Re: 10 yr old

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

At 07:56 PM 7/31/01 -0600, Jim Green wrote:
> For reasons only the pixies know a friend of mine wants to teach physics to
> a 10 yr old grandson this summer -- Don't laugh; I think that he is
> serious.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

If the note had said the 10-year-old wanted to LEARN physics that would
have been OK.  But au contraire, it says so-and-so wants to TEACH
physics.  That bespeaks a difference in attitude and a difference in
motivation.

Physics for 10-year-olds is not wrong per se, but it is far outside the
beaten path.  If the kid wants to be eccentric, that's fine, as long as
it's the kid's choice.  If somebody ELSE wants to do something eccentric
with the kid, my recommendation is "just say no".

> Of course he never had a physics class himself -- so he has no
> idea what to teach.

Wonnnnnderful.

> I think that this is an experiment for him to see if
> this can be done

Seems like a very poorly-designed experiment.

>  He is a graduate of Stanford's Ed School.

Perhaps he has forgotten some of the things they teach at Stanford, such as
the techniques for experiment design, and the rules for protecting human
subjects during experiments.
  http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/hs/
  http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/NonmedHS/
  http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/NonmedHS/IsitHS.html