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Re: Middle School Physical Science Texts: dishonesty



Bob et al.,

I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your questions. I was working on
my weekend column for The Irascible Professor.

Please see my answers below.

Mark
http://www.IrascibleProfesssor.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Carlson
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Sent: 3/3/01 6:02 PM
Subject: Re: Middle School Physical Science Texts: dishonesty

Mark,

My response is below.

<< Huh!!!

I guess that I took that course in atomic physics for nothing. It
might
have been a bit more satifying for the student to learn that there are
some
general rules that one can use to predict atomic structure.>>

Where did the "general rules" come from? QUANTUM THEORY.
Do you agree with the rules? YES. THE PREDICTIONS OF QUANTUM THEORY ARE
EXTREMELY GOOD.
Can
you explain them to me within any level of why questions? YES, BUT PROBABLY
NOT AT A LEVEL THAT A MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILD COULD UNDERSTAND.
Or, will you finally admit that these are the rules of the game, be as they
are? THE POINT IS THAT PROPERTIES OF ATOMS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD WITHIN THE
CONTEXT OF A VERY GOOD GENERALLY THEORY THAT REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF
ASSUMPTIONS.

<< Even for more basic questions where we don't have a pat answer, it
seems to
me that it would be better to say that "we don't know the answer to
that
question, but you might be the one to find out" rather than to tell the
kid
that "that's just the way it is".>>

What's wrong with saying, "That's the way it is," if this is the correct
answer? THE STATEMENT IS A TAUTOLOGY. IT CONVEYS NO NEW INFORMATION TO THE
STUDENT. IF I DIDN'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION, I WOULD SAY SO TO THE
STUDENT AND HELP HIM OR HER TO FIND THE ANSWER. FOR QUESTIONS WHERE WE
DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, I'D SAY JUST THAT. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG IN LETTING
STUDENTS KNOW THAT THERE STILL ARE OPEN QUESTIONS.
How do you explain the hydrogen atom having one proton and one
electron? I DON'T. THIS ISN'T THE ONLY STABLE CONFIGURATION FOR HYDROGEN.
DEUTERIUM (1 PROTON, 1 NEUTRON, 1 ELECTRON) ALSO IS A STABLE CONFIGURATION.

<< The former is a good scientific answer, the latter is just ignorant
authoritarianism. But, I'm just being a bit irascible this morning.>>

Tell me what makes "we don't know the answer to that question, but you
might
be the one to find out" a good scientific answer. IT ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHY THINGS ARE THE WAY THEY ARE.
Why is it better than
saying this is what has been observed in nature (that's the way it is).
SCIENCE IS MORE THAN A COLLECTION OF OBSERVATIONS. CONNECTING OBSERVATIONS
TO THEORIES HELPS STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS SYSTEMATIC BEHAVIOR
IN NATURE.

Also, I don't have any problem with there being an authority figure in a
classroom. I certainly hope the teacher is the authority figure.
Concerning
the ignorant part, this seems a typical response in the "intellectual"
community as part of an argument. Please explain. IN MY VIEW THE TEACHER
NEEDS TO GUIDE STUDENTS TO UNDERSTANDING, AND TO HELP THEM LEARN MORE. ONE
CAN BE AN AUTHORITY FIGURE WITHOUT BEING AUTHORITARIAN.

MARK

Bob Carlson

Mark
http://www.IrascibleProfessor.com
>>