- Joined
- Sep 18, 2008
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- 1,941
- MBTI Type
- INTJ
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- 512
- Instinctual Variant
- sp/so
I agree with the OP. I despised every single one of my English/Literature teachers. None - and I do mean none - of them inspired me through 12 years of education, even when I was put in supposedly "advanced" English classes. Often, I found that they were less well-read, less well-informed and had exceedingly narrow views.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Calling of Kindred" were required reading in one of our literature classes, and my passion for reading died when they were deconstructed, line-by-line, with literal, unoriginal interpretations of the text. There was no in-depth examination of the themes, what it all means in the big picture, the work's significance and historical context etc. I hated Shakespeare because of the way I was taught "Julius Caesar", and the version/interpretation of the text that we were given was incredibly shallow.
That's to say nothing of the fact that my 8th grade teacher said, "who?" when I said that I'd hypothetically like to interview Slobodan Milosevic as a class project (for context, this was the year that ethnic cleansing was carried out in Yugoslavia). I lost all respect for her in that one moment.
I never felt challenged or inspired by any of my English teachers, who were just there for the paycheck. On the other hand, I loved and was inspired by every single Chemistry teacher who taught me. Guess what I eventually majored in?
"To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Calling of Kindred" were required reading in one of our literature classes, and my passion for reading died when they were deconstructed, line-by-line, with literal, unoriginal interpretations of the text. There was no in-depth examination of the themes, what it all means in the big picture, the work's significance and historical context etc. I hated Shakespeare because of the way I was taught "Julius Caesar", and the version/interpretation of the text that we were given was incredibly shallow.
That's to say nothing of the fact that my 8th grade teacher said, "who?" when I said that I'd hypothetically like to interview Slobodan Milosevic as a class project (for context, this was the year that ethnic cleansing was carried out in Yugoslavia). I lost all respect for her in that one moment.
I never felt challenged or inspired by any of my English teachers, who were just there for the paycheck. On the other hand, I loved and was inspired by every single Chemistry teacher who taught me. Guess what I eventually majored in?