Advocating for access

Abstract

In the United States, approximately 42% of all high school graduates have taken a physics course. In Arizona, the number is significantly lower, around 20%. This limits students’ options, keeping them from taking a class that is essential to not only those who pursue a scientific field in their post-secondary education but also those who pursue training in a technical field or trade. For years I approached this as a problem I could solve by talking to school counselors and principals, and through targeted student recruitment. I held large-scale projects like an annual spring cardboard boat race and fall “Punkin’ Chunkin’” catapult-building project. I worked myself to the bone to build my program, and still felt helpless against the tide of “integrated” science courses that eschewed physical science standards, and alternatives that were put in place to give students a way to avoid a physics course. The real problem is systemic, not one borne of lack of student interest or counselor education. We, as educators, can and should campaign for real change, whether it be through changes in our own classroom or structural change at the school or district level. As de facto physics education experts, we can advocate for and actively work towards lasting change that impacts the future of physics education.