Thank you! That comment is always a great conversation-starter. Actually,
I've been working on this problem for years, and have come to see it from
several different angles.
The scientists' angle: Elementary school science education is bad because
the teachers are "weak" and ignorant of (fill in your discipline here) and
therefore ill-prepared to teach it well. It's all the fault of the teachers.
We should focus on "teaching the teachers" so that they see the joy of
enlightment that science brings, and hence will be both willing and able to
pass it along to their students.
The "science methods" professors' angle: My job is to teach education majors
how to teach science, not to teach them science. I will make sure they are
well versed in all the latest trends in pedagogy and methodology, as well as
the state and national education standards. While I haven't had much
experience teaching in an elementary classroom myself, I've written a few
books about it and have supervised student teachers, including visiting
actual schools for a few hours when evaluating them. I am therefore an
expert.
The state board of education's angle: Teachers aren't doing their jobs well,
as evidenced by the lack of year-to year improvement on standardized tests.
We must therefore write more stringent standards and demand that every
school provide detailed assessment evidence to show that every child has met
the requirements of every standard. Will will punish any school that fails
to meet the standards. This will improve education.
The elementary school teacher's angle: The kids really like science, and I
got some really cool ideas from this workshop I attended last summer. It was
taught by actual scientists who really seemed to know what they were doing.
They made science look like a lot of fun, and showed me things I could do
with the kids. I'd like to do more science in my classroom, but I have no
time to set up and clean up science projects, and no storage space for
science stuff. I get to work between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. and leave between
4:30 and 5:00, if I don't have any after-school activities or evening
parent-teacher conferences. I usually spend every evening and weekend
marking papers, writing lesson plans, and doing the paperwork associated
with the assessments for the state standards. This takes a lot of time, so I
use a lot of pre-made lesson plans that I get out of teacher books. I'm
always supplimenting the school's curriculum with things I find in the
teacher store down the street. If I want to do a science activity, I have to
run around town to buy the things I need. It takes me three hours in the
evening to prepare a science activity that will take the kids ten minutes to
complete. I don't have time during the day to set things out for the class,
anyway. I usually have to go to a staff meeting during my 20-minute lunch
period and my daily 40-minute prep period. I show videos and have the kids
do worksheets, just so I can get the next lesson ready. I have to keep the
kids busy every minute, or they'll lose interest and start misbehaving.
There's no budget for science. I used up my entire annual classroom budget
on paper, pencils, chalk, and glue, and only got half of what I'll need for
the year. Any science materials have to come out of my personal pocket. I've
already spent $300 this semester on my classroom for just the regular books
and supplies. It's far too hard for me to get materials and plan a science
activity for 30 kids every week. Besides, the activities in the kids'
science curriculum and the directions in the teachers' guides never work. I
don't see the point of them, anyway. The dirctions say to do all this stuff,
but when it comes to science explanations, I can't figure out what the book
means because it's not written clearly. I'm not sure, but there seem to be
mistakes in it. Some of the science lesson plans in the curriculum just have
you do the activity, then "Ask the children how it works." Doing science
activities just isn't worth the effort. We teach science because we have to
meet the "standards," but I don't think you really need activities when the
kids will just be tested on whether they know their science "definitions."
We only get one hour a week for science, so I spend it making sure the kids
learn their definitions. I don't think that an hour a week is enough
science, so I try to work in more science by putting up a bunch of pictures
of animals, then have the kids read animal stories for their literature
tie-in. I have to be really careful, though, because many of the parents
will complain to the principal, the superintendent, and the school board if
I mention evolution, and I don't think the administrators will support me.
Physics? I can't find any literature tie-ins for physics. Biology is so much
easier to find classroom materials for. I bought a hamster to keep in the
classroom. The kids were really excited about him, but I had to get rid of
him because one of the kids had severe allergies. Maybe I'll get some fish
for the aquarium next year. That should be all right, if I can keep the kids
out of the tank.
_________
Let's stop blaming the teachers. They're experts in working with children,
as it should be. We should respect that, and recognize that science is only
one small part of their agenda. If we scientists are serious about improving
science education, we should start thinking of more effective ways to help
teachers.
Vickie Frohne
-----Original Message-----
From: John Luvera [mailto:jluvera@YAHOO.COM]
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 8:50 PM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: Would Physics First Increase the Number of Physics Majors?
Hi Everyone,
I am new to the list by way of an online grad course I am taking at U.
Virginia.I teach all levels of physics on the high school level to mostly
seniors and some juniors at Montville High School in NJ.
Vickie Frohne's comment "Why isn't physics taught EFFECTIVELY in grade
school?" is an opening of Pandora's box type of question.
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