Re: Physics for Ninth Graders?

[Larry Cartwright <exit60@IA4U.NET>]

I don't believe there will be any substantial reform of the
primary/elementary educational system until we get rid of two 19th
century impedimenta: the self-contained classroom, and age-gradedness.
I wish a Nobel laureate or famous personality would get on *that*
bandwagon.

I see a near-universal and near-religious devotion to those concepts,
which I suspect fall into the "but we've *always* done it that way"
category.  And they are an administratively simple and cheap way to run
schools.  You don't need to hire reading teachers and math teachers and
science teachers, you just hire "elementary" teachers.

Harrumph!

Best wishes,

Larry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Cartwright
Retired (June 2001) Physics Teacher
Charlotte MI 48813 USA   <exit60@ia4u.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Richard Hake wrote:
> In his insightful Phys-L post "Re: Physics for Ninth Graders?" of 25
> Sep 2001 20:51:32 -0400, Hugh Haskell wrote:
>
> "I have been saying for years. . .(see e.g., Haskell 2001). . .  that
> physics can be taught earlier than the 12th grade, and it should be.
> BUT JUST DUMPING INTO THE NINTH GRADE ISN'T THE SOLUTION EITHER. . .
> . It isn't that we have to 'dumb down' physics so that it can be
> taught as a terminal course to ninth graders; we need to teach the
> early concepts to kids starting as early as they can be expected to
> grasp them. . . . [snip ...]