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Re: [Phys-l] Unit Conversions (was Mass and Energy)



R. McDermott wrote:

Hopefully someone will find the contents of my post worth commenting
on as well.

I think the idea is an important one. Super-important, actually.

I get quite tired of reading about "research" that observes what kids
will or will not do under bad circumstances ... and then unjustifiably
leaps to conclusions about innate abilities and disabilities.

===========================

The following should not be taken as a reflection on the idea, but
rather merely the _form of expression_ of the idea. (We can come
back to the idea itself.)

In my experience, by the time they reach high school, most students ... seem
to fall in the category of a chain gang breaking rocks in the sun.

That's certainly a colorful metaphor. It brings to mind Joss Whedon's
metaphor of high school as the mouth of Hell.

Maybe your district is worse than I realized ... but I hope neither
metaphor is really precise. I hope high school is not really the
venue for depraved cruelty and diabolical monsters.

An overdrawn metaphor can be played for entertainment value, but one
should be cautious, for a couple of reasons:

1) There are more than a few enemies of public education who will
leap at the chance to take your words out of context.

2) It could give offense to some ethnic groups.
Just as there are some persons who are -- understandably -- offended
by casual use of "concentration camp" metaphors, there are groups who
are -- understandably -- offended by casual use of "chain gain" metaphors.

My district is probably 90% Irish and Italian American

Other groups may have a less detached view of chain gangs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_gang

Perhaps a more suitable metaphor can be found.