Re: Who are we helping...II

[trappe@PHYSICS.UTEXAS.EDU (Trappe)]

Dewey writes:

> It appears that in the end it may be that we never really deal with the
> issues of non-physics majors learning; the discussions always seem to move
> away from this sooner or later (mostly sooner is my impression).  Yet,
> these non-physics major students, that we and the teachers we teach teach,
> comprise more than 100 times the number of physics majors.  What should
> this 'picture' be telling us?

Our worrying about our Physics Majors to the exclusion of the other 100
times more "other" students tells us:

*That those 100 times more students will be OUR BOSSES (Our Physics Major
students are rarely our bosses).  They will be:
 ...legislators who will eliminate projects as they did the SSC and many of
NASA's programs in the 70's,
....voters who will see no harm in cutting scientific research funding,
while fully expecting the "great research cow" to continue to produce milk
with no feed,
....corporate CEO's who sell out hard-won technology advantages to outside
competitors for temporary gains in the "bottom line" for investors,
....investors who will revel in their short-term financial gains from
cutting the "fat" of research dollars,
....pre-college teachers who "go it alone" because we haven't set foot in
their classrooms since our own children were there...or worse, not since we
were there,
....pre-college administrators (principals, superintendents, board members)
who hire "composite certified" teachers or "the coach" to keep from having
to hire anyone (who ever took a physics course) to teach our children,
....parents who know no more than their children about WHY they ought to
learn how their world works,
....service course students who say "I know professor X knows his stuff, but
he just can's get it across,"
....students who, as consumers, vote with their feet and drop our courses,
....former students who recall how they "hated every minute of our course,"
....university administrators who legitimize "downsizing" our departments
because of continued drops in overall enrollment,
....parents and alumni who go after us with a vengence,
....a public which views us as obnoxious, self-centered, egotistical
nuisances, that deserve what we reap.

*That our BOSSES got a bad taste from their dealings with us, and that they
WILL GET EVEN,
*That we will revisit the "all-time unemployability of Physicists" that
greeted many of us in 1971,
*That EVERYBODY ELSE will get what they deserve when THEY cut our funding
*That its someone else's responsibility to send us good students (We pick
the fruit, we don't plant the trees!!!)
*That we will remain oblivious to our own culpability in the decline of our
profession.

But WE will do what WE want to do, on someone else's payroll.
....and maybe we'll be able to retire before it all falls down on our heads...

Karl

____________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Karl I. Trappe                        Desk:(512)471-4152
Physics Dept-Mail Stop C1600              Office: (512) 471-5411
The University of Texas at Austin         FAX: (512) 471-9637 (other building)
Austin, Texas 78712-1081                  E-Mail:trappe@physics.utexas.edu
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