11 November, 2010

I am mad to be doing this Field trip?

Tomorrow I am going on a Field Trip with my son's grade six class, that's 35 eleven and twelve year olds! We are going to an amusement park to look at the physics of rides. Yes, really!

I did this too, but when I was 16 and in Grade 11. I'm one of those rare girls who studied Physics in high school. In our class of about 25 students we had only about 3 girls. I started out enjoying it, but by the end of two years I hated it. Nevertheless I got a good pass (higher than a C, but by how much, I cannot remember). And vowed never to touch physics again.

So am I crazy? I responded yes to an email that said this:
We are need of a few chaperones to help supervise groups of 6-8 students.  Chaperones must have some knowledge of Newton's 3 laws of motion and be able to describe them to the students.  Also, experience with Physics is preferred.
The teacher gave us homework! To read chapter 2 of our child's textbook! So yesterday, 20 years later I picked up a physics textbook again to read. Crazy? Probably.

Oh, by the way, I get motion sickness easily (3D movies do it to me). Yes!! But I've cleared this with the teacher. I don't have to go on any ride that I don't want to.

As an aside, it is kind-of interesting working with this teacher. She is not only my son's teacher for science and maths. She is under my husband who is like the science head of department. He is probably more of a mentor than a boss, but well. Oh yes, and my husband studied physics at university.

Good thing all of our boys are turning out to have a maths/science bent, with that much maths/science in their parents! But they are all pretty good at sport and art too. What's with that, especially the art!

10 comments:

Jono said...

We did this with Dreamworld all the time!!! I had kids that used to go to Dreamworld after school. Why wouldn't you when you live so close! 35 kids? That's nothing! We took 80 seven year olds to the Gold Coast in one bus a fortnight ago! Toughen up Wendy ;-)

Karen said...

That sounds like excellent fun! I also did Physics at high school (there were lots of girls who did it at our school) and an excursion like that would have made it much more interesting...I was good at it but it was just dull.
But I couldn't even begin to tell you what Newton's 3 laws of motion are now....
Look forward to a follow up post on how it went.

Catherine said...

I wouldn't be going on ANY rides. Can't understand why people willingly put themselves through those sensations.
Have fun!

Wendy said...

Thanks Jono. If I'd wanted to be a teacher, I would have studied that. I'd much rather be an OT where I can see kids individually!

Last year I went with our then first grader's class (?70 kids) to the Science Centre in Brisbane. I came home with a first-class headache. That place is noisy! Outside might be better. I was worried it was going to rain, but that doesn't seem likely now.

Mrs Q said...

I'm one of those rare girls too. I remember only one other girl in our maths 2 class of about 25.

David M said...

There was one girl in my high school physics class. There were a couple more in Maths 2. There were still not many in any of the Uni physics classes. No female lecturers either, not until my Dip Ed! There was one female physics tutor...

KarenKTeachCamb said...

You're a brave woman Wendy, but no doubt you and the kids will have a ball. I did Physics for senior as well, and managed to pass it. There were only 4 of us in the physics class total. OK, it was an all girls class in a school that had just gone co-ed in my senior year. How much of what we covered in those two years, as well as some 1st year uni, that I still remember is best not mentioned.

Melissa said...

We missed out on the trip to DreamWorld with my physics class in Year 11 as the Year 12 class wasn't interested. What is not to like about going to a theme park?
Possibly having to supervise a group of lively pre-teens. I think I would still be keen especially if I could skip certain rides.

Ken Rolph said...

Do our volunteering now Wendy, and get it over with while the kids are still young enough to handle. Remember the title of that Australian play about schools: Year 9 Are Animals.

Wendy said...

Ken, you are quite right, the kids were quite pleasant. I hadn't heard of that title. But I daren't repeat it in this house with a teacher here who likes teaching this age-group.