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

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

Thanks for sharing. I'm in high school, so physics can/should be fun. I'm
fortunate to be a private school, so I set my own pace/curriculum. And no
discipline issues. Not much red tape. I want kids to remember all the fun
things we do. Maybe it will inspire some to go into physics. Few ever do.

By the way, I should your Leno videos every year -- lots of fun!!


Phys-L@Phys-L.org writes:
> 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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