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Re: Who are we helping...



John Gastineau said:
I in no way meant to say that the ONLY purpose of HS physics is to
prepare for the college course. The point I was trying to make (and
clearly didn't make very well!) is the first one: HS physics need not
and should not be a COPY of college physics.

John: I'm sorry. Please forgive the understandable implication from my
note that your statement might need a justification or defense from you. I
did not intend that implication. Please accept my apologies in this
respect. I agree with what you say in the most recent note.

Everybody else:
I was trying (ineptly) to bring up another point. Namely that it seems to
me that HS physics as preparing students for college physics is a
frequently seen and heard notion which I think deserves examination. If we
don't step back and look at what we do we are likely to end up with results
we don't intend or might not be happy with or proud of. This picture might
be examined in the light of the following: what are we doing in teaching
physics at the college level? does or should this differ in the various
levels of introductory physics? should these courses be various level
versions of each other or should they be more fundamentally different? etc.

Having considered these questions, we might say, things are as we intend
and all is as well as it can be, or we might say, whoa! something needs to
be redirected here. Either way is fine in a sense. What I'm aiming for is
that we do what we do 'with our eyes open.' I should come as no surprise
that it is possible that at least some of us might be 'seeing' what appears
to us to be a problem. I am trying to generate discussion here.

Dewey