Monthly Archives: November 2014

The most reliable source of information on college majors and salaries at the national level is the American Community Survey (ACS), which is administered by the Census Bureau. Just to provide a few illustrations, a recent report by the New … Continue reading →

Not nearly as much as you’d think. A few weeks ago, I posted a study of high school physics course-taking frequency by district in Florida during the 2013-2014 school year.  The differences among districts were remarkable.  I used a parameter … Continue reading →

Buried deep within the “articulation” action item passed by the Florida Board of Education this morning was the official approval for the new AP Physics 1 and 2 courses to count for algebra-based physics credit at the state’s public colleges … Continue reading →

Last week, a colleague told me in no uncertain terms what he thinks our primary teaching mission is here at FSU – to educate well-informed citizens.  Don’t I agree that this is even more important than preparing students for careers … Continue reading →

My op-ed posted yesterday on State Impact Florida looked at the results achieved by a charter middle school in New York City that pays teacher salaries of $125,000 per year.  The school’s most dramatic results are in math, where students learned 5.6 … Continue reading →

FSU’s studio physics program is being forced to take a step backward.  It’s a small step backward, but it’s backward nevertheless.  It might, for example, force those of us teaching studio physics to drop some of the work we do … Continue reading →

A school district that wants its students to have access to careers in engineering and the physical sciences – which dominate lists of the most economically valuable bachelors’ degrees – must offer physics courses in its high schools.  In addition, … Continue reading →

Over the last several years, I’ve done what I can on my own to encourage students in my Physics Department to consider high school teaching careers.  FSU has a UTeach site, called FSU-Teach, but my own primary tool for recruiting … Continue reading →