Not every physics teacher wants to, some have been “volunteered” for the position, but this does not necessarily mean their teaching is poor.

Wallace Miner, a retired NIU professor, has been teaching junior high and high school teachers how to teach their physics students since he retired in 1976.

Miner has been voluntarily teaching physics on Saturdays to teachers from all over northern Illinois. He usually has about 12 students in his classes, and if they attend all of Miner’s classes, they can earn one semester hour of credit from NIU.

He said many of his students are people who have been pushed into teaching physics by their school districts, but do not consider themselves physics teachers.

Because of this, Miner places an emphasis on the teachers doing what they can on their own.

His classes consist of guest speakers who had special training through workshops conducted by the American Association of Physics Teachers.

In addition, trips to NIU’s research labs and shops help teachers learn to make teaching tools which they can use to teach physics at their own schools.

Miner’s class is listed in the NIU spring and fall catalogs and is promoted by the College of Continuing Education.