Post #5

My teacher Peter Bullock proved that science wasn't boring and made physics great fun. In every lesson he would produce one of those worksheets in purple ink that smelled fresh from the machine. Every sheet contained a poem or a joke and we looked forward to them being handed out. I've kept them all to show to my own children. There was one poem in particular that's stayed in my memory, which went: In early days Man measured Time By sunrise and sunset sublime; As well as being able to turn physics into poetry, Peter had energy and passion and conveyed the sense that science was part of the world around you and not a dull boring academic discipline. I'm sure he was sticking pretty much to the standard topics—waves and electricity and so on —but he managed to convert everything into a joke or a story and did so in a clever and imaginative way. Peter Bullock was not only an exciting teacher, but also the man who founded the debate club in my school. He encouraged me to take part and express myself in a forceful way that I've been doing ever since—and getting paid for it. That made me what I am today—a commercial lawyer. Peter Bullock taught me throughout my secondary schooling and I took physics, chemistry and maths at A-level. Everyone in his class enjoyed learning. He was inspiring. He turned me on to the idea that the things you are interested in might seem dull on the surface, but you can still excite others. For example, when I tell people I'm interested in law, they may think: "How boring." I guess being a physics teacher is much the same. Peter showed me that what matters is how you convey your own passion so that you excite other people.