Re: [Phys-l] Premed Requirements Commentary

[Stefan Jeglinski <jeglin@4pi.com>]

> I recommend we defend the appropriateness of our
> courses.  We should not tacitly let them do away with these
> requirements, and we certainly should not agree with them that we are
> doing a lousy job of teaching.

I am in neither the teaching nor the medical profession. One 
curiosity I have is the reference that has been made in this thread 
and in others about the role of weeding out, which I believe is not 
imagined. I have talked to some, and there may be at least a few 
here, who are part of physics programs which exist primarily, if not 
totally, to support other programs such as premed or engineering. [In 
the case of engineering, we've already seem a comment about an ME 
dept that believes its students only learn physics in ME, and, to 
paraphrase the original commentary, how many EE students need to be 
able to analyze a spinning top?]

Add to this the current [premed] controversy, and today's environment 
of administrators looking for profit centers in every corner, it 
occurs to me that there is a further but unstated real danger to 
doing away with courses such as physics or calculus: that without a 
supporting role, some universities/colleges will find reason to 
eliminate entire departments. Their solution would be to tell 
students if they want to study physics, no problem, simply go to the 
dwindling few campuses where it is still taught. Perhaps there is 
pressure of this nature anyway, but taking this idea (eliminating the 
premed physics requirements for example) to the next level could 
bring an avalanche of departmental closures. And how many 
administrators would be just fine and dandy with this?

How far down this slippery slope is the teaching of physics right 
now? It does seems trivial to come up with reasons to defend the 
appropriateness of physics courses, but is physics teaching 
approaching a major (evolutionary?) shift that it can influence only 
weakly?

Some might see my point as hand-wringing, but I'm not so sure. I'm 
watching a slightly modified version of this being played out at my 
undergrad alma mater, but the physics dept there commands respect and 
has clout, at least for now. That the conversation is even being had, 
though, strikes me as a chink in the armor.


Stefan Jeglinski