Well, I was just flipping my favourite blogs and a moth there reminded me of my school days.
Once our biolagy teacher was teaching us about insect kingdom(or something else, I don't remember.) and told us that moths would rest with their wings open but Butterflies with them closed. However it contradicted with my imaginationn of butter flies with their wings open and colourful, beautifully resting on the petals of flower. I was too egoistic to believe that my dreams aren't anywhere near truth. So I wanted to prove it otherwise. I flipped through the books and found our physics text with a pic of butterfly with wings open. It was used there to illustrate properties of light. I pulled it out in the next class and tried to prove that our teacher is wrong. But, she would refuse to listen saying it was a Physics text and she doesn't care about what it says or shows. So I got so frustrated that I threw the book on the bench and shouted, "If you aren't gonna listen to me, neither am I." Saying so I walked out of the class and went to library.
I was arrogant, but I had my point right? More over I always used to be the topper and she wouldn't do anything to me. My school is a good one where teacher can't lay a finger on a kid. It's nomore the same. I'm one of the lowest rankers in the college and good for nothing. If I do anything so much as taking stand against a prof, I'm done for.
I know exactly what you mean in the last paragraph. In colleges, Profs are much more empowered (to screw your life). I have seen the same in IIT too. And even if you are polite but firm (saying that you have a difference in opinion), they still can refuse to accept it, and try to teach you a lesson that you shouldn't argue with them in the first place.