If I ever had a teacher that displayed half the ability of
Leonard Peikoff during his Ford Hall Forum lecture "A Philosopher Looks at the O.J. Verdict", I'd be jumping for joy. (Unfortunately, if you're like most people, you never even heard of Leonard Peikoff.)
Imagine, to my amazement, that organized learning could be, dare I say it, fun?
If there's one message I can give to any person reading this who is currently in school, it's this: Just get through it.
Yes, school sucks. But whatever you do, don't ever let yourself come to the conclusion that learning sucks. Learn on your own if you have to. Pick up a copy of Ayn Rand's Anthem, The Fountainhead, or Atlas Shrugged. Do it, if only to prove to yourself that the use of your mind can be an invigorating, beautiful experience. Do it, to see that the total absorption of ideas is possible.
Never let yourself accept the bullshit that your teachers - wittingly or unwittingly - are teaching you: That the use of your mind is drudgery, and the only thing that can actually bring you enjoyment is getting drunk and hooking up at a keg party. And I'm not telling you not to do that either. Just don't give up on what's really important. Decide what you're interested in, and set your mind on that.
The hell with teachers. The hell with school. You have a right to educate yourself despite them. If you need some inspiration to self-teach, look to two of my own personal heroes: Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption and Rubin Carter in The Hurricane.
Find a book that interests you. I can tell you from personal experience that much of the literature you've been assigned in school is the lowest rung on a long ladder of shit. If I wasn't as generous as I am, I might even say the stuff was written purposely to foster a hatred of reading.
For bad teachers, there's nothing like having around a bunch of helpless, ignorant fools to help them evade their own ignorance and gutlessness for never having tried the real career they dreamed about in their youth. For the leaders that rule you, there's nothing like having around a bunch of helpless, ignorant fools to rule.
Don't give them what they want. And don't stoop to the non-intellectual level on which they want you to reside: the level of the violent losers who can't deal, so feel they need to enact their school-induced fantasies on their fellow inmates - either through physical violence or governmental violence. (I.e., using the government to forcibly obtain what they're now unmotivated to earn themselves.) If you're having these kinds of fantasies, it's time to acknowledge the pleasure you can get from actual education, outside of school.
Sure, we all have fantasies. I do. Personally, I prefer the one with a special guest appearance by Denise Richards. I bet that woman could revolutionize the field of education.
