tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12563769.post112407986536937367..comments2023-11-05T04:40:53.265-08:00Comments on Vonny: Some thoughts on Physics First in high schoolsMark Vondracekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07968005525366534358noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12563769.post-1124137369697640072005-08-15T13:22:00.000-07:002005-08-15T13:22:00.000-07:00Hi Erica,This was a topic I was going to write abo...Hi Erica,<BR/><BR/>This was a topic I was going to write about at some point, so it might as well be sooner than later.<BR/><BR/>There are several likely contributing factors to smaller numbers of physics teachers. These would include:<BR/>- fewer students are exposed to physics in their schooling (almost all take bio, mroe than half take chem, and only 25-30% ever take any true physics). Without exposure, one would not expect someone to pursue it as a major.<BR/><BR/>- math...on surveys of favorite and least favorite subjects, math wins the least favorite always (maybe not always, but I've never seen a survey where it wasn;t the bottom feeder). People are then turned off to physics for that reason and do not pursue it as a major.<BR/><BR/>- reputation...physics is normally known as a 'hard' subject, and this keeps many away from it. I agree and would argue that conceptually classical physics, at least mechanics, is the easiest of the sciences to learn since we know so much about it from everyday life. But physics majors need to go beyond the concepts and then there is that darn math again...<BR/><BR/>In my opinion, these are the three main reasons. There are probably more I'm not thinking about, so if anyone has some thoughts please share!Mark Vondracekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07968005525366534358noreply@blogger.com