8 Chemistry Lessons from the Show 'Alone'

I love the show “Alone” on the History Channel. It is one of my dreams to be on the show. Facing off against the unknown wild, trying to survive as long as possible against all odds, and doing things I’ve never even dreamed of attempting. Sounds perfect. Sounds like chemistry.

I’ve been watching some episodes of the show this summer and have made some correlations between the show and what it means for us as chemistry teachers.

In one of the first few seasons, a contestant on the show tapped out on the first few nights because they heard a bear. Sitting in the confines of my largely bear-free home, I laughed at them. “Who’s afraid of a bear?” That could be the exact same feeling some of your kids have about taking chemistry. “It’s big, it’s scary, I don’t know if I can survive.” It is our job as teachers to help the students walk through the fear. Assure the kids that they are not alone. Tell them victory stories from people who were afraid in the past. On the first day of chem I have, in the past, pulled a student quote from a previous year-end review. The student wrote, “Chemistry was the hardest thing I have ever done. But it was totally worth it.” Isn’t that what you want your students to say at the end of the year? Be their guide. Be their support. Don’t let them tap out.

When people are alone, small things can be magnified in their minds into big things. Your students need to feel camaraderie from other students as well as you, the teacher. Here is one of the ways that my students feel that they are not alone. I never eat in the teachers lounge. I eat in my classroom. My door is always open. I have done this for over twenty years. Sometimes, I eat alone. Sometimes there is a line out my door. Sometimes kids who are feeling weary about the whole idea of school just need a place to be safe. That is in my room. I remember a foreign exchange student from years ago, Tung. He came with functionally no English skills. He was rattled. He was smart and really liked chemistry. Once he discovered that I was in my room, he started joining me. We would sit in awkward-language-barrier silence through lunch. He would thank me and scoot out the door. But he was safe. He was not alone. And now, all these years later, I can’t get Tung to be quiet. He already graduated college with a mechanical engineering degree and he is always sending me pictures of his next project. And asking how to pay taxes. And asking if I know any available young ladies. He knows that he isn’t alone. And he isn’t scared.

I watched an episode where a young lady got a fishhook buried deeply in the back of her hand. Is seemed to be embedded in her thumb tendon. She tried for twenty hours to get it out before bailing out of the show for medical help. This seems dumb, but the smallest things in your classroom can be the most dangerous. Elevate the concern of the students about their safety. Make sure that they understand that small things are the ones that get you. It is rarely when we are pouring hydrochloric acid into the beaker that the issue happens. It’s actually reaching for the pencil on the other side of the beaker that causes the spill. I have ten times more broken glass in my class during clean-up time than during experiments. Reinforce that we have to pay attention to the little things.

One contestant wasn’t catching any food. And after a number of days of starving they decided to eat pine cambium. And he ate. And ate. And ate. Until he obstructed his bowel. Help your students recognize the small steps it takes to be successful. Daily practice. Staying current on content. Asking questions. Because once they have starved themselves for too long, they will try to gorge on chemistry bark. And plug up their metaphorical bowels. Create systems in your class where there is never a time to starve. Don’t take days off of content. Keep tabs on the kids who you think are hungry. You can read about my bellringer system here. It is a good way to really feel the pulse of your kids.

Many contestants tap out of the show because they are starving for the connections with their family. While your classroom is not a family, it can start to feel like one. The faces in that room are going to be in a foxhole together for the year. Encourage connection. Encourage talking. Let them leverage off the strengths of their classmates. Teach them to be good teachers. I received high praise after an admin visit a few years ago. She told me that I had the most efficient loud class. I loved that. It was loud because the kids were all engaging. It was efficient because I had trained the kids how to be in a chemistry challenge together. They had a family. Even if it only for 50 minutes a day.

It happens over and over on the show. A starving contestant finally hooks a fish, and they are bringing it toward the shore. Halfway up the shore, it flops off the hook and lands safely in the water. After that, the History channel has to bleep out whole phrases, with only a breath before the next bleep. The pain of losing a single fish cuts them down because the stakes are so high. It is your job to create a classroom that has a healthy blend of low stakes and high stakes opportunities. If the students only feel like your room is a high stakes gamble, they will suffer. Small mistakes will lead to self-doubt. Pain is real. Give your students opportunities to make low-stakes mistakes.

This could be in small group discussions. This could be during games (I have to admit, I favor this idea), it could be in private conversations, or quizzes that don’t end up in the gradebook. There are a million ways to lower the pressure before ramping it up. Train with increasing pressure. Here is a typical cycle for my class. Do the bellringer. Discuss it in groups. Report your confidence. (read this blog for more information). Next day, do the bellringer. Take a quiz that looks like the bellringer. Grade it. Congratulate the perfect scores. If the students as a whole are suffering, publicly throw the quizzes in the garbage. Meet with the kids who got no points. A few days later, give a real quiz with real scores and real success. This leads into the test. There is an entire practice test with a key online. Have the shaky kids bring their issues from the practice test. Raise the stakes and give the real test. No help. Because none is needed. And that test in my class is 80% of their grade. That is high stakes. But that is not where we started. We started with low stakes activities.

The Alone participants have to start fire. It is their life blood. So should you. Seriously, do something with fire. The kids are asking about it from the first day anyway. But you can do safe demonstrations with all protocols being followed and the kids will buy it. Don’t tell my students, but I like this demo early in the year when we are talking about physical and chemical changes. I have a plastic bottle with a nail hole poked ¾ of the way to the top. I put a little water in the bottom. Show them some calcium carbide and have them describe the physical properties. Drop it in the bottle and plug the top with a rag. Then I tell them a little white lie. I tell them that if they are really quiet and listen really hard that can hear a neat little sound. After a few seconds, hold a lighter up to the nail hole and… BOOM! The kids jump out of their skin as the acetylene explodes and shoots the rag to the ceiling. It makes me laugh every time. And it is fire. And kids love fire. (Please pay attention to all safety protocols and know what you are doing before lighting anything on fire. Avoid methanol. Be smart.)

On the show, once you start to see a contestant getting frustrated, weepy, sad, or depressed, their time is almost over. They can’t last. Teaching chemistry can feel a little like 180 days in the wilderness. There are ups and downs. You will feel all sorts of different emotions through the year. Fight for your attitude. When I used to coach basketball one of the phrases we used was “Analyze misses and emote makes”. That is so key. When you have a miss, analyze it with cold, calculating, distant focus. Don’t allow the emotions of a loss to overwhelm you. Instead, emote your wins. Even small wins. Allow yourself the joy of celebrating with a kid who did something they were afraid of. Celebrate when your lab data actually works. Celebrate the changing of the months and the growth of the students. Analyze misses and emote makes. It will change your school year.

I hope that these takeaways will encourage your teacher heart. And if I get selected for the show in the future, you better all cheer for me. And don’t make fun of my losses. Emote my wins.

Want some low-stakes ways to increase engagement in your classroom? Try our chemistry games. Up & Atom helps teach the mole without notes. And CHeMgO gets students reps writing ionic formulas in a fun way. Pay attention, becuase our newest game, Trendy, will be in pre-release very soon. Play a game that students learn about radius, effective nuclear charge, first ionization energy, electron affinity, and electronegativity? Yes, please.