Re: [Phys-L] The Make-Believe World of Real-World Physics

[David Willey <dwilley@pitt.edu>]

Anthony,
I think I understand what you are trying to say, and it is obvious and 
much appreciated that you are a dedicated teacher, of that I have no 
doubt but, I didn't write that demos should not be fun. Right now I'm 
working at Silver Dollar City, in MO trying to present a "fun" show of 
Physics demo's. Three shows a day, six days a week, but I'm not kidding 
myself that I'm doing a whole a lot of educating. My objective is to try 
to engender an interest in the sciences, especially in the young, but do 
my actual classes have to be "fun", and is completing a mnemonic a 
compelling reason to try to always make my classes "fun"? I can make my 
student's laugh pretty much any time I wish to, but is this necessary, 
and should we expect that all teachers should do this? I suspect my 
situation is different than yours, I teach Physics to prospective 
engineers at the university level, not high school. I have a lot of 
respect for those who teach high school. I do not think I would handle 
that task well, too much red tape and too much time just trying to keep 
order. Bottom line, I want my engineers to be able to do the necessary 
math correctly and whether they have fun is a secondary consideration. I 
have a degree in education, as well as two in Physics, but I don't 
remember taking any classes teaching me how to make it fun. Interesting, 
yes, engaging, yes, relevant, certainly. However, I believe that it is 
asking a lot of some dedicated teachers that they should make their 
classes "fun". IMHO (well, not so humble really) that's asking a little 
too much of everyone, and I don't think we have the right to expect it 
of all who teach. I've had some very good teachers who were not exactly 
a barrel of laughs. Maybe I'm missing the point and this is just 
semantics, what you label as "fun", I'd call "interesting". I just get 
really fed up of being told that education has to be "fun". As I asked 
before, "What is "Fun" in this context anyway?"
cheers,
David


On 7/11/2013 7:52 PM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:
> "Fun" was used to complete my mnemonic device for FIRE.
>
> Actually, my class is fun -- at least on demo days. Why not? We're
> investigating the laws of nature! Math days are more rigorous, but I try
> to do relevant/practical problems to keep them interested.
>
> Phys-L@Phys-L.org writes:
> > On 7/11/2013 12:51 PM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:
> > > physics is the most interesting subject. It should be the
> > > highlight of a student's day. Make it Fun, Interesting, Relevant, and
> > > Engaging.
> > Interesting, Relevant, and Engaging, I'm in favor of all of those, but
> > I'm not really sure why it has to be "Fun" every day. What is "Fun" in
> > this context anyway? Am I supposed to be educating or entertaining? I try
> > to do both, but should we expect everyone to take that approach?
> > cheers,
> > David
> >
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