I found it quite challenging to think of an appropriate story for this post. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have wonderful, supportive teachers at almost every turn. I’m sure I’ve had demotivating educational experiences, but there aren’t any that have really stuck with me.
One situation that I do recall was in math class the first year of middle school. The teacher was disgusted by the average level of competence, and so I remember spending weeks and weeks going over times tables instead of the algebra that we were supposed to be covering.
I remember being frustrated that the teacher applied this remediation universally, rather than used the opportunity to individualize the curriculum. It would have meant more work for the teacher, but I think the students would have benefitted immensely.
I understand the difficulty of this in a standard teaching environment, though. Even if the teacher gave extra homework for those who needed it, these students will just get further and further behind while they try to catch up. Perhaps, upon seeing how varied the students were in this particular class, the teacher could have switched from single-session teaching to an individualized self-paced curriculum.