That seems strange to me. Surely teachers at the very least should be aware that many of the greatest works of literature have come about after somebody broke all of the 'rules' of writing? LotR itself is a good example of this. Looking at what should be popular according to the 'rules' LotR should be one of the least popular but it's not.
I have been very fortunate to have teachers who have encouraged experimentation in my writing. Which is suprising when you consider that I've had 4 English teachers in 4 years.
