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Re: Meauring Volts?



Mike Edmiston wrote:
I repeat that I am not losing sleep over this, but I don't think it is
something to sweep under the carpet. I believe part of my job is to
teach students to speak and write in a formal way. They don't have to
be formal all the time, but they need to know how to do it and when to
do it.

Now, me, I'd be losing at least a *little* sleep if my students couldn't
use basic physics vocabulary correctly after a few day in a topic area;
but maybe that's just me and my approach to the importance of language.
The "meauring" in the above subject line really realllly annoys me, tho
I understand that to change it is to break the archival thread.

I always figured that vocabulary was Job #1 every time a new subject
came along, and I repeatedly made a big deal about it with kids. Nobody
fought with me about it, because I started from day one trying to make
my position clear with appeals to their personal interests; almost
everyone quickly agreed that it is hopeless to try to carry on a
conversation about NASCAR (or WWF, NBA, NHL, music, art, clothing and
makeup, computers, gaming, skateboarding, flying, whatever) with someone
who is clueless about the jargon. The kids with part-time jobs chimed
in knowingly about workplace jargon. I never had to use much classtime
to seal the deal.

I told them that my classroom was a language-aware workplace. They
pretty much went along. I really loved it when *they* started teasing
someone who had butchered the jargon. Ain't it great to have students
do some of your work for you? You measured the *what*, doofus???

If you talkin' the talk an' not walkin' the walk, you are such a
pathetic wannabe; but even if you walkin' the walk, you also betta be
talkin' the talk or you are such a geek. Word!

Best wishes,

Larry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Cartwright <exit60@cablespeed.com>
Retired Physics Teacher
Charlotte MI 48813 USA
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Lord, preserve us from the excesses of those
who would do us harm; and preserve us from
the excesses of those who would protect us.
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