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