should physics be taught in school? How about leaving it till college when kids are more mature to handle it?

Answer 1

Yes. "Kids" are already showing up in post-sec edu insts without a schmuck of a clue. I know a HS teaching a class incl proper way to wash your own hands - give me a break. HS is your last chance to learn free (ie. students pay no tuition - the rest of us pay taxes). Knuckle down and learn all you can 'cuz your next stop @ U of whatever or Blah-Blah Comm Coll is going to open your eyes, drop your jaw and shortly remove all doubt as to the value of taking that extra spare in HS. Your choice folks - your own type of 'rat-race' began in Kindergarten. Sink or swim - do enough to get a career or not; options abound 'til your 18, broke, no job, no future, no clue as to what went wrong.
Can you tell this is a sore point? I've 2 of my own in HS and I am very scared as to their prospects. NO, I don't believe we should plunge the kiddies into a driven life experience (a la Japan) but there's a lot of room between that and the extreme slackness exercised by some in our advanced western culture. Think of your schooling as a plethora of open doors; before you slam one shut, take a peek at what's inside, you never know.....Burn your bridges ad hoc and you will never know.

Answer 2

I'm a Grade 8 Science Teacher in Canada and over the past two years, we've been pushing a lot of physics into the classroom. Mechanical waves, EM waves, simple machines, forces, work, energy (PE and KE) -- and putting the theory into application really makes it worthwhile. I feel like many of the softer sciences (psychology and life science) don't really get their fair share in junior high.

To answer the question - Yes, I think physics should be taught in school, but not to the sacrifice of other sciences. Why leave it until college? Should it be removed because it's too difficult? As someone mentioned earlier, the spectrum (pun intended) of difficulty with physics is just as broad as in any other subject like math or English or even physical education. Students should have a diversity of skills and competencies by the time they leave primary, middle, high school and college and university as well. Good luck with your physics homework :)

Answer 3

Physics should be offered at a basic level- it is important for all students to understand some of the basic laws of nature that physics teaches. Just like other subjects, being able to offer a general education and an AP (advanced placement) class ensures that all get taught, and that all interested students get are presented with challenging opportunities.

Answer 4

It doesn't have to do with maturity, but with a willingness to work hard to understand abstract concepts and principals. Physica is hard, so students should feel free to ask questions and be prepared to do alot of extra work to understand it. By waiting till college, it puts kids at a disadvantage when taking a class with students who have taken physics before. Physics is a great way to put alot of the math students have learned, especially trig, and use it in a practial way!

Answer 5

Three reasons:
1) Basic concepts of physics are useful in everyday life and even non-college educated jobs. Understanding leverage, arcs, etc.
2) If you don't teach physics school, people will not only be behind others when they go to college. Also they won't be exposed to it, thus won't take it in college, and thus we'll have less physicists who we need.
3) When the brain is young it is easier to absorb different ways of thinking and learning different ways of thinking makes the brain more flexible.

Just because it's hard doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile.

Answer 6

Most kids are ready for physics in high school. It is a great application for math, and makes sense of the world around you. Students should be willing to work hard in high school and not leave everything difficult until college.

Answer 7

Physics used to be my favorite subject while i was in High school, interest and aptitude in the subject is more important than maturity obtained by age. Kids should start inventing things by the time they are in college.

Answer 8

Maybe we should start teaching it sooner! The reason that it is so hard to understand is that you learn absolutely nothing like it in earlier science classes. There is a reason why chem and bio do not seem very weird and thats because we have learned those subjects for a longer time. It does not have to start out complicated if you ease it in slowly and more comprehendable.

Answer 9

The USA is quite weak in math and science. We need to do what ever it takes to catch up with the rest of the world. If that means making kids study harder and spend less time on social issues then let it be so.

Answer 10

Of course it should be taught in school. Way pay money in college for something that you can take in HS? I'm taking it my senior year ('06-'07) and I could have taken it this year but I didn't want to. It's not that complicated, just math and stuff.