physical pendulums/ an opportunity

[Ken Fox <kfox@STEGA.SMOKY.ORG>]

> No, it is not. If it were true, what would it demonstrate?
> It is mindless school activities like this that cause the
> natural interest in Nature that all children have to wither
> and die. Fortunately this one can't come close to working.
> The educationalist who wrote the exercise never tried it.
>
> You are to be commended for junking the activity. Let your
> students in on it. It will help them hang on until they get
> over early education. The best thing you can do for them is
> to nurture their inate cynicism.

To the contrary, I would have the students do the work to check the
veracity of the contention. Let's teach early that hypotheses are a
starting point and that nature will tell us if a hypothesis is correct.
If it is not, what should we do to replace it?

> > Leigh
>
> (It goes without saying that the second paragraph here is
> only my opinion, but I may not be wrong.)


Ken Fox