Answer for question 4206.

[sabotabby]

[Error: unknown template qotd]Mr. J-----. Man, that guy. He taught science in my high school, and was really the only awful teacher I had (I might have had problems with one or two others, but in general, I got on well with my high school teachers, and there were more of the outstandingly great variety than even the forgettably mediocre.)

Except him. Monotonous voice, incomprehensibly opaque grading standards, enjoyed making students cry, and a misogynist to boot. Had a hate-on for me because I was a feminist and vegetarian and wouldn't dissect a frog. Had a hate-on for all of my friends because they'd call him on his bullshit when he made comments about girls having no aptitude for science. Was the primary reason why I didn't continue in science and why I don't currently work for NASA or something.

Comments

[neko-zoi.livejournal.com]

What a JERK!

[sabotabby]

He seriously was!

[jackspryte.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you became a teacher. I had a bad art teacher and it really affected me and my work and ambition for the worse as well.nsome oeople don't realize the effect cruel words can have and they are in positions of authority and influence.

[sabotabby]

I don't think I would have become a teacher were it not for the amazing teachers who were the opposite of this guy!

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Even with good science teachers & a real aptitude, in HS I was never encouraged to go into science, and I really do think it was a gender issue. You might have fared better--I'm talking about 1972-4--but even now, one of my students at the academy said a friend's mother flat-out wouldn't believe she (the student) was head of her school math club because girls can't do that.

I think my worst teacher might have been for second grade. If your desk was messy, she would actually tip it over so everything spilled out. My three sisters & I all had her for second grade, and all of us were terrified of her. She did teach us some nice songs, though, including the round "White Coral Bells."

[sabotabby]

I know I struggled in math even with some good teachers, so I'd probably have never made it in STEM. But I resent that I was actively discouraged from that path. If nothing else, I could have written better hard SF.