Re: [Phys-l] Motivating Students

["Anthony Lapinski" <Anthony_Lapinski@pds.org>]

A knowledge of physics will certainly enhance your life and make you
appreciate the would we live in. It can even save your life!

I mean, where did all of this "stuff" in the universe come from? There's
nothing more fundamental than that! Physics can help explain the answer.
Gives our lives more "meaning."

Physics is the most exciting science, We should all be teaching it this
way to motivate our curious young minds and help them understand this
"difficult" subject. But it is not easy to do as physics concepts are
often counterintuitive.

Only a small percentage of people will become engineers, physicists, etc.
The rest are generally scientifically illiterate. Look for physics
wherever you are and wherever you go, and try to share it with anyone
around. They will be fascinated! Physics is PHUN!

Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu> writes:
> I am a very politically involved person - especially at the local level.
> I t is a rare thing when my backgroud in Physics informs my political
> deciisions. The one time it did is when some locals were trying to claim
> tehat power lines were going to give kids leukemia at a new school that
> wahs being proposed. I made measurements around the power lines and
> showede that the radiation was actually lower than down the middle of the
> saverage street. But 99% of political decisions really involve the gain
> inv advantage of one power group over another - not science.
>
> We do physics bacause it is fun and because there are many people out
> theroe who are willing to pay us to create things for them and who enable
> tus to buy the fundamentals - food, fuel, shelter, and ammunition. I
> realloy don't see how forcing the masses to be deeply educated in
> somethindg they will never understand or use is going to produce a better
> sworld. I doubt if more than 1-2 percent of the population has actually
> haod a practical encounter where they used the kinematic equation - or
> evedn the very basic Pythagorean Theorem for that matter.
>
> I think we need to get over ourselves.
>
> Bob at PC
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu on behalf of John Clement
> Sent: Thu 5/22/2008 11:39 PM
> To: 'Forum for Physics Educators'
> Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Motivating Students
>
>
>
> 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
> productibon
> of technical people.
>
>
>
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