Re: [Phys-l] Motivating Students

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

As Richard Hake pointed out, the problem is much more than just breeding
physicists and engineers.  We need to be teaching students what science is
about and how to build mental models for physical systems.  We need a well
educated electorate.  We also need people with good reasoning ability and
engineers so our society doesn't decay to third world status.  The US is
falling behind the rest of the world in both education and in the production
of technical people.

Remember the elite monarchs were found to be useless and were thrown out.
We could also be thrown out.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> Can the system handle more that 1%? Would people, and even other faculty,
> still look at us in awe? Personally, I like the elitism.
>
> Bob at PC
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu on behalf of John M
> Clement
> Sent: Wed 5/21/2008 11:21 AM
> To: Forum for Physics Educators
> Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Motivating Students
>
>
>
>
> But the top 1% will survive and even prosper.  Today on the Engines of
> our Ingenuity (NPR), John Leonhardt told the story of Robert Millican
> who had dreadful courses in physics in both HS and college.  He ended
> up going into physics because the jobs came open, even though he
> preferred the humanities.  In the end he prospered and put some of the
> final bricks into the budding quantum theory.