The great importance of studying Chemistry lies in the fact that it is essential support for other branches of science, such as physics, biology, medicine, etc.; It helps us understand many things about the world around us, it allows us to advance in medicine, in mining, to improve our living conditions. Thanks to it, food conservation is achieved in many cases, and it is possible to benefit the environment when it is necessary. intelligently used Molecule Database.
Chemistry has brought countless benefits to humanity, just look at what you have in a home’s pantry, and you will see that food comes accompanied with a series of substances developed by chemists to preserve it and maintain its flavor. It is also present in cleaning and bath products, in the dyes that dye our clothes, in medicines, in beauty products, in products related to technology and countless other applications.
Chemistry is the science in charge of studying the composition, properties and structures of material substances and its birth is lost in the labyrinths of the past, since since man has lived on this Earth he has witnessed the transformation of substances, processes as simple as cooking or preserving food, curing leather or using metals; all facts that began to stir people’s subconscious search for answers to these phenomena.
But chemical reactions have been, since the dawn of time, the explanation of the existence of substances and their transformations, and for millions of years, they have been part of our Nature, and change all things, sometimes in our favor. and sometimes against.
Man in search of these answers from the beginning transformed matter first through obscure techniques, which to this day are even difficult to reproduce, such as the paints created by the Egyptians, the blue bricks of ancient Babylon and the pigments of the frescoes of Classical Greece and Rome; and all of them still have a mysterious relationship with modern chemistry, since their pigments were intentionally “altered” by experts thousands of years ago. This is how the alchemists were born (the term Alchemy is believed to come from the Arabic al-kīmiya ءايميكلا or al-khīmiya ءايميخلا ), but they, still lacking a common vocabulary to express chemical processes and concepts, as well as the need for secrecy, It led them to borrow terms and symbols from biblical and pagan mythology, astrology, Kabbalah, and other mystical and esoteric fields, making even the simplest chemical recipe seem like an obtuse magical incantation. Thus, alchemy was destined to be ostracized, relegated to rejection and considered the epitome of charlatanism and superstition, motivating the transmutation of “ancient wisdom” to the new science.
But current Chemistry is an essentially empirical science, which studies things through the scientific method, that is, through observation, quantification and, above all, experimentation; and the ubiquity of Chemistry in the Natural Sciences makes it considered one of the basic sciences, being of great importance in many fields of knowledge, such as materials science, biology, pharmacy, medicine, geology, engineering and astronomy, among others.
Today’s Chemistry, located between the universes of physics and biology, not only deals with the infinitely small or infinitely large, but is located on the human scale and from there derives its great interest and its economic and social problems. social.
There is no doubt that a human activity as linked to changes as the study of Chemistry cannot be perceived without emotions. And in this science so full of tensions, between transformations, syntheses and degradations, we find the passion of Teaching Chemistry, perhaps with the desire that the world know the intrinsic beauty of molecular structures, from a simple sugar to very DNA; or achieve reflection by explaining the perfection of chemical processes in living beings; marvel the listener with the dance of particles in the cosmos; find the charm and seduction of the chemistry of fragrances and perfumes; and even achieve inspiration from the discoveries of complex molecules in distant galaxies.
We breathe thanks to chemistry, we hear thanks to chemistry, we move and understand what we are now reading thanks to it. We make chemicals when we fall in love or get excited, and even when we try to do nothing.
Life itself is chemical, and seeking to find answers to our chemical universe helps us grow not only physically but intellectually, understanding that our main limitation in fully understanding the universe lies precisely in the fact that we are simply human beings, very far from the divine perfection of God.
That is why the task of the Chemistry Professor is exciting, immersed in the worlds of classrooms and laboratories, transmuting an infinite amount of knowledge, like modern alchemists in search of a new philosopher’s stone, that of creating a more humane, fairer and better world, where we can live in peace and in balance with our environment.
How transcendental and how arduous is the task of Chemistry teachers, immersed in the great debates of society and at the same time paradigmatic builders of a new citizenship, literate in science and technology, useful for the future of our nation. According to Juan Carlos Tedesco [1] current citizen education from a cognitive point of view is much more demanding, as it is also from the point of view of values. Literacy in science and technology today is the fundamental factor for the development of a society and includes access to information and knowledge , although this access is not always a guarantee of democratization or social justice .
For 55 years, the Antonio Ruiz de Montoya Higher Institute has responded to the need to train qualified teacher-educators for the province and the region, providing technical-pedagogical means of expression at the higher level, training teachers committed to a deep-rooted pedagogy, creating critical readers of the provincial, national and international reality. His pedagogical ideal was always oriented towards the promotion of men and women with mentalities open to change, creators of culture, willing to carry out the educational process through common work, committed to a transfiguration of their community and the entire world. The response of the Montoya Institute for the scientific literacy of middle-level students in Natural Sciences and Chemistry could not be unrelated to this, and for several years the Chemistry Teaching Faculty taught at the Monseñor Jorge Kemerer Campus has had the commitment to preparing teachers to face the challenges presented by the education of the future. One of the permanent challenges of Chemistry Teaching is to disseminate the facts that show how Chemistry is in everyday life, promoting the learning of concepts that provide a tool to understand not only the phenomenon, but also its social impact and the relationship with others. fields of science.
The scientific progress that has entered the lives of almost all the inhabitants of the planet and the new technologies redefine the lives and behavior of people every day. At the same time, the advance of new diseases, the abuse of drugs, the deterioration of the environment, the depletion of energy sources, just to mention some of the current problems, show the importance of the influence of Chemistry in the improvement quality of life, in the development of processes and products for sustainable development, and fundamentally, in the education of a responsible population in harmony with the world around it.