Roy C. Ketcham High School

I am a career changer who worked in the petroleum industry as a test engineer for 15-1/2 years. I have a degree in engineering and a wealth of life experiences to bring to the classroom. I now have 18 years of teaching under my belt and am pleased to say that most of my kids do well in my class.

I want to encourage all students to learn physics because I feel that knowing physics will provide more purpose to one’s life. Knowing - at least fundamentally - how things work and why they happen is an important state of mind that helps derive meaning to the world we live in. To learn the how and why of a phenomenon, students must engage in inquiry. Inquiry can be done through reading texts, professional trade journals and the Internet. It can also be accomplished through lab experimentation and activities, demonstrations, and interactions with teachers and others who are experts in the field, where the latter includes professionals in the community. I firmly believe that all students should be compelled to learn how their day-to-day experiences are connected to physics and understand the scientific nature of them. Through my teaching, I hope to accomplish this task. Beyond providing students with a better understanding of the world around them, physics will also improve students’ abilities in critical thinking required for problems solving and decision-making. Physics offers a platform by which critical thinking skills can be enhanced through experimentation, hands-on activities and authentic demonstrations. Students who are involved with experimentation will be able to weigh evidence, judge sources, make legitimate inferences, and distinguish observations from assumptions. The conclusions that result from experiments can help foster the development of knowledge of the world around them. Experiments will also help students develop an understanding of the basic principles of physics first hand. Not all students are able to read the textbook, watch and listen to the teacher lecture and comprehend the subject matter in a meaningful and connected manner. Connections are more likely to be made to the concepts when the student is involved performing experiments through authentic and meaningful contexts. The ancient Chinese proverb – Tell me, I forget; Show me, I remember; Involve me, I understand – illustrates the importance of watching and doing to enhance the understanding of the material. Physics is an activity-based course that will certainly involve all students. What is most important about physics? There are many answers to this question, however you don’t have to look to far to realize that physics has been critical to our ability to make the world around us more safe, comfortable, efficient and knowledgeable – overall a better place to live. Without physics, computers, microwaves, kitchen appliances, cars, trains, planes, spacecraft and a myriad of other things we take for granted would not exist. In an indirect way, our ability to understand and apply the principles of physics is responsible for the success of our economy and that of the world. When the scientific principles of physics are applied, new technology is developed. New technology, if used properly, can enhance society. Ultimately, I believe that all students can be successful learners. In my efforts to achieve this goal, I will try to provide my students with varied instruction to meet all my students’ needs. Those who have difficulty grasping the concepts in physics should know that I am willing to help them during my free time whenever possible.