Also what is the point of having Teacher when a student like you ends up giving them life lessons.
This happens every single day when you're a teacher. You learn more from a bunch of kids in a few weeks than what you could ever learn from 4 years at Uni. Comparatively, the pay is pretty rubbish, but there's no way I'll ever change careers for the simple reason that kids can be bloody brilliant.
On the flip side, some kids can also turn into incorrigible troglodytes. This is particularly rampant during the teens, when some kids feel compelled to abandon their own chief interests and moral standards in order to fit in with the attitude of a collective, which is usually established by a dominant individual. This behaviour is normal, but unfortunately immersion in these attitudes can alter the way people think and act for the rest of their lives. However, it's learned behaviour, and what can be learned can also be un-learned. They'll get the message somewhere down the track, and the reality check will hit them HARD. I'm not saying they're guaranteed to go vegan or anything, I mean that one day they'll realise that constantly trying to impress a moron will get them nowhere.
AllyCat, from my experience, you're in a minority but you certainly are not alone. My advice to you is to keep on doing what you're doing. To me, there is nothing more noble than a young person standing up for what they believe in, and when I encounter students such as yourself I do everything in my power to foster and encourage them. You may at times feel excluded and ostracised, and I've seen this happen before. Keep in mind that high school doesn't last forever, and beyond school it's the autonomous and intellectual sorts who will prosper. With your compassion and higher capacity to read between the lies, you're going to flourish and that is brilliant.
If I could, I'd put a star sticker or a whale stamp in your English book!
