Paramus High School Introduces Freshmen to Physics

Paramus High School has changed the way it introduces its incoming freshman students to the sciences.

Since the start of this school year Physics has been taught to the freshman class - something which used to come later in high school study after Biology and Chemistry.

Educators have found that there is a larger benefit to students to teach them the problem-solving skills they can get from Physics at this earlier stage in their high school study, explained vice principal Michael Pilacik.

Pilacik and physics teacher Bill Barlettano gave the Paramus Board of Education an overview of the program last week at the regular public meeting. Pilacik said it's been found that students interest in science diminishes over time resulting in only 20 to 25 percent of students taking Physics towards of end of their high school education. He said there really never was a solid reasoning for why sciences were taught in the order of Biology, Chemistry and then Physics.

It's also been found that when students take Physics earlier they find that the problem solving skills help them in other courses of study such as Algebra.

“Kids won’t go home and say 'why am I learning Algebra? as they will be using it," said Pilacik.

Barlettano gave the Board members a detailed presentation of all the areas of Physics the students are studying such as kinetics, momentum, energy and dynamics.

Students are given excercises and are given time to work the problems out, explore, maybe even hit some dead ends but eventually can arrive at the answer on their own, explained Barlettano.

It's found that students at the age of 14 will better retain problem solving skills than if it were to be introduced to them later on.

"It encourages them to keep these skills. The more you stimulate their problem solving ability, the better they are for it," said Barlettano.