Introductory Physics - is there a way to avoid the suckage?
After taking PHYS 121 and 122 at UW and being thoroughly burned out by the Department's way of conducting its intro courses (clickers, online homework, no attempt to introduce students to how physics functions as a discipline, no primary literature, etc. -- I actually had to give myself a year and a half to cool off after 121 before I could conceive of taking 122), I'm looking to take the class from a community college and transferring the credit for either PHYS 123 or PHYS 116. My program, Oceanography, will accept either one but it requires completion of the third quarter of physics.
So, for those of you who have taken introductory physics at local community colleges, where have you had good experiences? What is it like at each of these respective community colleges? I'd consider commuting between UW and any of the following schools next quarter:
- North Seattle Community College - Seattle Central Community College - Shoreline Community College - Bellevue Community College - Cascadia Community College
It's unfortunate (un-4chan-ate?), but I seem to be at odds with the physics department in my belief that there's a way to get through introductory physics without completely hating the discipline by the end of it.
