Misconceptions

Once again I've been blown away by my students...

1. Several times in the last two weeks I've had students ask how people keep from falling off when they go to the underside of Earth or at the poles. Nothing I or my coworkers say seems to make it clear to them that that won't happen. They understand that gravity holds you down, but they don't get that it pulls you toward the center of Earth, not just down in their relation to Earth. (This reminds me of Prince Caspian in the Narnia book "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." That's the only place I've ever encountered this type of thinking!) I thought that after Columbus proved the Earth wasn't flat everyone got it. Guess not, we have to be taught it in school.

2. Another student was asking what happens when you get to 'the edge.' It took several clarifying questions to understand he meant the edge of space. The whole listening class was flabbergasted to learn that there is NO end to outer space and that it goes on forever and ever.

3. My coworker was telling me a story of her 7th grade son. In the Health Ed part of Science class a struggling reader kept mispronouncing the male body part to sound like a writing instrument and the teacher never corrected him. All the boys later got together and decided that she did that because "being a lesbian she didn't know he was saying it wrong." Haaa! That's hilarious!

Oh, what a joy to see the way kids think. This is a GREAT argument for formal education! I really like being a Science teacher, I hear the most interesting things and get the most intriguing questions!