Re: The Good Effects of Physics First - Even For Mathematics Education (was The Good Effects of Physics First. . . "

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@HEP.ANL.GOV>]

Hi all-
        The first exercise in "physics first" is to reinvent the wheel.

        In my day (9th grade in 1937) the first course was called "General
Science", and included a bit of biology if my somewhat tricky memory
serves me right.  Of course I knew all about planets and asteroids and
stuff from my Buck Rogers star chart, and we all knew about the gravity
drop of projectiles from being on a firing range with a .22 rifle at the
YMCA.
        Supposedly, similar backgrounds are being presented in the K-8
curriculum, but from what I have seen in classrooms, there are almost no
teachers who are comfortable with science.
                                        Regards,
                                                Jack

On Tue, 2 Dec 2003, Michael Edmiston wrote:

> There seems to be something I am missing here.  Others have asked the
> same question I am about to ask, and I don't believe the physics-first
> advocates have answered this question.
>
> The question... Haven't we been doing "physics first" forever, and
> aren't we still doing "physics first?"
>
> For as long as I can remember, essentially all schools around here have
> been teaching a "physical science" course in the 9th grade.  Although
> physical science textbooks cover a bit more than just "general physics,"
> it is still pretty much a conceptual physics course.  The "extra
> content" is some combination of astronomy, meteorology, geology (all of
> which are physics to some degree), and a bit of chemistry (e.g. what is
> an element, what is the structure of an atom, etc.) and this is really
> atomic physics.  Thus, a 9th-grade physical science course is "physics
> first" even though it has more than the traditional mechanics, heat,
> sound, electricity, magnetism, light topics found in the physics course
> usually taught in the senior year.
>
> Thus, if a school is teaching physical science in the 9th grade, and
> then traditional physics in the senior year, what is all the hullabaloo
> about physics first?  Is my region of Ohio the only place were physical
> science has been a 9-grade course for more than 50 years?
>
> Assuming physical science for everyone is offered in 9th grade, and a
> traditional physics course is an elective for college-bound seniors,
> what's wrong with that?  Are the physics-first advocates asking for
> something more than this?
>
>
> Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
> Professor of Physics and Chemistry
> Bluffton College
> Bluffton, OH 45817
> (419)-358-3270
> edmiston@bluffton.edu

--
"Don't push the river, it flows by itself"
                                Frederick Perls