Secretary of Energy Steven Chu Talks about The Influence of His Physics Teacher.

- WHEN I GOT THE NOBEL PRIZE, I WAS ASKED TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF OUR LIFE AND OUR INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT, AND IN WRITING THAT, I REMEMBERED VIVIDLY THE PROFOUND IMPACT THAT MY HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS TEACHER, MR. MINER, PLAYED IN MY INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT. IN THE 12TH GRADE, IT WAS ON A FINAL EXAM. I KIND OF FLUBBED A QUESTION. AND THEN HE'D WRITTEN IN THE MARGIN, "I'M DISAPPOINTED." HE WASN'T TRYING TO TEACH US FACTS. HE WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO TEACH US A LEARNING PROCESS. LEARNING WHETHER YOU UNDERSTAND SOMETHING OR NOT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I BEGAN TO LEARN IN HIS CLASS. THAT LESSON I TOOK WITH ME NOT ONLY THROUGH COLLEGE AND GRADUATE SCHOOL, BUT FOR MY ENTIRE CAREER AS A PHYSICIST. I'M STEVEN CHU. I'M THE U.S. SECRETARY OF ENERGY. WE NEED A NEW GENERATION OF TEACHERS TO JOIN THOSE ALREADY IN THE CLASSROOM. INVEST IN THE FUTURE. INSPIRE A GENERATION OF CHILDREN. TEACH.