<p>So, my school does 11th grade English in a kind of strange way... we change teachers at the semester for pretty much no reason. I'm also in the honors class (which for my school is like an AP english course at most other schools).</p>
<p>My teacher this semester is insane. We've all had that English teacher who either believes that A) there is only one "right answer" or B) believes that there are multiple right answers but just happens to favor theirs A LOT more than any others.</p>
<p>This teacher happens to be one of them.</p>
<p>The only problem is, this teacher believes that it is not her place to help us analyze the literature in any way shape or form, but only clarifies details. Confused about what something the priest says in A Farewell to Arms? Tough luck, although she will tell you which event happens first, or who does what, or what was concretely said.</p>
<p>Then we get to the tests, which are all in-class essays or short answers (in which they pretty much expect 4-5 well developed essays in 40 minutes). If you write something, even if it is a compelling, interesting, dynamic, CORRECT, idea/essay, that is not what she personally believes, you get a bad grade. BUT SHE ONLY TELLS US WHAT SHE THINKS AFTER THE TEST. It is almost as if she is grading our mind reading ability instead of our actual ability to analyze the text.</p>
<p>Case in point: our last test. I studied with my friends in the other honors section (because we happened to have a free period right before the test) and we pretty much wrote out our entire essay based on our prediction of the prompt (remarkably, we were right), and I got a lot of great analysis from what their teacher (who I had last year and LOVED) had said. I walked in, wrote a kick-butt essay, and felt totally confident.
Today we got them back. I got a B-. Her comments mostly revolved around the fact that I focused on one half of the Grandfather's advice (to those of you who have read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, "live with your head in the lion's mouth") as opposed to the other half ("yessum to death"), which she prefers. She then told the entire class the three ideas she looked for in the essays to get a good grade.</p>
<p>I think I got the worst grade in the class, which sucks, since I've never been bad with English (I was top of my class last year with many of the same students in my class). The one boy who got an A literally quoted something the teacher said in class (he said he actually said, "As you mentioned in class '...'" This was the one remotely analytical thing she said about the book.). Most got B's and B+'s.</p>
<p>Our last test worked similarly. I got a C+ (my worst grade in English EVER), because I missed the day of the test (a Friday) and took it Monday. She both told me that it was harder for me because I was distanced from the text (we had finished the book a few days earlier), but that she also graded me much harsher because I had the weekend.</p>
<p>She did love one project I did (which counted as a test grade) which was a poem, so that raises my grade. We also have a very personal essay due next week, and I am 100% sure I will be able to get an A on that as well.</p>
<p>So what do I do? I can't talk to the head of the English department, because she is the head of the English department. I set up a meeting for next Wednesday (two days before our next test) with my English teacher from last year, who is also my advisor, because my current teacher is so terrible.
How can I learn from this teacher who refuses to teach?
How can I get a good grade if that requires mind reading skills?
How do I get an A-/A, or at LEAST B+ with such a terrible teacher? It's second semester junior year, I don't want to get my first flat B EVER!</p>
<p>Sorry this is so long, but I really don't know what to do. I don't see how an English teacher can expect a "right" analysis, ESPECIALLY when they haven't given us any hints whatsoever.</p>