🚀 go-pugleaf

On Tue, 14 Mar 1995, Donald E. Simanek wrote:
>
> So are you advocating, for them, a feel-good 'physics appreciation' course
> *about* physics. That's ok; it's done in other disciplines. I just wish
> more people would be honest in admitting that such a course isn't real
> physics. Real physics isn't simple. Simple (simplified) physics doesn't
> adequately describe the real world.
>
> Is it better that these people in related physics *like* physics, even if
> they have only an oversimplified and distorted understanding of it, or
> that they not take it at all, or that they take a real physics course and
> realize that it is beyond their abilities and comprehension. Which is
> more intellectually honest? I'm not presuming to say which is best.
>
I find the above point very challenging.  I am in the situation that I
have honors and non-honors kids in the same course due to executive
decisions.  A conceptual physics course would be good for the struggling
kids, because now they regularly fail my tests while the others try for
every extra-credit point.  The message these failing kids are getting
must be that physics IS beyond their abilities and comprehension.  The
good students must be thinking that physics is easy, even if they hate
it.  My goal is to teach physics AND make the kids appreciate it, but I
would also like to be able to challenge those who can take it while not
demoralizing those whose math is weak (one kid is taking NO math at
all--what were the counselors thinking?) or whose thinking is incredibly
muddled or whose studying and testtaking skills stink like roadkill.

There IS a place for conceptual physics, as long as the teaching is
intellectually honest--meaning that we are not deliberately lying while
teaching "easy" physics.  As long as the material is correct, then who
can argue with what is taught?  Of course math is necessary, especially
algebra, a little trig, and geometry.  Word problems are just math in
disguise, anyways, and what are physics tests made of but (usually) word
problems?

Keith Tipton
kctipton@tenet.edu
Houston, Texas