Re: who really "knows his/her stuff"?

[Bob LaMontagne <rlamont@POSTOFFICE.PROVIDENCE.EDU>]

Hi All,

If I'm not mistaken, the original posting referred to becoming a college
physics professor. It may be true that one can "find a way" (through
expertise in a related field and attending workshops and seminars
offered by the local AAPT chapters) to teach high school physics with
much success - some people just have that innate ability to adapt their
knowledge to new situations.

The problem at the college level is that when you are hired, it is
assumed that you will be able to teach courses at all levels, from
introductory physics to advanced specialized courses. At many
institutions, it's assumed that you will also be able to mentor graduate
students in research of a type that will lead them to employment as
practicing physicists. That would restrict the type of terminal degree
that's acceptable.

Bob at PC

"Daniel S. Price" wrote:
> Mssrs. Edmiston and Denker bring up an interesting point (as do others,
> less directly):  the August 2003 AIP Report ("Broadening the Base: High
> School Physics Education at the Turn of a New Century") has, among other
> things, the results of a poll question asking high-school physics
> teachers whether "[o]nly people who majored in physics in college should
> be allowed to teach it in high school".  Of approximately 2150 teachers
> who responded, 46% supported this view.
>
> I came to the "dark side" after majoring in and teaching chemistry, and
> won the physics teaching position here because when asked at the
> interview how I would successfully teach Advanced Placement physics
> despite no previous experience, I said that I would "find a way".
>
> The success of students (not merely on the AP exam, but in college
> courses including physics and engineering majors) from my classes
> suggests to me that a degree in physics is (of course) a helpful but by
> no means a necessary item.  Students learn correct concepts and
> methodologies because of the effort I have applied in learning how to
> explain physics.  My performance in college physics courses was dismal;
> over the intervening half of a lifetime, I have managed to learn physics
> (and chemistry) more than well enough to be a reasonably accomplished
> educator.  My predecessor *had* a degree in physics, but was the first
> to admit that he had little ability to communicate the ideas effectively
> and is no longer in education.
>
> There is no call for elitism in any field.  Self-satisfaction leads to
> stagnation, and exclusion of the "outsider" based on an arbitrary
> credential harms everyone.
>
> --Daniel Price