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  • I had an English teacher, Mr. Oliver, in Grade XI that didn't even pretend to follow the curriculum. He tossed out, for example, Romeo & Juliet, replacing it with McBeth for the Shakespeare segment. In the "modern novels" segment he tossed out one whose name I don't recall (some boring Canadian author) and replaced it with ... some SF novel. (I want to say Childhood's End but I'm not certain any longer.) In general his classes were dynamic and of the "no stupid opinion" style. Just ... if you had an opinion you had to support it. (So no stupid opinion, just stupid people?) For a hint of what his classes were like, here's a dramatic recreation of his very first day of class:

    Mr. Oliver: OK, Ara, could you please hand these papers around to everyone? Thank you. (time passes) OK, now everybody should have a copy of this paper. (holds up his own copy) This is the curriculum I was given for this class. I would like everybody to please pick up their copy, and hold the top left corner like so.

    Students: (increasingly confused, do so)

    MO: Alright, good. Excellent. Now hold the top right of the paper in your other hand like so. (demonstrates)

    Ss: (still not getting it, tentatively follow along)

    MO: Alright, now I want you to push your left hand away from you while pulling your right hand toward you like this. (demonstrates, tearing the paper in half)

    Ss: (getting it, cheerfully and with gusto rip the curriculum in half)

    MO: If you'd like to repeat that a few more times that's fine. When you're done, I want you to quietly come to the front to dispose of the waste paper. So here's what we're actually going to do. (proceeds to teach probably the only English lesson I'd ever actively enjoyed in all my life)

    • ngl that's pretty rad lol👌

      I'm really jealous as my previous English teacher was by the book and it was such a chore to do the required dry reading assignments and essays