Episode X – The Fall of Imagination: The Lack of Physics in the K12 Education

Episode X – The Fall of Imagination: The Lack of Physics in the K12 Education

Rohit Patel
 




        

        Do you remember attending the movie theaters and seeing the newest Star Wars Movie as a kid? You see these unique worlds and crazy technologies transforming the characters' lives in the film. You see droids that are able to provide medical care. You see flying vehicles. You see spaceships that travel through light speed to reach far-away destinations.  The movie ends, and you walk out of the movie theater with your imagination going wild. You have all these ideas that you want to create. You want to revolutionize space travel. You want to recreate the Millennium Falcon. However, then reality hits you. You don’t have the knowledge to bring your imagination to life. What is the reason for this? Why do you not know where to start? This is where there is an issue in the schooling of kids. I believe physics is undervalued and mishandled in the American K12 education system. 
        The pop culture industry has been providing tremendous amounts of fuel to instill this passion for physics in the youth. With movies from the Star Wars or Star Trek franchises or the movie, Interstellar, there have been countless films that featured physics within them. These movies appease children a lot and get their imagination going. They generate these ideas. They want to make C3PO come to life. They want to make faster cars. They want to create new technologies that can help people, such as medical assistance devices. Some of these ideas may seem way out there and impossible; however, that doesn’t mean we don’t try to pursue them. It is important that schools are able to assist these kids in bringing their imaginations out to innovate the field of physics and the realm of science. 
        My experience in physics is limited. But why is that? In high school, I only had the option to take Mechanics as a regular course and as an AP course.  In college, I took Mechanics again, but this time, I also learned about electronics and optics. Short list, right? THOSE WERE THE ONLY OPTIONS I HAD! If Physics surrounds us all, why is it that I only had the option to take essentially 2 Physics classes in the last 16 years of my life? Physics needs to hold a greater stance in academics in the K12 level than it currently is. Exposing kids to various topics within the field of physics and focusing on application can help create a rise in kids’ interest in physics. According to some data I found from “datausa.io,” the total amount of physics degrees that were awarded in 2021 was on the decline by 3.18%. A greater variety of physics course offerings, such as topics like optics, electronics, aerodynamics, Biological physics, fluids, and more at the high school level, can instill a passion for physics and turn this trend upside down. 
        The limited exposure of physics to children in America creates a false narrative around the field. It makes people think that physics is just this complex field of insanely complicated math equations that take three chalkboards to solve when the truth is far from it. By providing more offerings into physics, students will be able to explore fields such as how blood flows through the body or how wings can be optimized for planes to fly more efficiently. Even Ash Jogalekar agrees, mentioning in a post on X that ” Einstein’s proof that acceleration and gravity curve light is remarkable in its simplicity and should be really taught to high school students or first-year undergraduates”(Jogalekar). Instead of trying to have our current scientists try to create this pretty equation to represent the ”Theory of Everything,” the flooding of the field of physics with new people with racing imaginations will inspire all members to think of better things to solve, such as problems regarding global warming or improving human conditions regarding blood clots or heart disease with knowledge in biophysics. Having more exposure to physics for kids will help ignite new passions and interests for them to potentially change the world.





Works Cited:

Jogalekar, Ash. “Einstein’s Proof “Physics.” Data USA, datausa.io/profile/cip/physics#skills. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023. 
 That Acceleration and Gravity Curve Light Is Remarkable in Its Simplicity and Should Be Really Taught to High School Students or First Year Undergraduates (from Susskind and Cabannes, GR) Pic.Twitter.Com/Gs0ytunfoa.” X, X, 8 Mar. 2023, twitter.com/curiouswavefn/status/1633307579475709952. 


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