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Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:57 am
Chinadoll says...



Okay. For you younger kids. If I have any advice to give to you its that if you're in high school or not yet in high school (When you get there) do not listen to anything your english/writing teacher tells you (If you're sure she's just nagging you because she has something against you). That is if theyre anything like mine... she literally tried to sabotage me, she was manipulative and evil! After I graduated I realized that- omg I'm done and I'll never have to set foot within a yard of her again. And what was so important about what she had to say about my work? After all was said and done I was the one who graduated and she's still stuck there!! So I guess unless you have a good relationship with your english teacher you're probably not going to see eye to eye with them... in my case I was doomed from the minute I walked in her classroom. And from the minute she realized I didn't have t study to get A's... and I never had errors in my essays/stories/poems. The thing is they're the ones who control your grades so if you don't get along just stay in the back of the room and keep quiet :P Unless youre the uproarous type
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Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:15 pm
Emerson says...



Are you speaking of college teachers or high school teachers?

I'm only in high school, and I have a mild dislike of my English teachers, but not exactly in this way. I wouldn't say everything they have to say bad, I mean they did spend how many years learning how to do this? And if they are a professor, even more.

I'm just curious: Was it that she was 'out to get you' or did she actually preach things that were nonsensical to improving your writing? I just find it slightly hard to believe that a writing teacher with however many years on her would continue to teach with a bad idea in mind, if it's in college of course. In high school they have no idea what they are doing most of the time...
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Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:30 pm
Middle Children says...



The teacher is there to set the foundations of your writing, so you are better equipped to deal with writing when you encounter the rules, and to get you a good grade. They aren't there to turn you into a great writer.

And the next time you rant, try not to exaggerate too much.
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Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:27 am
xtenx says...



I loved most of my high school English teachers- just not Junior year. But my teachers the other 3 years were great. Especially Senior year- in my AP class, she pushed every single student so far to make sure everyone was making strides toward their potential as writers and readers. She was so passionate about reading and writing herself...it was inspiring really.

But Junior year my teacher couldn't tell the difference between a gerrund and a participle- and no, I'm not exaggerating. I stopped listening to her advice really quickly. It's hard to take an English teacher seriously when they just aren't good at teaching. She was a nice lady, but not a great teacher. And whenever we talked about books she didn't even seem interested in them- so why should the students be interested? The WORST way to start a book is to say "I don't think you guys are going to like this one, but..."

I'm in a Literature class now in college, and I love my professor. He makes everything so interesting, and he knows too much grammar for his own good hahah.

Basically, my advice about English teachers is if they're passionate about what they do, they probably know their subject well (and if they don't, you'll be able to tell)- so let them help you. You may butt heads a bit if you're writing/reading styles and interests are radically different, but it will still be a good experience if you just let it be.
-Kristen

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Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:34 pm
Meep says...



Believe it or not, my English teachers have been incredibly helpful. Mrs. Montague taught me how to skim a book*, Mrs. Manley taught me how to bullshit effectively, Mr. Bisson taught me how to do the bare minimum and still get an A.
More helpfully, Mrs. Reno taught me to analyze literature in ways I hadn't thought of.
Most helpfully, Mr. Dowd taught me absolutely everything about grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, &c. (He doesn't really count, because he's teaching a college class.)

Often, the most annoying, seemingly unhelpful things will be the absolute best things you can learn. (I cannot tell you how much I griped about not being allowed to use the verb "to be" in my writing. I write 110% better for it, though.)

---
*yes, I was incapable of skimming before 9th grade
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Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:35 pm
Shafter says...



Most of the writing books I've read say "Forget everything you learned in high school." I'm really lucky, I guess, because I'm homeschooled and both my parents are professional writers. *sheepish smile* But I've heard the English teachers favor an outdated style that encourages you to pad your writing rather than beef it up.

For words of wisdom from a truly great writing teacher, read Stein on Writing by Sol Stein. It's a great book!
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Sat Mar 24, 2007 2:12 am
Goldenheart says...



I'm homeschooled too, so of COURSE I appreciate my teacher! :D I can only image what it would be like to have proffessional writers as parents!
My english class consists of reading classics, (British literature) and writing/editing my novel. LOOOOOOVE IT!!
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Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:27 am
snap says...



Hey guys,
I can understand what you mean, chinadoll, but what is also important to understand is that our teachers, especially in English, are older, and often have more experience than us. I can understand some nonsensical critiques that would actually make your writing worse by horrible teachers that perhaps don't like us for some reason or another (believe me, I've had those.) What I suggest, is to avoid these teachers. But it is important to have our worked critiqued, not just here, by other youths just as inexperienced as us (this, too, has to be said) but also by people who know more of writing and publishing than us.

I have a friend, who will remain nameless, who showed her proud work to her English teacher. She waited patiently for showers of praise for her brilliant work, thinking it could not possibly be flawed. What the teacher suggested, was that this friend read some English literature, to get an idea for the voice she was going for. The friend promptly gave up on her novel, and has not written since. She took the constructive criticism too hard. And, honestly, I thought the teacher was right.

Please don't misunderstand me, chinadoll. I would never suggest that you could not take the critiques, and I do believe that some teachers are slanted, perhaps even jealous, of the talent some young writers possess. I just thought I should clarify to some of the younger ones, that teachers can be a good resource, and sometimes it's good to use them.

I thought this clarification was needed, especially for those still in the early years of high school.
  





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Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:54 am
gymnast_789 says...



I agree with snap...most teachers are here to help us so that we can improve our writing. You may have been stuck with one of those teachers that hates you the moment you walk in the door chinadoll, but all of the English teacher I have had, have been very kind, and have helped me a lot in my writing. I especially enjoy my English teacher right now, who hopefully I could get to critique something of mine.
  





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Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:11 am
Elelel says...



Some teachers are seriously bad at teaching. And some do develop grudges against students.

But VERY often I hear from other students that a teacher has a grudge against them and is out to fail them, when actually they've made little attempt at passing and really get in trouble for good reasons.

So MY advice* is that if you think you're teacher has a grudge against you, think about the situation long and hard and consider if perhaps you've over looked a few things. Maybe the teacher might have interpretted your behaviour differently to how you meant it. Or maybe they're a horrible person and a bad teacher. Could be either, consider both.

Plus, even if the teacher hates you doesn't mean they can't teach you anything.

Most of the writing books I've read say "Forget everything you learned in high school."


Hehe! But what if you learned how to never give up or made some interesting observations on teenaged relationships or something like that in high school?

EDIT:

* to everyone in general, I mean, not just you chinadoll. You're teacher was quite probably one of the bad ones.
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Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:07 pm
Snoink says...



Hehe. Once you get out of the angst of high school teachers who don't understand you, you run into the agents and publishers that don't understand you. Scary stuff, really.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

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Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:41 pm
Ego says...



I once had a teacher that tried to find a reason to give me anything but an A. She failed miserably.

It was funny, because she had the class each write an alternate ending for Beowulf. At the end, she read two endings aloud. One was mine, the other, one she had written and revised a few times over the course of four years. She then asked the class which was better. I won by unanimous vote.

Amusing.

More amusing was that after that day, she hated me. Detested me. Tried to give me detention, only to have me argue with her until the entire class had my back and threatened to go to the principal.

My point, however, has nothing to do with the anecdote.

Individual cases are nothing. They have little significance. Just because one person has a bad experience does not mean that all teachers are out to get you. Listen to your english teachers, for they likely know what they are doing--the odds favor them, not us.
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Sun Mar 25, 2007 7:35 am
Crysi says...



Chinadoll, the first rule in debate is don't make generalizations. Okay, maybe it's not the FIRST rule... But it's definitely an important one, especially here! I've had three English teachers in high school (one teacher for two years), and I've learned from all of them. Granted, my AP Language teacher did not agree with my writing, but I simply learned from that as well, learning to write in different styles.

My advice is to take what you can from each experience and keep an open mind. Learn the grammar - it's definitely helpful to writers! - and the appropriate styles for certain types of papers. If they don't approve of your writing, look to see if they have a point before you completely shun them. Apparently, my current teacher helped write a paper for a student who had my AP Language teacher because the student couldn't get better than a C in the class, no matter how hard she tried. The paper still got a C, although my current teacher is an English major and VERY skilled at writing.

By the way, Chinadoll - if you're going to present an argument about writing, you might want to review the lessons on grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. ;)
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