Do Teachers Actually Teach?

Okay, I’m a high school junior going into my senior year.  There are many things that I have noticed about teachers and the whole educational system where I am at.  Most of them are bad. 

In my whole high school career, and I will even argue my whole school career I have had only two teachers who were good.  One of those great teachers was my Honors History teacher last year.  He taught the class much like a college class with a lot of lectures and a lot of laughs.  I learned a lot from his class, and I can still recall it all.  The other teacher that really can teach is my clarinet instructor, so technically he isn’t affiliated with the high school educational system.

Okay, so out of about eleven years of high school, only two of my teachers have ever been good.  How can that be?  I mean, there are too many people going into the teaching profession, and none of them are good.  For example, economics is a required course.  I thought, okay, this shouldn’t be too bad.  I go into the class it is set up like every class.  A worksheet and a test.  Very boring.  Then, were got into a section that required math and a little thought.  I’m okay with that as long as the teacher can explain what they are teaching.  So, we get to a problem that I just don’t understand.  I ask my teacher, “Ms. Luka, I don’t understand this problem, can you please explain it to me again.”  She explains the problem again, the same way she did before.  Again, I didn’t understand.  She explained it again the same exact way.  Of course I didn’t understand so I asked her to explain it to me.  Little did I know I was going to get yelled at for not understanding how to do a problem.  Now you tell me, should a teacher be yelling at a student if they do not understand a certain problem?

That’s just one example of how teachers do not even like to teach us students if we do not understand something.  Another thing I have noticed is that teachers have no creativity.  Seriously, all we do in every class is teach ourselves, get a worksheet on the section, and then have a test.  Every single day it’s the same thing.  It’s boring.  Then a teacher might hand out a project that doesn’t make any sense and relates nothing to the topic you’re studying on.  Or the teacher will try to have a discussion with a class. 

This usually ends up pretty bad- especially if I’m in the class.  A teacher will say something that is political or just some nonexistent fact.  Of course, I have to state my opinion.  One one time I did in my marketing class.  My teacher, Mr. Brown, was having a discussion about Ford Motor Company and he said, “Ford would be in the position they are today if they made more fuel efficient cars back in the 1990s.”  Naturally I had to argue with him.  I said, “Mr. Brown, back in the 1990s, everyone wanted the gas guzzling cars because gas was cheap.  Also, no one could have for seen gas prices rising to where you couldn’t afford to fill up your car.”  My teacher basically told me I was wrong, and explained why I was stupid for my opinion.  Personally, I think my position is legit.  If a teacher wants to have a discussion they should be able to let students share their opinions without telling them they are wrong. 

Teachers are there to teach you how to think not what to think.  It seems like every class is the same thing.  And ever kid in all of my classes thinks the same things.  It strange, I’m nothing like them and mocked because of it.  Is it because teachers nowadays do not have a clue on how to do their jobs.  Or is it just because teachers just can’t teach.  I personally believe in the old saying, “Those who can’t, teach.”  It’s fit my school career for sure.  I do know that there are few exceptions to that rule.