Moving from lectures to interactive student-run labs is a highly anticipated part of most science classes—particularly Chemistry, a class in which reading about a chemical reaction on a PowerPoint slide is very different from seeing it happen in front of you.
However, after a chemical demonstration went awry and injured several participants at W.T. Woodson High School on Oct. 30, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza announced an immediate suspension of any open flames in classrooms. Because of this, Bunsen burners, which play a significant part in many labs, are completely out of commission in FCPS classrooms for the time being.
Garza published a statement on Nov. 2 that described the extent of the ban and stated the actions she listed were out of an abundance of caution.
Among these actions, beyond the suspension of any and all open flame use, was a directive for a review of the FCPS science curriculum and a science safety update for high school teachers across the entire county.
The science department underwent this update in the form of a presentation hosted during Learn on Nov. 17, during which they were reminded of the lab protocol that’s already a part of the curriculum as well as one significant update. The basic safety rules still apply: lab participants must have long hair tied back and goggles on at all times and must follow a long list of clothing and behavior protocols. In response to the accident, however, the department now has another requirement to follow.
“One thing that was new was if we are doing a demo and we wear all of the safety protection because we feel the demo requires us to have that protection, then every single student in the room from the front to the back row has to wear that safety protection as well,” chemistry teacher Diane Clark said.
While the ban hasn’t yet affected classes directly, there’s a possibility this could occur later down the line.
“If the ban stays in place for the entire year, it could harm the curriculum in terms of being able to use labs that really apply to what we’re learning,” Clark said. “But there are other alternatives that we’ve already thought about in place of flames.”
Among said alternatives are hot plates, which can heat materials just as open flames do. The difference between these tools lies in their efficiency and heat output.
“If we wanted to heat a metal really hot, we couldn’t do that with a hot plate,” Clark said. “But the sand and salt lab we do? That can easily be done with a hot plate because you’re just boiling water.”
The ban has led to the Science department collectively rethinking labs, but they’re not going away entirely.
“Our goal is to make sure that labs are still done, because they are still a powerful teaching tool,” chemistry teacher Jeremy Wade said. “However, we understand that safety is of the highest importance right now so we’re trying to make sure that we have labs that not only teach the content but keep the students and everybody else safe.”
While Garza’s directive has led to heightened awareness of danger in the classroom setting, it has also affected those who have required work to do outside of class. Students planning on participating in Science Fair, which will take place on Feb. 6, need to factor this in when formulating and carrying out experiments they’ll be presenting.
Additionally, students in IB level sciences are responsible for carrying out the research necessary for their Internal Assignments. After the ban, students who came up with hypotheses that required access to school-issued Bunsen burners had to switch direction and brainstorm alternatives or entirely new projects. Rank & File spoke with two of those students, and their experiences with the process of responding and adjusting to the ban are featured below.
Maya Casey, sophomore
“It was frustrating because we had to come up with a new project really quickly, and we spent a long time after school trying to figure it out. That time after school could have been used for working on our literature review, and as a result we had that much less time to work on that assignment.
“We did finally find one we were interested in, but that was after a really long time.
I think the ban is reasonable, but it’s been difficult for us at Marshall personally. I can see why they did it, but it’s been frustrating.”
Science Fair project: Testing the myth of the five-second rule on different types of food in order to determine which food grew the most bacteria.
Problem: In order to accurately swab and measure the bacteria on the food, Casey needed to use a flame to directly sterilize her glass containers.
Solution: Casey ended up changing her project to study the effect of different amounts of starch on the production of ethanol.
Ashwin Arora, senior
“I think this ban of open flames shouldn’t be affecting students like this; it should only be affecting teachers and the way they’re regulating and teaching students when using open flames.
“I’m pretty frustrated, but I can still see the counterargument of people wanting to be safe and that FCPS wants us to be safe in how we use open flames. I just don’t think the ban should go on for this long to the point it affects students.”
Internal Assessment proposal: Using the products of the chemical synthesis of melatonin to determine the regeneration rate of Planaria.
Problem: In order to synthesize the melatonin, Arora needed access to an open flame.
Solution: Arora plans to wait out the ban and hopes it will come to an end soon. If not, he’ll have to come up with an entirely new proposal.