Yes and I chose german major course...oh man...

 

we have a text and talk about it....and talk about it.....and almost analyse every single word (because there could be an intention..ahha...)

 

and this is getting on my nerves because I guess the author didn't even analyse every single word....

 

finding an intention of a book for ourselves is ok.......but too much is too much...

 

Funniest thing was when one author visited our school.....we prepared some stories of her's and interpreted them and wanted to talk to her about it....so we told her what we think the intention was....and she just laughed a bit and said that she even can't remember what intention she had with these stories....

 

great.....sounds like a waste of time....

 

 

blablablablablbalbalbal------yeah I know that we actually should learn how to find the intention of a text...and that it will help us with our language improvement...and that it could help us in our lives....and bla....

 

that's not the problem....the problem is that I see it as a waste of time if we interpret TOO MUCH!

 

but it's still getting on my nerves...

 

not that I sometimes don't like doing it.....................but as I said above....too much....

I get what you mean. Those damn annoying question about interpreting the author's thoughts.

 

I was always tempted to write "fucked if I know" down and see what result I got.

Most annoying thing is in my german lessons.....there is not even a question and there are already 10 people who raise their hands to say something oh so intelligent about the text..

Hell, I hate it. I hate when teachers ask me how do I understand the book. I'm starting the explanation, I'm talking about characters and all, how I understand it. And then the teacher starts pissing me off with something like: but that's not what the author wanted to say! Then why do you ask me what I think? :freak:

 

And this thing about intentions.... I mean, how can teachers know what did Tolstoy mean in his books?... He's dead already, they can't ask him, they've never talked to him, so how can they be sooo sure?... They always try to analyse everything, that's so true. And it's pretty funny that I'm almost sure Tolstoy didn't mean even the half of what we've been talking about on our literature lessons.

Besides, everyone should have his own view. It's like a song - eceryone should just listen to it and understand it in his own unique way. That's what I think.

And this is the problem about those class tests....I mean...the teacher can't say if it's right or wrong what you interpreted....no...yeah he can say that it's a bit far fetched but that's it.....

 

my last german teacher used to like my style....my way of interpreting....I was a good student in case of german then...and now?

The teacher I have now doesn't like my style that much......I'm not someone who talks and talks and doesn't find a point....

my old teacher was like this as well.....this one is something in between...

Hell' date=' I hate it. I hate when teachers ask me how do [i']I[/i] understand the book. I'm starting the explanation, I'm talking about characters and all, how I understand it. And then the teacher starts pissing me off with something like: but that's not what the author wanted to say! Then why do you ask me what I think? :freak:

 

And this thing about intentions.... I mean, how can teachers know what did Tolstoy mean in his books?... He's dead already, they can't ask him, they've never talked to him, so how can they be sooo sure?... They always try to analyse everything, that's so true. And it's pretty funny that I'm almost sure Tolstoy didn't mean even the half of what we've been talking about on our literature lessons.

Besides, everyone should have his own view. It's like a song - eceryone should just listen to it and understand it in his own unique way. That's what I think.

 

 

that's exactly what i think!!

but yeah i have the same problems...i think my Portuguese teacher didn't like me too much because whenever he explained what some author meant with some poem i would never understand my teacher's interpretation and always asked: "how do we know that?? yeah he says this but that doesn't necessarly mean that!!!"....yeah i was not an easy student i know...but i hate when people try to put meanings into things that have no sense...and once i found my own meaning in a poem and he put a line in my exercise (to say that it was wrong) and i asked him why was it wrong if i had account for my answer and he said he didn't took points from the answer! but he put a line there! :angry:

 

so: yeah...everyone must find their own meanings of course!!! many literature teachers fail when don't think about this!

 

EDIT: and yeah julia...i have problem with my style too....some teachers like it, some teachers don't! i think they all should respect us, period!!

You have to accept though... Rarely in school subjects at whatever level do they want you to have an extensive opinion on anything. In the end there might be one or two times you need to state your opinion and why but for the rest of the time you have to do it their way.

 

You don't learn the subject, you learn how to pass the test. I spent 5 years studying German and I wouldn't say I was fluent, I got a high grade for it but that's cause I learned how to answer the tests questions and not how to speak the language.

 

Of course there are courses this doesn't apply to, but in general I think I'm right.

Actually, you are right.

My dad teaches college and in his classes he makes sure everybody states their opinion and they usually get graded on that more than other things.

You have to accept though... Rarely in school subjects at whatever level do they want you to have an extensive opinion on anything. In the end there might be one or two times you need to state your opinion and why but for the rest of the time you have to do it their way.

 

You don't learn the subject, you learn how to pass the test. I spent 5 years studying German and I wouldn't say I was fluent, I got a high grade for it but that's cause I learned how to answer the tests questions and not how to speak the language.

 

Of course there are courses this doesn't apply to, but in general I think I'm right.

 

not good but true!

i also had that with french! i can't speak it yet because i knew how to answer i got in the end 15/20 :cool:...:dozey:

i always hated literature class because the teach liked to pretend that there is room for self interpration, but if u anlysed something against what is well known than u would be dismissed

so i never saw the point in having long discussions when in the end all that mattered is what the teacher said as the accepted interpertation of a poem/book whatever

 

and yea, when it comes down it, all the studying i did was to pass the test. That's why i was never a part of those stupid discussions in literature class, and that's why, like u dont know German, I dont know arabic after 6 years of learning

we're doing the same thing in english but I actually love it... when there are good interpretations and the text is good...

This is why I couldn't stand the subject "English Literature"......................Thomas Hardy was dullsville!!:angry:

Hell' date=' I hate it. I hate when teachers ask me how do [i']I[/i] understand the book. I'm starting the explanation, I'm talking about characters and all, how I understand it. And then the teacher starts pissing me off with something like: but that's not what the author wanted to say! Then why do you ask me what I think? :freak:

 

And this thing about intentions.... I mean, how can teachers know what did Tolstoy mean in his books?... He's dead already, they can't ask him, they've never talked to him, so how can they be sooo sure?... They always try to analyse everything, that's so true. And it's pretty funny that I'm almost sure Tolstoy didn't mean even the half of what we've been talking about on our literature lessons.

Besides, everyone should have his own view. It's like a song - eceryone should just listen to it and understand it in his own unique way. That's what I think.

 

 

Exacto!

 

Not even teachers have intentions when they ask about the author's intention!

 

I mean, do they want OUR opinion or the opinion the teacher "shares" with the deceased author!?

 

I think it's lame how teachers spend our time analyzing every speck of an aspect of something they claim to know everything of, when in reality...no one will ever know an author's sole intention unless it's the author (not even having asked the author counts as knowing) ...honestly I believe that authors sometimes go through phases where they publish works that they really didn't intend to have meanings.

And that's OKAY.

 

 

But that will always drive me wild. NOT knowing an author, artist, or musician's intentions to their works.

If you have wide knowledge of a creator's works, and life you can only assume what the intentions are. But you will never truly know.

 

At times I could almost say: " I don't really want to know intentions."

 

But other times, a work can be so elusive in it's meaning... I could go mad with a want to know what they meant!

 

O'vell :rolleyes:

 

cool thread, jules.

The thing is that when I read a book or I listen to a song or I look at the painting... Any art I mean, when I enjoy art I find it really awesome and important to understand it by myself. I mean, there're so many people with so many opinions, isn't it just great that we all can say different things about one thing?... You know, when someone asks me how do I understand a book I'm starting to express my own thoughts, some feelings or whatever and then this person who asked me says something like: but it's wrong, that's not what this book is about... Author didn't mean it. And it drives me crazy 'cause it's so silly to just read a biography of a writer, maybe some articles of critics too and then talk about art like it was you who figured that all out. When people just speak like they're supposed to, it's soooo silly and annoying. Why the hell do we all need to say the same things, it's art for God's sake! It's supposed to have different meanings for everybody.

But sometimes I really wish I knew what did author mean, what was he thinking about while creating the book/photograph/song/painting etc. Though most of the time it's impossible to know or it's so personal that noone would ever tell that.

Anyway, I think when someone makes anything he wants people to have different views. The only intention he has is probably to make people think, to make them find something useful and familiar in his art. Not to say all-known words from a silly textbook. Uhoh. Whatever.

^ that's true,

though i do find sometimes that we have classes like that

to fill time.

However by really looking into a book back in english class- i actually understood it more and began to like it.

i had read it before and hated the book so in a way looking too much into something could uncover a gem you may not have a given a chance before.

i really enjoy interpreting novels and writing essays on them. back in school, english: language and literature was a fav subject of mine. one thing i know for sure that will guarantee you good marks, is backing up whatever you say with references in the text to support your argument. sounds pretty straight forward but some tend to write in in first person, which you aren't meant to do unless instructed etc etc but yeah, it doesn't matter if your analysis of the text is different to that of your teacher or other students, what matters is you support what you say and make it sound convincing. you probably know this already lol anyone can argue any point on anything, the thing that makes it credible is the references you use to support your analysis.

 

^^^^^ LOL, a guy i know totally had no clue on a physics test, so instead he wrote 3 pages on why the test was completely irrelevent and pointless for this future and he got a B+ lol i find that ridiculous but it's not the first time i've heard that happening :shifty:

^ LMAO yeah our lecturer told us he once wrote an ambiguous question.

 

Write all that you know about blah and a guy wrote i know nothing- they had to give him the marks i mean he answered the question lol.

 

StarsKay it really sounds like your fav subject!

haha ^^ why would teachers do that? lol what if someone didn't understand it and think:

 

hm blah, maybe it's code, no no, they wouldn't test us on something based on a code...time is running out, shit, did i miss a class, damnit! the only class i miss and the exam is on this...okay, so think man, THINK! blah.....blah.....?? is it a typo? no, no one else has asked...i knew i should've studies harder!

 

LOL :lol: !!!

 

i definitely like it, especially interpreting poems etc, but modern history is my ultimate favorite, but like english, it's all about backing what you say.

i really enjoy interpreting novels and writing essays on them. back in school' date=' [i']english: language and literature [/i]was a fav subject of mine. one thing i know for sure that will guarantee you good marks, is backing up whatever you say with references in the text to support your argument. sounds pretty straight forward but some tend to write in in first person, which you aren't meant to do unless instructed etc etc but yeah, it doesn't matter if your analysis of the text is different to that of your teacher or other students, what matters is you support what you say and make it sound convincing. you probably know this already lol anyone can argue any point on anything, the thing that makes it credible is the references you use to support your analysis.

 

^^^^^ LOL, a guy i know totally had no clue on a physics test, so instead he wrote 3 pages on why the test was completely irrelevent and pointless for this future and he got a B+ lol i find that ridiculous but it's not the first time i've heard that happening :shifty:

 

 

English and literature was my favorite too.

I used to write bullshit papers too.

 

Most of the time, it was when I hadn't read the book I had to write a paper on, but the class had a book discussion before it came time to write the paper. So I would just use those notes and write the paper. Never having read the book!

 

You just have to elaborate and use what writing skills you were given.

 

I honestly have made 'A' grades on reports of books I had slight of a clue on.

 

BUT when I really enjoyed the book, and the assignment was okay...I would take my time and research and write a really well thought out paper. I think I just don't work as well when I write papers this way though. I need that last minute pressure to bring out all the juicy writing.

 

Because well researched papers I would write just were a load of crap and I got poor grades on them *shrugs*