Re: unexpected obstacles

[Rick Tarara <rtarara@SAINTMARYS.EDU>]

My only advice is to 'stick to your guns.'  Changing your course to be
popular, to avoid complaints, to attract more students will only weaken and
cheapen the 'product.'  I'm personally searching for ways to force students
to read the book, to come to class, to do the assigned work, to DO THE
THINKING.  One way is the 'punitive' approach--part of the grade is
attendance or turning in outlines of chapters etc. where their grades suffer
if they fail to do these minimal requirements.  If that drives students
away--so be it.  [We do have a somewhat captive audience--every student must
take two semesters of a laboratory science, so they must choose from
Biology, Chemistry, or Physics.]

I realize it is difficult to tell untenured faculty (both HS and College) to
be hard-nosed and don't worry about popularity--just provide a good product,
but in the end that is what must happen!

Rick

*********************************************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim O'Donnell" <odonnt@CELINA.K12.OH.US>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 3:38 PM
Subject: Re: unexpected obstacles


> >         Thanks to Tim and Mike for their responses. After 20
> >         years of
> > teaching I was beginning to harbor some thoughts that I had
> > begun to "lose it"  The audiences seem to have shifted; now
> > how do we deal with this new reality????
>
> I wish I knew. I have tried many approaches. More video -
> less video. More web work - less web work. More labs -
> less labs. More or less of this - more or less of that. But
> the minute I ask them to think for themselves, I'm being
> unfair. All most want, is to be entertained. I do have a
> few, that really do work hard, but the number is
> dwindling every year. In Ohio, I see a big push to do
> research in high school, but in my experience research
> requires a lot of work and I don't think most students will
> get excited about doing research either.  I certaintly have
> not figured out a way to deal with this new reality and in
> talking with many teachers, I am not alone.
>
> Tim O'Donnell - Celina High School