[alt text: a 4-panel comic by @introvertdoodles, which is titled “Not ‘Appropriate’”. The first panel depicts a child wearing a very creative and unique outfit, and their parent is pointing at them and saying, “You can’t wear that to church.” The child is replying, “Why? All my bits are covered.” In the second panel, the same child and a grandparent are eating dinner at a dining room table, and the grandparent is saying, “You aren’t excused until you eat everything on your plate.” The child is replying, “Why? I’m full.” In the third panel, the same child is holding a stuff animal, and a different parent is telling them, “You’re too old to be carrying that toy around.” The child is replying, “Why? The tag just says ‘ages 3 plus.’” In the fourth and final panel, the same child is sitting across from a school principal in the principal’s office. The principal is saying, “You can’t argue with the teacher.” The child is replying, “Why? He was wrong.”]
Never met a student who was actually smarter than their teachers. I sure have met a lot who thought they were though.
I grew up in a rural Utah town. Here are things I attempted to correct my teachers on while in elementary school with the result of them telling me if I continued to disagree with them I’d be sent to the principals office:
I’m sure there were more seeing as I frequently had to “pull a card” in nearly every class and most times had no idea why what I said was wrong. There were definitely some on global warming but I don’t remember the specifics.
Anyway, it is almost certain that I would argue some things that were wrong, after all, I was like < 12yo and surrounded by people who would constantly tell me the encyclopedias I read were wrong (I didn’t like chapter books and encyclopedias had pictures) but even then, there still definitely were things I was and still am right about.
And it probably would have been better for my mental health growing up if I hadn’t thought “wow if all these adults believe this thing then it must be true and I must just be an idiot” No past me, you were right, they were wrong. Essential oils are bullshit and definitely don’t cure cancer, animals do feel pain and deserve to be treated with respect, and yes the cult you were raised in makes no sense whatsoever. Basically the entirety of your hometown, and most of your family members are just delusional. You’re not wrong and they don’t just not believe you because you’re a kid, they just don’t believe in evidence, and there’s no evidence one can use to convince people who don’t believe in evidence.
Edit: to clarify, this was a legitimate public elementary school not some weird religious institution. Its just the typical education found in small Mormon towns in Utah.
for me, the thought was: ‘wow, these are the people who get to have power over me? and they use that power to actively limit my potential and freedom of association? these are the people who keep clawing me away from independence, because they think they know better what’s good for me?’
it made ageist remarks — particularly the sexist ones — go from irritating to infuriating. disappointment, anger and deep depression, that these people are allowed to have any responsibility at all.
I was smarter than my teachers regularly; looking back, some were impressed and wanted me to do well and some were threatened…guess which I remember as the good teachers.
Someone I know failed an algebra exam for using calculus to get the vertex of a parabola. It’d be one thing if the reason was that it wasn’t a method that was taught yet, but the teacher straight up didn’t know any calculus and failed them by saying it was nonsense.
when you have an AuDHD student who skips lunch every day to read and work in the library, and all the teachers are conspiracy-thinking fundamentalist yokels who: haven’t studied anything in over two decades; only became teachers so they could have power over children; regurgitate superstitions, fakelore and urban legends; and have no concept of information/media literacy — then it’s very possible to be smarter than your teachers and get regularly put in detention for pointing it out.
their diplomas would’ve been better used as toiletpaper.
I wasn’t smarter than all my teachers, but there were a select few that were very much not the sharpest rocks on the tree.
Had an argument with a teacher in primary school that a piece of paper itself is a 3D object, whilst the drawings on it are 2D. I pointed to a ream of paper across the room and enquired how it could be that thick if the pieces were 2D. She gave me lunchtime detention.
A teacher gave us the definition of biotechnology in primary school, something like “using living organisms to make products or services”.
I asked if ploughing a field with a horse-drawn plough is biotechnology and was told off for having a piss. It was a genuine question and I still don’t know.
there is for sure a lot of snarky students who believe they are too clever, but it does happen. There are tons of awful teachers out there. I had a science teacher who refused to acknowledge that heat and temperature were no the same
It happens in religious schools regularly.
I don’t know, my literature teacher couldn’t stop bashing on how great Emmanuel Macron was. While the rest of the class was rightfully convinced that he is a wannabe dictator.
This isn’t about smarter, this is about teachers not communicating effectively with their AuDHD kids who think a completely different conversation is going on. By framing it as who’s smarter, you’re misunderstanding why the AuDHD kid is disoriented in the situation that’s going on
@Lyre it could depend on the subject matter and material
I’m certain that my math skills were stronger than my math teacher in 7th grade given that she put me in detention for “questioning authority” when asking a valid question pertaining to the subject…
I somehow also remember that I was called dumb by the school superintendent and local special education organization by calling the figure made by putting the thumb and forefinger together a hexagon (count the sides)
@theangriestbird
In college a few years ago I had a instructor who believed arthritis was made up in a person’s head.
@Megaman_EXE I wonder how the instructor would react if told they are a figment of your imagination. 😂
@Lyre