Physics is Phun!

It is really hard to believe that I am wrapping up my first four weeks in Uganda -- just two weeks to go. However, it does mean that it has been long enough for the students to feel like they are getting to know me.

The senior 4 students are in exams now. They will write 3 papers for Physics, each one is over 2 hours long. One is a practical exam (lab exam). Robert has been busy this week to ensure that there is enough equipment for everybody. For this reason the class was split into three groups of 60 students and those 60 students were split between two classrooms. One classroom had equipment for the required mechanics lab and the other classroom had the materials for the optics and electricity labs, of which the students chose one. I was so impressed with their industriousness.

Because Robert has been so busy supervising exams, I have taught the last two senior five classes on my own (120 minutes yesterday and 80 minutes today). The senior five classes is comprised of more than 100 students. The photos on this page are of that class. As I mentioned, many students crowd at the very front of the classroom, so they are actually writing on the lab demonstration bench where I have my materials. Today I was 25 minutes late for class because it was raining and the bodas (motorcycle taxis) don't go when it is raining.

Typically, at the end of a lesson, a group of boys will come to the front with copies of questions from old exams and ask me to explain how they should be solved. It is so much fun, because since returning to Canada, I have only taught grade 11 Physics, and these questions cover topics from grade 12 and Advanced Placement Physics. Topics I really enjoy like torque and circular motion.

Yesterday when I walked out of the senior five class, there was a group of boys from senior four waiting with questions. We sat in the shade of a tree and reviews nuclear decay and standing waves. It was really fun. Seriously - even during summer vacation.

I had a challenging year this past year, where I had trouble getting through to some of the boys in my classes, especially in the grade 11 classes. It was very hard to watch really bright students seriously underacheive. Teaching a typically boy-friendly subject like Physics, I feel that it is very important not to alienate them. I have been listening to lectures by Dr. Michael Thompson (http://www.michaelthompson-phd.com/) on the matter. And I recently bought "The Minds of Boys" by Michael Gurian.

When I was first assigned St. Joseph's Layibi College, I was nervous about being in an all-boys' school. By the end of the school year at home, I was feeling better about the whole issue. It was especially nice that so many of the grade 12 boys seemed to enjoy talking with me about Science and life in general and also many of the grade 11 boys were achieving better results towards the end of the year. I left feeling optimistic about next year. This experience has further increased my confidence. The boys at Layibi seem to really enjoy Physics and often approach me with Physics or Math questions.

I just downloaded a video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster to show them as an application of resonance. Now, I must head back to the school for the senior one vs staff football (soccer) game. Don't worry, I am not playing.