Here’s how to fix Florida’s shortage of physics teachers

Pics?

 

Lets put all the students in some really fast rocket ships and let them zoom around the galaxy awhile while we breed a bumper crop of physics teachers.

 

No cell phones back then, so....

 

That's interesting. I wasn't able to take physics because of my ADD. I wouldn't be able to follow a lecture in class, but I can do video lectures, if I can rewatch. I have been considering taking Physics at CC via video. I wonder if it would be worth it.

 

My high school had an excellent chemistry teacher (part of the reason I'm a ChemE). All of the rest of the STEM teachers were kinda bad. They were nice people, but had limited knowledge of their subject. The physics teacher was the nicest lady, but didn't know much about physics. She didn't even really try to teach. She handed out quizzes and tests, and did a little demonstration once a week or so. We just talked to each other the whole period.

I would irritate the Algebra II/Trig teacher by paying attention long enough to get the concept, then start working on homework for other classes. She would get irritated and ask me to solve a "difficult" problem she put on the board, and I would solve it in my head in about 10 seconds and give her the answer.

My solution:
I would be in favor of giving college loans from the state to people who wanted to be physics & chemistry teachers so they could get a dual Education / Science degree, and have that loan paid off by the state 10% at a time for every year they worked as a H.S. teacher in a public school in the state. If they last 10 years in a public high school, their college debt is paid off.

 

They already get that through public interest loan forgiveness. A higher salary would help more.

 

I believe video lectures can be one tool for learning. For physics, it is the labs/experiments/demonstrations that students participate in directly where much of the visualization of the concepts happen. Further, in person personal tutoring sessions may help explain concepts in a less sterile method than a standard text book. In any case, I wish you all of the best in whatever you decide to try.

 

I took physics as a junior in high school... loved it.

 

Absolutely. I'm convinced we are all "pre-wired" to be good at some stuff and less good at others.

My youngest really struggled with math (even the easy stuff) but is very creative and artistic. Meanwhile I was good at remembering numbers and concepts but had a hard time remembering names (people's names, places names, etc.) which really hurt me in History.

 

I think a H.S. physics (or chemistry) teacher with a bachelors degree in physics (or chemistry) should make $5,000/yr in additional salary. For a masters degree, $8,000/yr, a Ph.D. $10,000/yr. I don't know if a Ph.D. would be able to speak in a language that H.S. students would understand, however. It's probably not enough to compete with corporate America for new hires, but for those who really want to teach, it might make the job financially rewarding enough to get them on board.

I'm on the fence with regard to whether math teachers should make the same additional salary. I don't think math grads (except for the top few percent of the class) are in as much demand by corporate America (I'm thinking jobs like insurance actuaries and statisticians) as chemistry and physics grads. Maybe the math teachers should get half the additional salary as the other two. I'm not saying that math isn't important (it is), just that physics and chemistry are more important (and more competitive for college grads). I also think it is easier to catch up on math skills in college than physics and chemistry, because you can step back and take algebra and trig classes in college, but I don't think there is much in the way of freshman level physics and chemistry classes to catch up on what you didn't learn in H.S.

 

I like the idea of bonuses for certain teacher subjects.

However, Id say you are a bit biased given your username and I disagree as to the marketability of math degrees. I have a family member with a math degree that was hired out of UF into a corporate job. I know another that is doing quite well working on Wall Street for a hedge fund. It certainly helps tho if they take a business course or two along the way.

 

You have to remember, as a ChemE, the job interviews typically start with questions to determine if you are insane (or have anger management issues or a complete lack of social skills), then to see if you are as capable or more so than other applicants, and then to see what your salary requirements are before you get your offer. They already know that you are somewhat trained to do the job. Math is more theoretical, so I agree that it takes some other coursework or experience to convince the interviewer that you would likely be capable of doing the job.

As a ChemE, showing up for the interview is the key.