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Re: Is competence in physics as a requirement for teachers of



Tom certainly put up one of the more interesting posts for the week. As others
have said, we have all experienced similar frustration, although perhaps in
a milder form than Tom. It is a common problem in a new job to try too hard
and to expect too much. I have experienced this not only in teaching, but also
in business. I run a wholesale distribution business in paddle sports products
At one point I realized I was actually loosing business because I was trying
too hard. I learned to be more laid back and to mellow out and sales picked
up. The simple mechanical models of physics and the objective honesty of
science are not very helpful in developing good people skills. To some these
come more naturally than to others. It is almost impossible to get good
student evaluations solely onthe basis of good teaching in the technical sense.
One must develop some people skills and learn to manipulate the students. It
is, unfortunately,easier to get students to give good evaluations than to
teach them Physics. My solution has been to give evaluations just enough
attention to get by and keep the administration off my back. Then I devote
the rest of my energy to teaching. Well not really. Evaluations are not the
only form of accountability I face and it is getting worse every year. Soon
I'm afraid we'll have to spend more time on proving that we are doing a good
job than we will spend on doing it. The irony of the whole thing is that the
better one becomes at proving they are doing a good job, the less incentive
they have to actually do a good job. Sad isn't it!