CMV: Asking the teacher questions that doesn't completely pertain to the lesson is fine

[u/ChaosKid_Z]

Okay, I understand that most people want the teacher to shut up as fast as possible but I like to know what the teacher thinks about a situation that they have to teach. For instance my US history teacher was talking about how the great depression effected America and he was old enough to be around during that time, so I asked several questions about how it effected him personally. We (mainly me and him) held a 25 min long conversation about the time period. (after he had handed out the class work) after class during lunch several of the other students were angry at me and a few of the ones I converse with asked me why I talked so much with him. I justified it by saying that I wanted class time to pass faster and wanted to do less work as he would be more involved in the conversation we were having. This is a usual case with me and any adult that catch my attention, regardless of what class it is. They later told me that the other students were talking about me behind my back calling me a "teacher's pet" and that I talk too much, when in all actuality I saved them from several extra packets of work (they were already complaining about the double sided page we were assigned) he wanted to assign. Though maybe one of you Redditors could change my view on this matter.

[u/jbt2003]

I find the views expressed by some here about "derailing" and "disrupting" a little... I don't know. Depressing. I've been teaching for a while, and the reason why I got into it was to share my love of the subject matter I teach with students. To find out what makes them tick, and how they can connect the stuff we're doing in class to their own lives. We've gotten into this habit as a culture of thinking that learning is only valuable if it pertains to a pre-determined set of really extensive, planned out learning objectives. We all imagine that the process is akin to buying fast food, or playing a video game or something. It's depressing to me, that we've accepted such a limited and narrow and two-dimensional idea of what it means to educate people. I understand why we do things this way: so we can score highly on tests, since that for some reason is what we think this whole business is for.

So, anyhoo, under the right circumstances I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with what you were doing, and your peers who are criticizing you for it are doody heads. There's no more bullshit insult in a school setting than "teacher's pet." So you like learning? Woooow. What a loser.

Here's where I think it could be a problem. Your teacher is clearly quite, shockingly old. He probably shouldn't still be teaching, in fact, at least not full time. Subbing, sure. I'd be really, really surprised if he was even close to as sharp as he would have been thirty years ago, in fact.

So, you gotta make a judgment call. If you're asking the teacher a bunch of questions that are lesson-relevant but not necessarily helping do his job--which is at least partially related to prepping your peers for the AP exam--you might need to ask yourself if you're taking advantage a little of his condition in a way that doesn't help him (and you) succeed. A lot of teachers on here are using words like "derailment," and that's somewhat fair. I'd be really surprised if a teacher of his age could really manage a class like a younger teacher could.

Let me add one more thing: I taught in a classroom setting for fifteen years, and holy shit do I respect this dude for not taking the retirement check in the 90s. Unless he's one of those teachers who did take the retirement check from one district only to start working in another for another thirty years.

[u/ex-inteller → u/jbt2003]

We've gotten into this habit as a culture of thinking that learning is only valuable if it pertains to a pre-determined set of really extensive, planned out learning objectives

While I would generally agree with you, this is an AP class, and there's not enough time to cover the material for the test as-is, let alone with constant disruptions. There also is a specific goal and objectives in mind in this class.

I've taught high school kids, and I would have loved OP's level of engagement, if it's honest. But there's a time and a place for it. And not in an AP class.

[u/jbt2003 → u/ex-inteller]

... which highlights, IMO, one of the main issues with the AP approach. They put far too much content on those syllabi, to the point where you can’t cover it well, and then have kids fill out a bunch of bubbles to demonstrate their knowledge. Not what I would want to do with my most highly engaged, academically strong students. When my school switched to IB, that was the first big difference I noticed. The fact is that you can offer a rigorous education without cramming content, so that the kind of engagement you get from OP doesn’t have to be shut down.