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Re: Physics for Ninth Graders?



----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Goelzer" <sgoelzer@EARTHLINK.NET>

What about the social part of education?

More importantly, what about the effects of social problems on education?
We can talk all we want about curriculum and pedagogical reform, but if
public schools continue to be faced with over 50% of the students coming
from single (or no) parent households, with transient rates as high as 70%
for many city schools (only 30% of the students starting the year in the
school finish in the same school), with a majority of students coming to
school without breakfast (and not even wanting one), with up to a quarter of
the students having NO desire or parental incentive to learn and many
becoming disruptive of the learning of others, with misguided goals of
'equality' and 'socialization' throwing mentally handicapped and emotionally
handicapped students into regular classrooms where the special students can
not handle the work (1st grade reading skills in 8th grade classrooms!) and
more often than not become disruptive, with rude, abusive, often threatening
students AND parents, (and many more such problems), how can we expect that
some juggling of courses OR EVEN major pedagogical reforms can really be
successful?

Rick

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Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu

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