Has a teacher ridiculed you for asking too many questions?

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Mrs. S. Harlem, my 6th grade teacher, told me I would never make it past Junior High.

She wouldn't read this; even her kids probably wouldn't read this. She was at least in her 60s in 1973.

I was ridiculed for stating too many answers.

I remember back in Primary school I annoyed a teacher because I was overthinking about a book. The book in question was called 'Rainbow fish'. She told us that it was about the importance of sharing but the story didn't sit well with me.

From what I remember, the story was about a fish with silvery blue scales that appeared rainbow due to the sunlight shining in the water. All the other fish would ask the rainbow fish for a scale but the rainbow fish declined. The other fish shunned the rainbow fish for not giving up the scales until eventually the rainbow fish has a change of heart and gives the other fish a scale each. Apparently this is meant to be a happy story. However, I disagreed.

When asked about what I thought about the story, I said that I disliked it and that I wondered how the rainbow fish managed to remove its scales. I could suspend my disbelief enough to accept talking fish, but the scales puzzled me. Further, I asked if the rainbow fish would still be known as the rainbow fish since every fish now had a rainbow scale...so what did that make the rainbow fish? Would the rainbow fish now go by a different name? Could the rainbow fish feel a lack of identity now that the one physical identifier they had is no longer unique? Why did the other fish want a scale so badly when the impressive aspect of the scales was how they looked as a collective? Can it really be considered a change of heart if that change is brought about by social shame and being guilt-tripped? Why were the other fish such jerks to the rainbow fish, especially when considering that they offered nothing in return? Sure, they became the rainbow fish's friends again but only because they got what they wanted and is that really friendship? I ranted on about identity and how I could understand the claim of selfishness if the rainbow fish was hoarding food, but considering the fact that it was scales, the rainbow fish had every right to keep its scales because the rainbow fish keeping its scales was not harming anyone.

The teacher looked just about ready to quit teaching. "How about we stick with things we like about this book?" I reluctantly agreed and said I liked the colours. Others chimed in with what they liked about the book.

"Did you like anything else?"

"No"

Promptly after that she ended the lesson and avoided answering any of my questions. Looking back on it, I understand why she did as I was going completely off-syllabus / taking over the lesson when it was supposed to be a simple lesson about sharing. I also annoyed this teacher when we were told the story of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer and I made a remark about how of course Santa and the other reindeers were nice to him now that they had a use for him. That the love they had for him was insincere / an act purely to make sure Rudolph never quits. I was told that I read too much into things and that I should just enjoy the stories like everyone else. Unfortunately for my teachers I was stubborn.

only math teachers. there is a trend there IMHO.

No, I don't think so. I think a few of my teachers didn't like explaining things multiple times especially in different ways.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH boy, this is the wildest thing to be reading, because you've pretty much summed up the exact reason I left in-person schooling. Mine had less to do with the clarity of assignments (it was an art school, we weren't fans of 'learning') and more to do with getting bullied for getting too invested in class discussions. Sort of realized that some of the things they were putting on the board were crazy and cool and interesting... and nobody else was really there for that kind of school experience. It's not their fault, the whole system is horribly structured and I know my interruptions didn't make it easy for anyone else, but there were a couple times I got some exasperated sighs or laughter (especially in social studies, oops). People started talking to me as a joke. Like the idea of talking to me was ridiculous enough to be funny to them. One teacher in particular took a couple jabs at me and it's stayed with me a long time afterwards, but I'm much more comfortable learning on my own now. Things are fascinating and brilliant and cool, and nobody gets to tell me otherwise!

I commend you, actually, for being "bright before your time."

You just might be a poster-person for why there needs to be "education for the gifted." And why achievement should be encouraged, rather than discouraged, in the name of some sort of "equality." I'm not being sarcastic.

I wasn't bright like that. I tended to interpret things simply as a child----and I still do. This has held me back in life.

There is a certain irritation in me when somebody is "advanced in thinking"---but I must not let that stifle progress. If there were only "average" people back in the Caveman days, we would still be living in shelters of sticks and stones (or caves) today.

Thankfully, I never experienced this in school. I had very supportive, loving teachers who understood how much I wanted to learn and enjoyed learning. I think the other students would sometimes tire of my questions, but I usually ignored them because I knew there was nothing to be ashamed of in having questions. The worst experiences I have with asking too many questions came from employers.