Reply #52: I had problems with abusive teachers too

[marions ghost]

mostly in elementary school. Teachers can subtly communicate to more aggressive kids messages about who among them might be a good target, ie. a weaker prey. Elementary teachers need a whole lot more training in how this works IMO.

But it was my younger sister who had the worst time. She got beat up on a daily basis after school by a group of boys. This was not a complimentary gender-based hazing. They were looking for an easy target. While other kids were torturing insects and small animals, these guys were thinking of new ways to abuse my shy, soft-hearted (absentminded ADD) little sister who never hurt a flea. Some kids are just fun to torment because they don't have many defenses. Everybody always thought my sister was exaggerating, but she told me some of the stories later in adulthood. I am so sorry that nobody ever helped her at the time.