College: Too far, too fast?

MAR 01, 1967

Mark W. Zemansky

AT A CONFERENCE of physics teachers held in Denver in 1961, I gave vent to some of my pet peeves with regard to changes in the freshman physics course designed for the physics major. These remarks were printed in the American Journal of Physics, and as I reread them, they still make sense to me. My objections to (1) the inclusion of large amounts of relativity and quantum theory, (2) the indiscriminate skipping of large chunks of physics, like statics, acoustics and geometrical optics, (3) the attempt to induce “depth of insight,” (4) the emphasis on history and philosophy and (5) the harping on “scientific method” at the expense of “facts,” still stand and I shall therefore not repeat them.

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References

1. Am. J. Phys. 30, 163 (1962).https://doi.org/AJPIAS
2. K. R. Atkins, Physics, Wiley, New York (1965).
3. A. B. Arons, Development of Concepts of Physics, Addison‐Wesley, Reading, Mass. (1965).
4. R. P. Feynman, R. B. Leighton, M. Sands, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Addison‐Wesley, Reading, Mass., Vol. 1 (1963), Vol. 2 (1964), Vol. 3 (1964).
5. C. Kittel, W. D. Knight, M. A. Ruderman, Mechanics, (Berkeley Physics Course, Vol. 1) McGraw‐Hill, New York (1965);
E. M. Purcell, Electricity and Magnetism (Berkeley Physics Course, Vol. 2) McGraw‐Hill, New York (1965).
6. Physics Manpower 1966: Education and Employment Statistics, American Institute of Physics, N.Y. (1966).

More about the authors

Mark W. Zemansky, City College of the City University of New York.