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Re: College nowadays - What "should" students know?



At 1:06 PM -0700 9/27/99, Allen Miller wrote:
Arlyn DeBruyckere asks for advice for subject-matter focus in a
high-school physics course for 11th and 12th graders. These are students
who may be intent on a scientific career. What areas would enhance
success in college physics?

In my view, high-school physics should not pay any attention to what may
help out a student in college. That is not its purpose. Most important,
the students need to be stimulated and to feel the beauty of science. It
does not matter what you teach, as long as you are stimulated by it, and
feel you can transmit this excitement to the students.

I agree with you 100%. You and I, however, do not have bureaucrats
looking over our shoulders and talking about "accountability" and
"the crisis in science education" when they have no idea of how to
assess this kind of learning and no idea of what science is. That,
I'm afraid, is the conscientious high school teacher's burden.

How can we help?

Leigh