Is it normal for a teacher to forget certain topics in physics?

[JDude13]

Here's the story:
I do year 11 physics and we have just finished doing radioactivity.
I was quite interested and began privately studying Feynman Diagrams.
I, however, had a few questions on the subject and went to ask my teacher.
The first response he gave me was "What's a Feynman Diagram?"
After showing him he replyed "Oh... I must've forgotten that since uni."
Should I be worried about the fact that my knowledge in physics, in some areas, exceeds that of my physics teacher?
Is there anywhere I can go to discuss physics on thee internet?(Not here because it seems they frown upon novices) And is there anywhere in the community (I live in a small-ish town) that I could expect to find someone who has a knowledge in physics that exceeds that of a year 11 student?

 

[flyingpig]

Forgetting does that mean not knowing, don't get conceited

 

[JDude13]

I'm sorry...
The point is I had a question about physics which I asked my physics teacher and he couldn't help me.
I just need a place on the internet where people will grant knowledge to novices.

 

[hadsed]

If you make a legitimate effort to understand and research your question and you still can't make any sense out of it, there are people on these forums that are willing to help out as long as you make an honest effort.

 

[JDude13]

I understood it quite well. I really only wanted to have a conversaiton about it and I can't convince any of my friends to study physics at home :P
But is it enough for teachers to ONLY know the course? If their student's want to discuss the subject matter in greater depth are they expected to seek intellectual enlightenment elswhere.

Also, with all due respect, I don't enjoy speaking to people on this site. They usually concentrate on my mistakes in calculations rather than giving me answes.

 

[DR13]

Is there anywhere I can go to discuss physics on thee internet?(Not here because it seems they frown upon novices)

People here are more than willing to help. I am not sure what you mean when you say PFers frown upon novices. They have helped me numerous times on concepts (not just calculations)

 

[JDude13]

People here are more than willing to help. I am not sure what you mean when you say PFers frown upon novices. They have helped me numerous times on concepts (not just calculations)

They spend a lot of time correcting the symantics of my posts and not a lot of time answering the core of my questions.

For example:
If I asked why a photon had such a small mass they would spend all of their time telling me that photons were massles but not why.(This is just an example)

 

[elabed haidar]

me too they tell me to put puctuations rather than answering my question i fell you man

 

[HeLiXe]

They spend a lot of time correcting the symantics of my posts and not a lot of time answering the core of my questions.

For example:
If I asked why a photon had such a small mass they would spend all of their time telling me that photons were massles but not why.(This is just an example)

There are a few airheads out there, but don't let it discourage you. When I first came here I asked a question I was investigating for quite some time about the LCROSS and LRO missions. Someone answered me at first in an insulting manner and told me there would be no effect, but some mentors answered me later and one mentor gave me the calculations that the first could not. As you know there are many people who like to appear as if they are smart, although they may not be the sharpest pencils in the box, so they try to make themselves look good by making others look bad. Or it may not even be all of what I said, but don't sweat it! Some knowledgeable person may see your thread/question and give you a good answer or point you in the right direction.

There are many friendly people here :) Welcome!

 

[symbolipoint]

from JDube13:

After showing him he replyed "Oh... I must've forgotten that since uni."
Should I be worried about the fact that my knowledge in physics, in some areas, exceeds that of my physics teacher?

No, you should not be worried. Very likely, a high school Physics teacher has a degree in a physical science but a degree specifically in Physics is not necessary. Your knowledge in some areas or any area of Physics, in fact does not exceed that of your teacher. He still has had much, much more education and study of the subject than you have.

is there anywhere in the community (I live in a small-ish town) that I could expect to find someone who has a knowledge in physics that exceeds that of a year 11 student?

If you would look outside of your current high school, maybe you could find Physics teachers in neighboring high schools, or you could check with the local community college. At community colleges, teachers usually have at least a Masters degree in the subject they teach; or they might have something like a Masters degree in some subject plus minimum of 18 units of graduate level coursework in the subject (such as Physics) that they teach. Just be aware, they too may have forgotten many things from course which they studied while they were students.

 

[Borek]

I don't enjoy speaking to people on this site. They usually concentrate on my mistakes in calculations rather than giving me answes.

You will learn more this way. Just telling you where and how you are wrong won't teach you a skill of finding errors. That's a difference between spoon feeding and showing someone way to the kitchen and telling him "serve yourself".

Note that if you are not ready to follow the hard way, you are not going to learn much.

They spend a lot of time correcting the symantics of my posts and not a lot of time answering the core of my questions.

That's usually because question that is not well defined doesn't make sense and doesn't have an answer. You may felt like your question makes sense, but it can be ambiguous to others. Is 48÷2(9+3) 2 or 288?

For example:
If I asked why a photon had such a small mass they would spend all of their time telling me that photons were massles but not why.(This is just an example)

I know the feeling. Problem is, there is no simple answer to this question. That is - on some level the answer is simple, but you are most likely expecting answer that reflects your knowledge about classical physics - and on this level simple answer doesn't exist. You may check this thread and especially this post to see what the problem often is.

Don't be intimidated by your early experiences, you are trying to get of the very high horse - no wonder you keep falling. Try a pony first, you will see people here ARE helpful.

 

[Dickfore]

My bet is that neither you, nor your teacher know Feynman diagrams, so I would say you are pretty even.

 

[Angry Citizen]

If I asked why a photon had such a small mass they would spend all of their time telling me that photons were massles but not why.(This is just an example)

Well, your question doesn't make any sense. It'd be like asking why an object has weight. You may be looking for an answer that probes the existence of a fundamental particle that gives mass, but the answer to your question as you (hypothetically) phrased it is: Gravity! Objects possesses no 'weight'; weight is force that exists in a gravitational field between two objects with mass (or, of course, exerted on an object undergoing acceleration as per relativity). It is therefore a null question. Part of physics -- hell, science in general -- is knowing how to ask questions. The proper question for this hypothetical thought experiment would be, "Why does a particle have mass?"

 

[micromass]

I'm sad that you're first encounters on PF were bad. But try to stay, there are many knowledgeable people on this site who's advice is worth very much!

The point is that answering questions is very tricky. If I answer a homework problem, I first point out all the flaws in his first attempt. This is very important, because a flaw indicates a misunderstanding of some kind. In fact, having somebody point out flaws in your theory is the most important thing a scientist can get.
After pointing out the flaws, I will help people reach their answer. But, the less I help, the better. They really learn more if you don't help much! They need to try the questions, before they can master it...

Now, if you have a conceptual question, then I try to give a lot of information. But it's tricky to know when to help and when not to help much...

 

[jtbell]

Very likely, a high school Physics teacher has a degree in a physical science but a degree specifically in Physics is not necessary.

Some of them do at least have a bachelor's degree in physics, but even with that it's very possible that they have not studied Feynman diagrams at all, or only very quickly and superficially. Elementary particle physics is not a major part of most undergraduate physics curricula. Most students get maybe a couple of lectures about it at the end of a second-year "introduction to modern physics" course which focuses mainly on relativity, basic QM, and atomic physics (hydrogen atom energy levels etc.).

 

[G01]

There are certain posts that are not tolerated on PF. For instance: A novice starts describing a situation that "disproves relativity," and other members tell him why he is incorrect. If the novice disregards all the evidence in the responses, continues to believe he has overthrown Einstein and refuses to learn real science in the process, then there probably won't be a warm response from this community.

However, this is not what you are trying to do here. You're here to learn science, so you've got nothing to worry about.

I've been a member on PF for close to 6 years now. I started posting here right out of high school too, so I understand how hard it can be to post here as a novice. It's scary! People know so much. You know so little, and people will not hesitate to point out your mistakes and errors. However, this is how one learns in science. Trust me! The older grad students in my lab always point out misconceptions I have and mistakes I've made. And, yeah, I'm embarrassed, but that's how one learns!

If you're trying to learn, people will see that and try their absolute best to help you do so.

 

[thegreenlaser]

Here's the story:
I do year 11 physics and we have just finished doing radioactivity.
I was quite interested and began privately studying Feynman Diagrams.
I, however, had a few questions on the subject and went to ask my teacher.
The first response he gave me was "What's a Feynman Diagram?"
After showing him he replyed "Oh... I must've forgotten that since uni."
Should I be worried about the fact that my knowledge in physics, in some areas, exceeds that of my physics teacher?
Is there anywhere I can go to discuss physics on thee internet?(Not here because it seems they frown upon novices) And is there anywhere in the community (I live in a small-ish town) that I could expect to find someone who has a knowledge in physics that exceeds that of a year 11 student?

I know it's easy to think that when teachers can't answer your questions about a particular subject, that means you know more than them, but this really isn't the case. He probably learned a bit about Feynman diagrams a long time ago, whereas you're looking them up right now, so of course you're going to know more than him about that particular subject. It doesn't make you smarter than him. Just try to keep things in perspective. A humble attitude learns a lot more than a proud attitude.

That said, do try to seek out the people who can answer your questions, and keep pursuing knowledge, just do it with a humble attitude, and don't disdain those who can't answer your particular question or who don't know as much about one particular topic as you do. They probably know lots of things that you don't.

 

[Lazernugget]

Hmmm...I don't think you should worry too much. This is a bit different from your situation, but my 5th grade teacher doesn't understand most math or physics I know...I don't think you should worry.

 

[JDude13]

I know it's easy to think that when teachers can't answer your questions about a particular subject, that means you know more than them, but this really isn't the case. He probably learned a bit about Feynman diagrams a long time ago, whereas you're looking them up right now, so of course you're going to know more than him about that particular subject. It doesn't make you smarter than him. Just try to keep things in perspective. A humble attitude learns a lot more than a proud attitude.

That said, do try to seek out the people who can answer your questions, and keep pursuing knowledge, just do it with a humble attitude, and don't disdain those who can't answer your particular question or who don't know as much about one particular topic as you do. They probably know lots of things that you don't.

I just think its a little sad that my teacher has lost his passion for physics. I couldn't imagine being content with the bare minimum understanding of physics.

 

[yenchin]

I just think its a little sad that my teacher has lost his passion for physics. I couldn't imagine being content with the bare minimum understanding of physics.

Having being a teacher for a few years before I decided going to graduate school, I feel that it is easy to forget things over time when you are consumed by your daily work. I don't know about how teaching profession is like over at your place, but in Singapore it is a highly overwork profession, having to spend even weekends on marking and other activities and meetings and what not (teaching in the classroom is the easiest part of the job!); I find that I could not find time really to prepare lessons as much as I would like to, not to mention to find time to pursue my interest in math in physics. It's a tough job.