In 7th-9th grades I only did the work I found interesting - in algebra, I only did the number of problems necessary to be sure that I understood the concepts, and would often do the same in English. I remember also being irritated by the English teacher's inability to handle fractions - instead of 2.5 points off per question on a 40 question homework, she made it 3 points. Reporting a negative score was some sort of moral victory. (The few questions bothered with doing were usually all right.)
Somehow in high school I managed to slide into the position where I could ask all the wrong questions and not be penalized for it. I suspect that the good teachers were glad to have me, and I suspect I scared the teachers to whom I was a threat - because I cheerfully refused to be intimidated when they tried - and I would bring my sources in if I needed to.
Though some of them may have thought I was just a bit strange - my fellow students did. A friend, who did more drugs than anyone else in the school, told me "you really ought to do psychedelics - it might make you more normal." (When I was an undergrad, I tried psychedelics a few times, and quit them because, in the end, all they did was keep me awake too long. According to observers, they didn't do much to make me more normal.)
Somehow in high school I managed to slide into the position where I could ask all the wrong questions and not be penalized for it. I suspect that the good teachers were glad to have me, and I suspect I scared the teachers to whom I was a threat - because I cheerfully refused to be intimidated when they tried - and I would bring my sources in if I needed to.
Though some of them may have thought I was just a bit strange - my fellow students did. A friend, who did more drugs than anyone else in the school, told me "you really ought to do psychedelics - it might make you more normal." (When I was an undergrad, I tried psychedelics a few times, and quit them because, in the end, all they did was keep me awake too long. According to observers, they didn't do much to make me more normal.)
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