Student Presentations

The school year is coming to an end at the high school. This week we had a series of over twelve presentaions. The topics were varied, from classical mechanics to modern physics. Some of an applied nature, and some knowledge for knowledge's sake. Some of the later are: Was there a beginning of time? If there was one; would we know more of what happened near this beginning of time? Some of the former are, How does a nuclear reactor work? What is the Illinois State Energy Program?

A constant element I want to report here in this forum of relevant science, is the student enthusiasm I observed. To tell you the truth, I was a little bit surprised. I did not see the same level of participation, most of the year. Only when I let the students free to create their own expressions, did I see this response. Next year I will do more of this. Of course it helps that grades are given, and students want to do well on the final. The currency at school is the grade. I expect good grades in general. As a teacher I feel that students should enjoy their work, but also this work has to be of the highest quality the students can do.

To conclude; at the end of the day, their knowledge of physics will be evaluated by people different than I. I hope enough enthusiasm was created , for them to keep learning physics. This ride does not end.