When I went to school, the teachers were not all the same and they didn't all use the same teaching style nor did they all have the same rules.
In grade 10, I thought my math teacher was evil. I started in math 10 but it was first class in the morning and he shut the door at the bell every day and didn't open it. If a student was late, they were locked out of the lesson. If you missed 5 classes he kicked you out of the course. Teachers could do that in those days!
I was perpetually late so I was soon kicked out of the course. Then he not only refused to let me back into math 10 but said no me taking math 13 too because my grade in math 10 (being zero because i got kicked out) was less then 25%. Arguing that I got the low grade not because of my work but because I got kicked out was completely pointless. Although he slammed the door in my face he did open the window just a bit, if I could get a grade of 80% or better in math 14 he might let me into math 13. If I got 80% or better in math 13 he might let me back into math 10. I was outraged and felt it was very unfair!
When I told my mother she didn't phone the school and yell at them, instead she said she would pay for me to take math at summer school. So reluctantly I accepted the offer. I took math 14, 13, 10, 20 and 30. When I got to math 30 and really needed help, guess who spent his lunch hours helping me learn algebra? Yup that nasty teacher was really a nice guy in the end.
On the other hand I had a complete fruit cake for grade 10 chemistry. He rarely arrived to class on time and dressed in goofy nerdy short pants. His lessons consisted mainly of memorizing the periodic table. To help us memorize it, he would march up and down the isles of the class chanting phrases like "HONI Brushed Clean Fingers! HONI Brushed Clean Fingers!" Which was a mnemonic device for hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, iodine, bromine, chlorine and fluorine - the diatomic molecules. He looked so ridiculous marching around in his silly clothes, arms flailing and chanting that the students were always laughing at him (not with him). But it worked! By the end of the course I could identify element on the periodic table and know the row, period, atomic weight, absolutely everything about it. That was one of the most helpful things I ever learned. In university while others spent precious test time flipping through their periodic table, I recalled the information easily and with a smile remembering probably the most manic person I had ever met.
These teachers had very different styles, neither of which would be accepted today but I learned a lot from them and more then just the lessons. From one I learned, if I work hard and follow the rules, I can succeed. From the other I learned that memorizing boring information is easy if you make it fun and silly.
Today teachers feel so bogged down with rules and regulations that they don't feel free to teach the way they think is best. If you let teachers teach the way that they want, school will be a more interesting place and grades will improve naturally. Variety is the spice of life!
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