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American Chemical Society
Enlightenment and the
Responsibilities of the
Enlightened
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri
The George Washington University
Teaching & Learning Collaborative
Washington, D.C.
March 2, 2012
“Science is a hexagonal mountain with six faces…
The three beautiful faces of science are science
as subversion of authority, science as an art form,
and science as an international club…
Science is presented to our young people as a rigid
and authoritarian discipline, tied to mercenary and
utilitarian ends, and tainted by its association with
weapons of mass murder. The way to attract young
people into science is to show them all six faces
and give them freedom to explore the beautiful and
ugly as they please.”
Freeman Dyson
From Eros to Gaia, 1992
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“A failure of science to produce benefits for the poor
in recent decades is due to two factors working in
combination: the pure scientists have become
more detached from the mundane needs of
humanity, and the applied scientists have become
more attached to immediate profitability.”
Freeman Dyson
Imagined Worlds, 1997
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What differentiates our
society now from all
previous societies?
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Science
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New Discoveries
Enlightenment
Societal Progress
Societal Problems
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Grand Challenges to Society and to Scientists
Help sustain Earth and its people in the face of:
• Population growth
• Finite resources
• Malnutrition
• Spreading disease
• Deadly violence
• War
• Climate change
• Denial of basic human rights, especially the right to benefit from scientific and
technological progress.
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY HAVE WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A SOCIAL CONTRACT
THAT ENABLES GREAT INTELLECTUAL ACHIEVEMENTS BUT COMES WITH
MUTUAL EXPECTATIONS OF BENEFITING THE HUMAN CONDITION AND
PROTECTING OUR PLANET.
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Issues and Concerns
Globalization
Sustainable Development
Pollution
Climate Change
Evolution
Genetically Modified Organisms
Spread and Control of Disease
Drugs and Alcoholism
Tobacco
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Issues and Concerns
Workforce
Science Education Standards
Teachers
Appreciation of Science
Appreciation of Technology
Energy
Human Rights
Quality of Life
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Science-rich Sector
Science-poor Sector
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Scientific
Competence
Scientific Expertise
Science Literacy
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Science Literacy
is for Everyone
Chemists, Artists, Humanists,
All Professionals, The General Public,
Youth and Adults Alike
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CONNECTIVITY
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CONNECTIONS
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Science is Vital
to Democracy
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“Public sentiment is everything. With
public sentiment, nothing can fail;
without it nothing can succeed.”
>> Abraham Lincoln
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THE STRONGEST
FORCES IN SOCIETY
Religion
Science
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Evolution
Climate Change
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Good Teachers Are:
• Competent in their disciplines
• Committed to their disciplines and to the
profession of teaching
• Comfortable with the methods and techniques
they use
• Compassionate with students (and colleagues)
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“Teachers owe it to themselves to teach
what they love. In so doing, they nourish
their students. They owe it to themselves to
show their students who they are. To do
this, they need to know what they love, and
who they are – not a simple task, but surely
the anchor without which they’ll drift.”
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“Teachers owe it to themselves to teach
what they love. In so doing, they nourish
their students. They owe it to themselves to
show their students who they are. To do
this, they need to know what they love, and
who they are – not a simple task, but surely
the anchor without which they’ll drift.”
>> Diane Chapman Walsh
President of Wellesley College
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“Great teachers are the ones who weave
webs of life-affirming connection for their
students. Proficiency with technology,
tightly framed learning outcomes, even
multicultural awareness are secondary to
the passion teachers bring to their subject
matter, the compassion, awe, and joy they
embody and communicate. Great teaching
comes from spirit, not from technique.”
>> Diane Chapman Walsh
President of Wellesley College
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“To me, teaching is the ultimate
performing art, and all performing arts
are interactive. You always have to
connect with the people… You don’t
just present, you have to connect. And
I find it difficult [online]… It’s one thing
to give students the illusion that the
teacher is really there. What’s much
harder is to give the teacher the sense
that the students are really there.”
>> Jaron Lanier,
Computer scientist who coined the term “virtual reality”
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Clarity of
Purpose
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Problem-Solving Skills
Good Judgment
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Respect
Trust
Confidence
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Humane
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Humane
Humanitarian
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Bassam Z. Shakhashiri
2012 ACS President
ACS MISSION:
To advance the broader chemistry enterprise
and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people.
ACS VISION:
Improving people’s lives through the transforming power
of chemistry.
Initiative 1:
ACS and the Sesquicentennial of the Morrill Land Grant Act
Initiative 2:
Blue-ribbon panel to examine purposes of graduate
education in the chemical sciences
Initiative 3:
Helping the public understand the science of climate change
Initiative 4:
ACS High School Teacher Fellowships Program
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ADVANCING
CHEMISTRY
COMMUNICATING
CHEMISTRY
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Communication
•
•
•
•
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Inform
Educate
Engage
Advocate
Persuade
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American Chemical Society
Science is Fun and
the Joy of Learning
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri
The George Washington University
Teaching & Learning Collaborative
Washington, D.C.
March 2, 2012
www.scifun.org