The Lies They Told

[Aerozord]

fact that we are even arguing the accuracy, I think we can excuse a textbook regardless of which one that textbook goes with

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Textbooks were right!

[Aerozord]

conviently themed article

[Azisien]

Originally Posted by Sithdarth

Because its easier than describing the thermodynamic definition of a state and the associated calculus needed in order to under stand it. That is to say states of matter are indicated by discontinuities in derivatives of physical properties. Mostly first or second derivatives of those properties and usually with respect to temperature, but no always. But try explaining that to a 7th grader.

That doesn't make any sense you wouldn't have to be that detailed to a 7th grader. You could just be like okay kids welcome to grade X, we're adding plasma/superfluid/whatever we feel would be neat to throw in.

I mean they teach electricity as a unit in Grade 9 here but that doesn't mean we go build national power grids or learn the quantum mechanics of electrons.

[Eltargrim]

For what grade 7 science education is for, 3 states of matter is fine. I didn't formally learn about ions or atomic structure until grade 9 anyway.

[Aerozord]

this would be so much easier if instead they qualified it "here are the three main states of matter", to express there are more, but these are the ones you really need to understand. Also might be a good idea to explain that gases are also fluids

[Magus]

As someone who has personally had to substitute in an elementary schools and been given a lesson plan having fifth grade kids do math questions with parentheses and exponents and all of them giving me a blank stare as I asked them "now, do you all remember the order of operations?" and realizing, no, they never learned it, and then desperately trying to teach them PEMDAS in one class period AND have them do their homework, and then later having to teach them the three types of rock for about 40 minutes and draw this crazy flowchart on the board showing how lava and shit turns into igneous rock, but at other stages it can literally be other kinds of rock if it's put under certain kinds of pressure and heat, but sometimes it just turns back into magma, too, and do all this in 40 minutes, and then later give them a "social studies" lesson on fucking Peru or whatever, I can safely say that covering more than three states of matter before high school would be pretty much impossible because of how elementary schools are set up in this country where you have one teacher teaching all subjects, because once they get out of elementary school they're just being introduced to the middle school way of things and I have the feeling middle school teachers tear their hair out over what the elementary school teachers failed to teach them that is required knowledge to learn what the middle school teachers need to teach them.

(BY THE WAY I'M A SECONDARY ENGLISH MAJOR)

EDIT: By the way science textbooks do seem rather interested in dealing with only three of each thing. Three Newtonian laws, three states of matter, three types of rock, etc.

[Azisien]

Well okay 7th grade is too early. Though I must say I am surprised, I had a teacher per subject from grade 5 and on.

[EVILNess]

Remember when your parents told you they took your dog to a beautiful ranch where he can run and play all day, and never be sick or unhappy?

They lied to you.

[Magus]

Here they either start middle school in 7th grade or 6th grade and that is where they go to different teachers for each separate subject. When this begins is up to the school district, generally they don't start middle school until 7th grade, but some probably do it even earlier than 6th grade.

Originally Posted by EVILNess

Remember when your parents told you they took your dog to a beautiful ranch where he can run and play all day, and never be sick or unhappy?

They lied to you.

Oh God how I wish they had lied!