Luann Againn by Greg Evans for May 07, 2022

Aw, come on! They can’t be that bad! … Or can they?

My teachers had that problem too!

“You know your weekly allowance is optional too, right Luann?” – Frank

Mr Fogarty, basically. And yes, he is.

Ooh, good ploy, Luann! Hope my kids don’t get this idea. :D

There is some truth to what Luann says. If one or just a few students in a class fail, then it’s the students’ fault, but if a large portion of the class fails, it’s the teacher’s fault. I once had a teacher that told the class that 75% of the previous year’s class had failed. Apparently, he didn’t realize that he was telling us what a bad teacher he was.

In all professions there are different levels of capability and teaching is no exception. Some teachers are very good, and some should be working on a garbage truck.

I had one professor, who, when a student thanked her for giving a good grade, would respond “I didn’t give you that grade. You earned that grade.” (Emphasis mine.)

People have different learning styles and likewise, teachers have different teaching styles. The teachers need to make adjustments to their styles to try to reach all the students, but the students need to also try their best and ask good questions. I remember in a math class a very smart student kept saying that he did not get it. What worked for him was the teacher, and later a student, explaining it to him one on one.

My Algebra Two teacher may have been good or bad as a teacher. We never found out, he spent so much of his time on social issues.

He tested us on what he never taught us. Once we realized, I figured it out myself and my classmates would meet with me at lunch and I would explain it to them.

Our grades went up. He decided he had taught us to be serious students. He was so proud of himself that he decided to run for town council in Atmore, Alabama.

Somebody else took his place. I was conflicted. I didn’t want him to lose and come back to us, but I didn’t have any grudge against the people of Atmore, either.

Best of both worlds! He lost but didn’t come back either.

I suspect Luann has other problems.

Reminds me of the old gag where the kid tells the teacher, “I don’t want to scare you, but my Pop said that if my grades don’t improve, someone’s in for a whipping!”

Yeah, and there are also a lot of students that just won’t concentrate enough to learn.

How did Luann ever get into college? Her grades have always sucked.

Don’t expect your Dad to accept that explanation; I know mine wouldn’t have ;-)