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.
I had an r.e teacher.....weirdly. He was teaching French. Anyway......this teacher was very popular with the students but I didn't like him and thought he was a 'phoney'. I didn't cause any trouble or anything, i just didn't react to anything, or think he was particularly funny and he seemed like he was putting on an act to hide his true self.
All the kids would day how great he was but I just thought he was putting on an act.
For some reason, he would just put me into detention for literally nothing (still no reaction from me) and eventually moved me into the bottom set (away from him) Which another teacher was bamboozled by.