Published on 12, July, 2020
I saw something today, which prompted me to ask this question: Did any teachers single you out, or treat you badly at school? I was in school from the 1970’s, and things were different back then.
I recall being singled out at age 6, and forced to stand on the table during the lesson as an example of a stupid child. I was often ridiculed, and she said things like it’s typical for me to be stupid because ‘people like you’ are. (Because of my skin colour).
At 11 I was constantly picked on by my maths teacher. She would ask me questions when she knew I wouldn’t know the answer. She picked me despite others putting their hand up to answer. She tried to make me recite my times tables or give her answers to some when she called them out. She told me that I should be able to answer them, as all children my age can, and what was it that was wrong with me that I wasn’t able to learn them. And other things when I didn’t get all questions answered in the time frame, or got poor marks in a test. I wasn’t ever ‘stupid’. My auditory processing is slow, and I can’t work under pressure if I’m also anxious.
The further back in time you go the worse the stories become.
I worked with a chap who was about 10 years older than me. In his Catholic school he was constantly wrapped on the knuckles of his left hand with a ruler when trying to write and forced to write with his right hand despite being left handed.
My mum (who I believe was autistic etc) was locked in a cupboard for hours at school.
One of my primary school teachers was a nun. She actually said to me once 'you're not as clever as your brothers are you!?'.....I spend the rest of the lesson digging my finger nails into the palm of my hand to stop myself from exploding.
She locked one unruly pupil in her cupboard, he was in my elder brothers class. He was quiet the whole time.....When she opened the door at the end of the lesson. She was greeted by a smiling kid with a face covered in chocolate. He ate whatever stash she had in there lol