I've wanted to rant about this for a while, so as I'm registering for fall classes, here it goes.
The teacher makes the class. I don't care how boring or interesting the subject matter is. It's all about the teacher — at least in my opinion.
When I was in high school, I heard about this teacher who scared students — who gave difficult tests and could be harsh.
This teacher turned out to be one of the best teachers I've ever had and changed my mind entirely about the subject matter.
Contrarily, I heard about a teacher everyone loved and was thrilled to have been put in his class. He was certainly a good teacher, but we did not hit it off.
Last semester I took a Sociology Theory class that I loved. I didn't know anyone in the class, though, and since I hadn't ever heard anything bad, I was kind of under the impression that everyone else loved it too. I found the material fascinating, but more than anything, I thought the professor explained everything in a very strategic, understandable way. She was interesting to listen to.
Turns out, this was not the popular opinion.
At the end of the semester, just before the final exam, I talked to someone in the class who couldn't stand the teacher. He found the material incredibly boring and felt it wasn't presented clearly at all. He alluded to falling asleep in class and having jumbled notes — something I experienced in other classes, but not this one.
A while after, I spoke to someone else who had taken the class, and she felt a similar way: the lectures were very dry and the teacher was unremarkable.
This has happened to me on several occasions: I've liked teachers that are generally disliked and I have disliked teachers who are favorited by many.
This makes sense, obviously, because these are preferences: they're entirely subjective.
The trend I've found, however — and this may or may not be universally accepted — is that whether or not one enjoys a class is generally related to whether or not they like the teacher.
This concept has a few repercussions, though.
If you have your heart set on studying math in high school, but have terrible math teachers in college, will you continue to pursue it?
Can a teacher change your course of study completely? Can they interest you in something you once found boring? Can an English student be inspired by a Physics teacher enough to apply literature to science?
I didn't come to college thinking I would be a sociology major. After having had four amazing lecturers, though, I realized I made the right choice. It's strange to think that had I not enjoyed these lecturers, I may be considering a different academic and career path.
I'm not saying that teachers determine what we study, but I would argue they influence us to some extent. That's definitely how it worked for me. After all, teachers are not meant to bore you, even though they do sometimes. They're incredibly passionate professionals who want to inspire you. And it's interesting that because they're all so different, they will appeal to different students. They may not appeal to you because you like what they're teaching, but rather, because you like their teaching style and personality.
It's strange what drives us. It's strange why we change our minds. But I think teachers do guide us in some way. They want to inspire us, not even necessarily, in their own field, but just in general. They want to teach us material, but they also want to teach us how to learn.
I think everyone can be inspired by that.