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Re: Is competence in physics as a requirement for teachers of physics?



At 2:44 PM 11/5/97, herbgottlieb@juno.com wrote:

But there are exceptions to every rule ..... especially in the art of
teaching. After returning from a summer institute learning atomic
and nuclear physics, I started teaching the subject to a freshman
class of bright youngsters. After the first few minutes, I was convinced
that all of the students knew much more about the subject than I did.

It seems that their former science teacher was COMPLETELY
incompetent in his knowledge of science as well as in pedagogy.
To embarrass this teacher, the students would go to the library
after school hours and read all of the physics and technical books
that they could find on the subject. Then, in class the next day they
would ask the teacher to explain some of the phenomena that they
did not understand. Of course he was completely dumbfounded and
could only stutter. Immediately the other students would volunteer to
offer explanations ..... one better than the other.

It was a really cruel trick to play on the teacher ..... but the
students
seemed to have learned more about atomic and nuclear physics
in a few weeks than I had learned in an intensive college course.

Herb Gottlieb from New York City
(Where some of our students learn best from our worst teachers)

I think the students in the very first course I taught at the college level
learned much more than any other class I've ever taught. In retrospect I am
fairly convinced it was because they took one look at me and said "well
this guy obviously doesn't know what he's doing so we'll have to figure
this stuff out on our own". And they did.

kyle

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! kyle forinash 812-941-2390 !
! forinas@indiana.edu !
! Natural Science Division !
! Indiana University Southeast !
! New Albany, IN 47150 !
! http://Physics.ius.indiana.edu/Physics.html !
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