Chapter 1 - Case Study: The Student Who Just Can't Relate to This 'Physics Stuff'
The Case.
A high school physics teacher typically asks students an open ended evaluation question on each unit exam. On the first exam, the teacher receives this comment from one of the students: "Last year I related to biology so well. I saw things all around me. I just can't relate to this physics stuff. Pushes and pulls; how objects bounce off each other. So it does! So what?"
The Problem:
Is this student's "complaint" about physics legitimate? Is relevancy to the student's everyday world something the science teacher should be concerned about? If you were the physics teacher how would you handle this situation? What would you say to the student?