> BUT! The teachers are stupid. Don't trust them too much. They dont know everything. If they were really that good, they'd be doing it, not teaching. Always question what they tell you, verify things on your own. If something doesn't make sense, speak up and get them to explain. You'll soon see how shallow their knowledge really is.

I loathe this attitude. I'm a teacher, and I decided to teach because I (thought that I) enjoy teaching, not because I couldn't be doing something else. This is true for several of the teachers I know. I know some who passed up on being doctors, or lawyers or other professions to become teachers because they enjoyed it, and liked doing it more.

Yes, some are stupid, but you're painting with broad strokes and, honestly, it's not easy to see why we have a cult of anti-intellectualism in America because of how common this attitude is. A lot of them have thorough knowledge to explain something, but the student doesn't yet have all the requisite knowledge to understand...Like when someone asks me why, when we study perpendicular lines in Algebra, it has a negative reciprocal slope. They don't know trig identities; they're not at a level to understand the various proofs behind it. So when I tell them not to worry about it, that doesn't mean my knowledge is "shallow".

"I'm a teacher, and I decided to teach because I (thought that I) enjoy teaching, not because I couldn't be doing something else.... I know some who passed up on being doctors, or lawyers..."

It would be nice if doctors became doctors just for the joy of helping people, not all the money and social status. Teachers work with difficult kids and put in the time to make the world a better place with zero pay [if you factor out cost of living].

Most that I know of are fine with the pay (I mean, of course we would all like it to be higher!) because they know they're making a difference, like you said. What always gets me is people like GGP who basically claims that teachers must be stupid, or else they'd be doing something more lucrative. That attitude upsets me, as many teachers actually want to help, and passed up on more lucrative and easier jobs.

As someone who has sort of "fallen into" the education field, I can only say this: If any of the interviews I've had, or the resumes I've sent, had turned into job offers more lucrative and reliable than education, I'd be doing something else. You aren't the only teacher who does it because you enjoy it; I'm not the only one who does it because nothing else is available to me. I am evidence of the axiom, "those who can, do; those who can't, teach" - if you aren't, good on you.

It sounds like your parents gave you great advice and instilled independent thinking into you (and realistic expectations for what education can provide).

There are a lot of people out there who did great in school but never learned to think for themselves. Some of those people are now saddled in debt and don't have the skills to dig their way out.

I agree, it was great long term advice. But for a rebellious irresponsible and immature teenager it created a lot of problems.

A better lesson would have been that teachers are a resource. You can go to them with questions when you're stuck. You can use them for guidance. College professors especially.

I was in a similar position (for different reasons) and it also created a lot of problems when I was a teenager. I'm not sure if the alternative would have been better though. I find a lot of things that caused problems in school ended up being very valuable in my professional life. Mainly questioning everything. It is best paired with some tact though, and that took a long time to develop.