As a child, were you ever so embarassed by a teacher....

[Zookeeper]

that it affected your aspirations?

A friend has told me (several times) of an early elementary school experience that crushed her interest in making art. Her third-grade teacher gave the students an art assignment and walked around the classroom looking at their progress. She stopped at my friend's desk, picked up her drawing, held it up for the class to see and announced, "This is wrong. This is how you are NOT supposed to do it." My friend was crushed and embarassed and decided, then and there, that she had no artistic ability. I can see that it is still painful and a real loss for her. She is very supportive of her daughter's artwork, though.

[Mojambo]

1. I don't really remember any individual elementary school experiences.

It's all a blurry haze.

What a terrible teacher your friend had. Incredibly cruel and thoughtless.

[Coyote_Bandit]

2. Yes, more than once

I got in trouble for coloring outside the lines. My freehand drawing was criticized. I was told that I had bad handwriting. I was actively discouraged from taking art classes.

My piano teacher told me at the age of six that I had no sense of rhythm. Never mind that I was visually impaired and couldn't see the music I was supposed to play and was unfamiliar with the songs assigned.

I don't remember anything similar happening after elementary school - until I got to college. I started as an English major but changed because of an experience with a professor involving a lit crit paper. I also had a poly sci prof tell me that I was his B+ student. I could work my butt off and get a B+ or I could do absolutely nothing and not even purchase the textbook and still get a B+.

All these years later I am still trying to figure out what I really enjoy and am good at. I've been taking a class at a local art studio this year and enjoying it tremendously. And it is not hard.

[Zookeeper]

6. I think there is a widespread belief...

that innate talent is more important than hard work and practice in art (or music, or writing). I think the interest and drive to make art is crucial. There are LOTS of "talented" people who do absolutely nothing with their talent, especially after they've graduated from art school.

I applaud you for following that interest! It's never too late.... :applause: :thumbsup:

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. I agree

Years ago, I used to do page layout and graphic design work for a music teaching studio. I saw all sorts of folks become very proficient. And they all worked hard to do so. Those who worked hard actually did much better over a period of time than those who had natural ability.

I am more visually oriented - something I learned while doing the graphic design work. I also like to work with my hands. Both are things I really wish I had realized and been encouraged to do much sooner. But such work is non-traditional and nobody wants their kid to grow up and be a starving artist. Law school is a better option.

So I worked hard and got good grades and lots of education in fields where I now realize I have little interest or natural ability. That makes working miserable.

There is someone who currentlty assists in teaching my art class who was a student a year ago. That is inspiring. He has a portfolio of his work and it is professional quality.

Eventually, I hope to become proficient at several artistic kinds of crafts and then go somewhere and open my own little studio. Hey, I can dream....

[Zookeeper]

46. If you were doing page layout and graphic design....

you already have a head start in understanding composition. And being good with your hands is a good sign. Most visual artists I know (including me), are able to build or fix things.

I wish you much luck, CB! :hi:

[Coyote_Bandit]

80. Thanks

for your well wishes and encouragement.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

56. yeah I am creative too

I was quite accomplished in music and orchestra but was told I couldn't make a living at it. Same thing with art.

I got a law degree and a biology degree, that hasn't helped me get a single job. I'm a failure when it comes to the rat race. It's not qualifications and skills; it's who do you know???

I'm arty too, and decided that, since looking for a legal assistant job has been like banging my head against a brick wall, that I would live on my savings and do what I want to do which is music and art.

Eventually I want to get my house in the country turned into an artist's colony, where people can decompress and listen to the birdies sing, and do their thing.

[Zookeeper]

64. Sounds great!

May I reserve a spot? ;)

[Left Is Write]

29. I will never, ever, ever understand what's wrong with coloring outside the lines.

Is the idea to have neat, perfect colorings or for the child to express creativity? What is the purpose of perfect colorings? There are other exercises to work fine motor skills that wouldn't involve criticizing children's artistry.

And criticizing free hand drawings? That's just so wrong.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

54. i could not color inside the lines either

I had this problem, when I grabbed a pencil it turned into a death grip and I really couldn't control it very well. I had the same problem with my crappy handwriting. They acted like having lousy handwriting was just a horrible thing. I never got my handwriting straightened out until I was in high school.

However, my freehand drawing, and the energy in the line, was wonderful and it's still really good.
I should have majored in art and gotten a BFA in painting, instead of a BA in biology, but the parents told me I had to get a "Real Science" degree. None of that psych or sociology, that was not real science, since psychiatrists were suspect and you weren't supposed to go see a shrink and talk about your problems. Liberal arts were even worse, and fine arts were the worst of all.

I ended up getting a biology degree and a law degree which is a doctorate. Neither of them has ever helped me get a job. That was sucky advice. The guidance counselors probably wouldn't have been any better.


Note: I think EVERYBODY has had a bad art teacher that is determined to stifle everybody's creativity.

[Coyote_Bandit]

79. Your story is soooo like mine

except I never bothered to straighten out my crappy handwriting. Sadly, it has only gotten worse. On most days I can decipher my own writing. Hardly anybody else can unless I make a special effort to write neatly - something I can do.

Music and crafts were hobbies. A good education with good grades was the ticket to a good job. Not going to college was never an option for me. Despite having about 250 college credits I never took an art class. Never. Not even in elementary school. I have three graduate degrees (MBA, JD and an MA) and two state bar licenses. I did manage to eek out an undergraduate liberal arts degree (history major with poly sci and business minors) but only because it was considered a pre-law degree. I generally have very good verbal skills and I write well. I also have a high functioning math (calc level) related learning disorder. This wasn't identified until I took the GMAT and scored in the upper fifth percentile on the verbal portion of the exam and in the lower thirty-fifth percentile on the math portion. I actually returned to school to get my MBA - and sought considerable advice before doing so. The essence of that advice (from more than one career counselor) was "build upon your strengths." They all viewed my legal training as a strength and looked for ways to build on it - rather than looking at my innate interests and aptitudes. That page layout and graphic design work was part-time contract work that I did to pay my way through that MBA program - a program I finished with concentrations in finance(!) and management.

My education has been a tremendous detriment in finding employment. I worked only briefly in the legal profession. I finished law school during the middle of a recession. The small firm I worked for had difficulty collecting fees and went out of business when the senior partner and founder took a university teaching position. I did not enjoy my brief tenure in private practice. After that I worked in the insurance industry because I was unable to find further work in the legal profession. I was able to work in the investment industry as an investment portfolio manager(!) after completing my MBA but was laid off in 2002 along with about 30% of my co-workers. My resume shows a broad education and wide range of work experience. Smaller employers find me overqualified and think I will leave. Larger employers think that I am not committed to any particular field of work. And headhunters have told me that they prefer to work with candidates who do not have the capability to open up their own shop and hang out their own shingle. More than a few family members and acquaintances have made statements implying that they think I am either too picky and unwilling to be flexible or I am lazy and unwilling to work. I suppose they think I should be working as a checker or shelf stocker at Box Mart. Nothing wrong with that kind of work but I think I am capable of something better suited to my interests and abilities. I have been unable to find employment since being laid-off. I've been doing some consulting work and trying to determine my best options for the future.

The most enjoyable work I have ever done was that page-layout and graphic design work - probably because of its artistic nature. But I am not inclined to make a full-time career of it. I am visually impaired in one eye (only corrects to 20/80) and that much computer time does cause me problems with eye strain. I also have some preference for working with materials rather than machines and providing a tangible product.

I am happily single which means that I can make my own decisions without having to consider their implications for my partner. However, that also means I have less input and less support.

I am a single forty something female living in red state hell. A political liberal in spite of my private Christian education. Cluttered and a bit disorganized. Spontaneous and unscheduled. Casual rather than formal.

I like making and designing things. I'm good at gathering information. I like to cook and to work with plants and animals. I generally have good writing and persuasive skills. I need some variety and autonomy. I despise accounting and tax work.

I have aging parents that live in another state and who likely will require my assistance in a few years. They spent many years caring for all four of their parents. I feel like I need to be able to be there for them. So I am looking at the likelihood of relocating.

I am fortunate to have some savings, some limited income, and both an older home and a car that are paid for and in reasonably good shape. This buys me time and with it the ability to acquire new skills and plan a future course of action.

I have developed an interest in glass and metal crafts. I would like to become a proficient craftsman in stained glass, fused glass, blown glass, lampworking and beadmaking, mosaics, ceramics, metal embossing and coppersmithing. And I would like to eventually open a studio offering my creations. I live in a metropolitan area where many of these skills are taught. I may have an opportunity to do some consulting work over an extended period of time with a local studio that works in several of these areas. Obviously, this would be a wonderful opportunity for me to investigate the feasibility of my future business idea/studio. Final details need to be worked out for this to happen.

They say the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Assuming there is some truth to that then I need to find some non-traditional work in a field outside my broad but nonetheless entirely conventional background.

Sorry to be so lengthy. Frankly, I could use some feedback and input.

[QMPMom]

75. Wehad a teacher in 3rd grade that made some of us stay in at

recess because our life sized Pilgrims weren't colored "evenly". There was a school open house coming up and she wanted everything perfect. I probably stayed in at all my recesses and lunch breaks for a week trying to make the shading "even" on that stupid life-sized paper Pilgrim that was going to be sitting at my desk during the open house.

[Coyote_Bandit]

81. I missed recess quite a bit as well

I was the kid who the teachers thought was able to get along with all the other kids. So I spent a lot of time moving from desk to desk during recess to separate the talkers and the fighters and the other classroom disruptors.

We lived in the middle of nowhere - about 20 miles or so from school. My friends mostly went to other schools. I really didn't know the kids I went to school with so I didn't like or dislike them for the most part. I didn't see the school kids except at school and since I missed so much time at recess it took a while to get to know them. Even then I didn't have much opportunity to socialize with them outside of school. In retrospect, I think those teachers surely recognized that and took advantage of my circumstances for their benefit. I was used.

By the time I got to high school I was able to hang out with the brains. I took the same college prep classes and got good grades. We'd get together on weekends and work on school projects and go cruising. But transportation was still an issue for me and I still was not able to participate in most of the extra-curricular activities they did. Because of that I never got the same recognition and encouragement they got for the same achievements. I graduated fourth in my class but was not inducted into the national honor society until spring of my senior year. My brainiac friends were all inducted early in our junior year. Only one had better grades than I did. And she was not an athlete or musical prodigy or cheerleader. That's just one example.

[NewWaveChick1981]

3. A good friend of mine was punished by her first-grade teacher for being left-handed.

:grr: She was made to write with the "correct" hand. If she tried to do anything left-handed (writing, using scissors, etc.), the teacher smacked her left hand with a ruler in front of all the other kids. She secretly did everything with her left hand when she was out of that teacher's presence but also learned to use her right hand for those tasks. While it made her ambidextrous, it also screwed her up in a lot of ways. She still has vague feelings of guilt about using her left hand, and she's 50 years old now. :yoiks:

Yes, teachers can set the tone for their pupils long after they've moved on in life.

[bleedingheart]

4. my aunt went to Catholic school and left-handedness was not allowed

she now can write with both hands but her left handed writing is of course much better....

[NewWaveChick1981]

23. I know your aunt knows what my friend went through...

:hug: I simply cannot imagine how stupid/cruel/insane a teacher could be to do that to a kid. :pals:

[sasquatch]

9. My grandfather went through the same thing

He made me learn everything right handed supposivly. Everytime I try to do something left handed it feels like I'm chewing tinfoil.

[NewWaveChick1981]

24. OMG, that HAS to suck...

:hug: I'm sorry.

[sasquatch]

48. The funny thing is that I'm not mad at him for it either

He didn't know any better and that's how he was raised. I consider it a cultural difference conflict or something like that.

[Arger68]

14. I got that in Kindergarten. I showed her, though,

I broke my right wrist a couple months into the year and HAD to write left handed. She also put me in the closet (a very small coat closet, maybe 2 feet wide) for punishment, since I could read before I went to Kindergarten and got my work done right away so was very bored. Incidentally, I was looking at political donations in my old zipcode on Newsmeat and saw she is a donor to Lyndon LaRouche, so I KNOW she was a nutjob!!:rofl:

[NewWaveChick1981]

25. Geez, and what a nutjob she was...

I've heard horror stories about teachers like that, but the fact that she's into Lyndon LaRouche says it all...:yoiks:

[alarimer]

40. I had a kindergarten teacher like that

I knew how to read before kindergarten as well but apparently 5 year olds aren't allowed to read. She was a cruel bitch and is probably why I have confidence issues to this day. I was not, to my knowledge, ever locked in a closet though. That sucks.

[Mad_Dem_X]

73. My kindergarten teacher was a b*tch, too

She was an older woman with no patience around little kids. I was very shy and awkward, and she embarassed me more than once in front of everyone. My sister had the same experience with her. She should have retired long before she actually did.

[femmocrat]

42. That "punishment" would get that teacher fired today.

A lot has changed in education since you were so wrongly punished.

[Left Is Write]

26. That happened to my grandfather.

He was born in 1902, so it was quite a long time ago. My mother was a child in the 40s, also left-handed, and I suspect if any teacher had tried to punish her for being left-handed, Grampa would have had their heads. He was a teacher too.

[NewWaveChick1981]

27. Your grandfather sounds like a great guy!

:hug: Thank goodness his students had him as a teacher. He knew what that was like. :) And your mother was lucky he was around to look out for her!

[MountainLaurel]

43. Same thing happened to my mom's cousin

:mad:

[Goblinmonger]

86. Well, come on

it is the hand of Satan, you know.

[bleedingheart]

5. actually I had a high school teacher seek me out during lunch

to bitch at me for correcting him in his class (it was history and I was a big history geek)...

the man died about a month later of a heart attack on a racquet ball court.....

[tigereye]

7. more the male jr. high teachers who tried to be nice to me

by telling me that my nerdliness was cool.

Which I wasn't really able to see at the time.

[trof]

8. Oh yeah. My 8th grade teacher made my life miserable.

I'd been a good student until I hit 8th grade.
I don't know what I might have done to set her off, but that old biddy was on my case from day one.
I still don't know why.
I was basically a decent good kid.

Possibly because of her I dropped out (in my head) until the second time I flunked out of college. Took me 5 years to get through high school.

After I was 'asked to leave' the university the second time I did the military thing, grew up a lot, and came back to a successful completion of college.

[ceile]

10. Volleyball coach 10th grade.

I had played since I was little and wanted to go to college on a scholarship. I played on a traveling team in the off season--played all over the state. Went to camp every year. But then I was told I had a "bad attitude" and was kicked off the team. (it was all about the money in my school district and I didn't fit in with the rich kids). I haven't played since.

[LibraLiz1973]

12. 8th Grade.

I was a bit of a problem. I say a BIT because it wasn't severe, I just had problems being tardy.
The guidance counselor at my school was a real piece of work- she adored the popular kids but hated everyone else.
I was not super popular at the time so she was not very interested in me.

One day I was standing in the hallway immediately after school with several friends getting ready to leave. A "popular" girl came down the hall and as she was walking said "Fucking bitch" to a girl near me really loud. Guidance counselor appears, grabs the girl that said Fucking Bitch and says "Oh honey watch your mouth.. OR YOU'LL END UP A BIG LOSER LIKE LIBRALIZ1973" and started hysterically laughing.

I was stunned and immediately burst into tears. Friggin bitch (counselor) came over and put her arm around me and told me she was only joking. (I NEVER cry in front of people I don't feel close to *and even then it can be an issue*
so I was most ashamed that I let her see me cry) I told her I thought she was rude and obnoxious and to get her hands off me.


I am not the only one of the kids that went to school there with a story like that.

The following year I was one of the most popular girls at school and suddenly the counselor wanted to be best friends.
"Come into my office whenever you need some down time" etc. The 2nd time she told me to come hang with her I told her to get her fake ass out of my fucking face. I did it in front of the Dean who told her she probably deserved it because she had been so cruel. That woman had no business working with kids



On Edit: She is one of the reasons I work with kids. I wanted to make a difference to kids who could possibly be lost within the system for being just a bit different. My kindergarten teacher inspired me to be a teacher- my junior high guidance counselor inspired me to be a positive influence to everyone to counter balance her negativity.

[Zookeeper]

90. The good news is that the Dean recognized....

her cruelty. You probably weren't the first or last kid to be hurt and humilited by her. We can only hope that it caught up with her eventually.

:hug:

[zanne]

13. I was taught by nuns.

I was always embarassed.

[cool user name]

15. I remember when I was about 4 or 5 ...

I was showing my underwear to another kid while we were outside. I remember some woman teacher started yelling at me and made me wear nothing but my underwear for the rest of the day. I remember feeling embarrassed but not knowing why.

I guess that's probably why I have relationship issues. Who knows. I don't really dabble in that psycho-babble stuff but I've always wondered how that effected my life. I'm not one to carry a grudge or hold a chip on my shoulder. I understand that you make do with what you are dealt. I'm only curious.

I'm 34 and never been married and always seem to be breaking up with one girlfriend after another. Either that, or I can't commit in the first place.

[Art_from_Ark]

33. I was in 3rd grade and was always hanging around a girl friend

We always ate lunch together, and I would go over to her house and play with those small plastic green soldiers with her and her brother. We were pals. But the 3rd grade teacher did not like our friendship, and she told me that it was "unhealthy" for a boy and a girl in 3rd grade to be so friendly with each other. She made me think there was something terribly wrong with girls, and I ended up saying a lot of mean things to girls that I regret now.

[cool user name]

39. I don't understand how some people don't think they can have ...

... a profound effect on a child.

Fuckers.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. My mom told me similar story...

The class was assigned to draw a picture of a mailbox. She drew a picture of a little girl putting a letter in a mailbox; and the teacher gave her a zero...told her to follow instructions. No creativity, allowed!

In reading about my son's favorite author, Dav Pilkey, I get the feeling he suffered similar experiences. But he went on to become one of the most successful and best loved children's author.

May I suggest, since your friend's experience has touched you, that you encourage her to take an art class; or even to simply play with various mediums, not to create a masterpiece, but to have fun. Maybe you'd enjoy taking a class at a community center with her.

[Zookeeper]

50. Good idea...

I should suggest she try a class for fun.

She usually tells me that story when she sees my artwork, so, she might feel self-conscious having me take a class with her. I think a very safe beginner's class would be a good idea, though. :thumbsup:

Dav Pilkey...yes, I think you're right! I seem to remember reading that he was discouraged by a teacher. I wonder if his former teacher has ever seen the Captain Underpants books? }(

[GoddessOfGuinness]

60. I like to think the Captain Underpants series is

his ultimate revenge! :evilgrin:

My kid adores them; and I love reading them with him. :D

[skygazer]

17. Not so much embarrassed as convinced of my mediocrity

I had 5 older siblings, none of whom did overly well in school. Not stupid just not driven. No one in my family had ever gone to college.

I had high grades, high intelligence and high aspirations and my father had gotten to a point financially where he was willing to finance a college education for me.

I wanted to take classes that would prepare me for vet school - my guidance counselor steered me toward secretarial courses, telling me that "if you're going to be a vet, you'll have to know how to do a lot of paperwork."

I was shy and counted on her guidance so I was pretty compliant though I did insist on taking biology and chemistry. When I realized that she was actually sabotaging my hopes (her recommendations carried a lot of weight as to what classes I got into), I just kind of gave up - my mother had died and I didn't feel like fighting. Eventually I dropped out.

(my older sister who was also a high school dropout later went back to school, earned a law degree and a masters in international law and works for the US state department - it's not like there's a lack of brains in the family)

[AllegroRondo]

18. 8th grade English teacher

we were studying poetry, and assigned to write some original poems.

the teacher accused me of copying them, because "no one could write that well in 8th grade" and gave me a 0.

screw her, I went on and became a musician anyway. at least the band teacher didnt accuse me of plagiarism.

[hippywife]

45. A nun did the same thing

to me in the 7th grade. Our assignment was to write the beginning chapter of a book, any kind we wanted. So I wrote a scary one. When she told me that I was shocked at first but later took it as a compliment.

[Maat]

19. The stories here moved me; I relate.

I just pulled my daughter out of a private school, and put her in a charter program, in which she attends school two days per week, and is home-schooled the other three. The other school was ruining her self-esteem (which was very healthy prior to attendance at that school). So far, she loves it!

[Left Is Write]

20. I was embarrassed by a high school teacher once, but it had no lasting detrimental effect.

However, I was both hurt and embarrassed by two teachers in elementary school, teachers I believe said and did exactly the wrong things.

Both incidents occurred when I was in 6th grade. In one, I tried out for the 6th grade play. I wanted the lead role, a girl named Maybelle. When the teacher casting the play had made his final decision he said to me, "You're a better actress than , but you don't look like a Maybelle. Maybelle should be pretty."

In the other incident, I had written a report for my reading teacher (some of us kids were in a separate reading group, so the reading teacher was not my regular teacher). The reading teacher accused me of cheating. She said the content and penmanship were too good to have been done by an 11-year-old (hadn't she ever noticed my penmanship before?), and she insisted that I had had my mother write the report for me (as if my mother would ever have done that). She told me I would have to redo the report in my own words and my own handwriting. I went back to my regular class in tears. When my teacher, Mr. Haugen, asked me what happened, I explained. I showed him the paper. He knew darn well it was my own work. He took the paper and my hand and marched me back to the other teacher's room and read her the riot act. I don't think I've ever seen a teacher so angry, before or since. I was proud and pleased that Mr. Haugen had stood up for me, but I will never forget the reading teacher's groundless accusations.

[Zookeeper]

55. "You don't look like a Maybelle..."

The 6th grade would probably be the worst year to have someone tell you that you aren't "pretty enough." Especially from a male teacher...:eyes:

You are lucky to have had Mr. Haugen as a teacher, though. Those good teachers can have as much, or more, influence as the bad ones.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

21. My 6th grade Science/Math teach told the class I was going to be a ditch digger.

I remember feeling so small when she said that. Everyone in the class was laughing with her , at me. I looked up at her and I felt so sad that I could not even cry. I was 11 years old , that broke my heart - but I wrote a song about it looking back on it.

[Zookeeper]

66. WHY do some teachers have to publicly...

humiliate their students!?!

My oldest son had a teacher like that and I even witnessed her meaness toward him when I was volunteering one day. Unfortunately, it was a two-year, 1st and 2nd grade class taught by two teachers. I know that those two teachers really damaged his self-esteem. And the worst of the two actually wins Educator awards, which makes me sick...

My daughter also had those teachers, who thought she was wonderful. But, it turns out that she was terrified of them. She has told me since that she had nightmares about them at the time.

When #3 child came along, I refused to have him placed in their class.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

68. She was one of the reasons why I hated the 6th grade :

Sometimes when a teacher constantly beats up on a kid, the other students follow suit. I was a quiet kid. This was my first year in middle school. Some of the kids already knew each other - I was an oddball out for many reasons. I remember all the kids who picked on me and now I look back at them and see what jackasses they all were.

[Zookeeper]

82. 'Sorry that I failed to add...

:hug: for your experience. That sounds like it was so painful.

You are right about other students following the teacher's lead. My son had undiagnosed ADD and wasn't ever a "behavior problem" at school. But, he was slow to understand certain social cues and a couple of mistakes had him pegged by those teaches for two years (and by the school Behavioral Manager for the rest of him Elementary years). The other kids learned that he was fair game and some decided they could get a gold star if they pointed their fingers at him first. And if the teacher is "scary" the other kids become invested in staying on the teacher's good side.

By the 5th grade, he was already showing symptoms of depression.

[Cabcere]

22. I never really aspired to be an artist, but

your friend's story reminds me of the time my kindergarten teacher told me my artwork was, and I quote, "an ugly, scribbly mess." :( Yeah. I didn't say anything at the time, but a few years later I mentioned it to my mom, and she was outraged. Apparently, kindergarten teachers aren't supposed to call the art attempts of a five-year-old child "an ugly, scribbly mess" - who knew? :eyes: I really think that incident (and, come to think of it, most of my time in kindergarten - that teacher was a really mean-spirited old woman!) negatively affected my self-esteem.

[carly denise pt deux]

28. my 7th grade phy ed teacher

anyone remember the 1970's President's Physical Fitness patch that kids would get if they were able to perform certain acts of physical fitness, such as so many situps, so many pushups etc?

I was only about 70 lbs in the 7th grade and had no strength to speak of. Needless to say, she brazenly handed out the patches to everyone but me......I couldn't hang onto a bar overhanded supporting my weight for the required time. I hated PE after that.
Carly

[SPKrazy]

30. Yes. In the 6th grade

pre algebra class

teacher embarrassed me when I asked a question and I never asked one again in his class.

Set me back a bit too.

[izzybeans]

31. No but my SO is a third grade teacher and I'll definitely tell her this story.

She had a similar experience when she was young and is very self-conscious about her students aspirations.

[doc03]

32. When I was in the 6th grade for some

reason they weighed everyone in the school. I was fat at the time and my brother 6 years older than me picked on me constantly about being fat. The teacher announced to the class I weighed 181 and was the heaviest kid in the school, to this day I hate the f---ing bitch.

[LibraLiz1973]

35. That is AWFUL

So sorry!:hug:

[doc03]

37. Thanks, I always remember the ones that picked

on me back in those days. Back in those days the ones that picked on me for being fat were the jocks of their day, now they are fat aging losers with blown out knees and arthritis. So I feel I kind of got even in a way. Myself I no longer have a weight problem and could kick any of their asses today if I wanted to waste my time.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. Yes, in kindergarten, believe it or not.

When I was really small, about 3, my parents taught me to read, so by the time I got to kindergarten I was pretty good at it. When the teacher noticed this she apparently concluded I was some sort of side-show freak, so she made me read stories to the other kids during "rest time." I was so embarrassed because after that the other kids started treating me like a freak, too. Being publicly exhibited as the weirdo "smart" kid sort of turned me into a social pariah for the first few years of elementary school, and I became very, very shy.

[Zookeeper]

51. She probably thought you would inspire the other kids...

(or make THEM feel like losers?)

[wain]

36. Makes you wonder why some of these teachers are teachers

Like some managers in my career. You wonder how they ever became managers. And a manager's opinion, no matter how wrong, can ruin opportunities and careers.

That's life, I guess. You just have to make the best of it. And just "don't let the bastards get you down."

:)

[MountainLaurel]

44. My guess . . .

... Is that a lot of those teachers came up when a woman's only options for a career were teaching or nursing. They're probably bitter as hell because they hate kids and hate teaching, but their only other option was to stay home and be a baby-making machine, or, if they were Catholic, become a nun.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

38. Two teachers actually.

My third grade teacher was terrible to me. When I was a kid, I'd go to church by myself, and as a normal 8 year old with no supervision, I'd go in and out of the sanctuary, apparently disturbing the other churchgoers. She had heard this from other teachers. We went to this fine arts festival in the town over, and instead of pulling me aside and telling me that I need to stay in my seat, she brought it up in front of everyone. I was mortified. It's stuck with me ever since. I even stopped going to church because of her.
Then in sixth, seventh and eighth, I had a math teacher that was absolutely appalling. He embarrassed me, basically called me stupid most of the time in front of the class, and treated me like a leaper. I was bored. The man didn't teach. I have been ruined for math ever since.
I'm still really pissed about the former.
Duckie

[BreweryYardRat]

41. My initial economics teacher in high school was the BIGGEST ASSHOLE of ALL TIME.

The first fucking day in his wretched shithole class, I mentioned that I had dysgraphia (a handwriting disability-my handwriting speed is amazingly slow, but fortunately my typing speed isn't) and the fucker goes:

"So what are you doing in an honors class?"

It got progressively worse (much worse) from there, to the point that I eventually said "Fuck it. No honors credit is worth this sort of emotional suffering," and dropped the class halfway through the semester.

Almost everyone who ever had that teacher hated him. I will kill him, I shit you not, if I ever get a decent opportunity.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

47. asshole orchestra director

We had to play for chair seatings and were very competitive. Every six weeks. I played first violin and the teacher's eldest daughter, always got to be in first or second chair. She wasn't that good. I never got to be above fifth chair, although I ALWAYS played in tune and had a lot of talent.

We had to play for chairs in a tiny practice room before school started. Once we each played, about 8 of us, and he told us what chair we were going to be in for that time period, I sat there with my fiddle in my lap and cried in front of everybody, in this tiny practice room, until we were dismissed. Nobody said a word to me, like it was normal to get your hopes crushed. In college, I was in two community orchestras at the same time; I was concertmistress of one, and third chair, first fiddle, in the other one, and they were both very good. Playing stuff like the 1812 overture and the Tsar Saltan Suite.


Also, this jerk teacher got mad at me for being late to class which started at noon. I was late because I had to go to the bathroom to change my pads during my period. This was a huge high school, bigger than lots of universities, and they didn't give us enough time between classes to go to the bathroom. He threatened to suspend me for being late to class for several days each month.

Since he had a wife and daughters, and should have known better, I probably should have tossed a dirty sanitary pad on his desk and asked him what I should do about it. That would have gotten me suspended, though. I hated him for four years because of his putting his daughter on the first stand when she didn't have the talent for it, and I did.

My entire life has consisted of people holding me back at work and school, if they could, it seems like.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

49. third grade and my greek mythology book

I learned to read by the time I was three, and picked it up by myself. Mom read to me but didn't specifically try to teach me. My folks had to get me tested in another district, and put me in private school at age five, since I was obviously ready for school and state law wouldn't let me go to public school until I was six.

My aunt, who was the only member of the family who had gone to an Ivy League college (Yale scholarship in 1940 for grad school), gave me a book about Greek mythology. I loved the stories about Pluto and Persephone, Atalanta and the Golden Apples, and all that stuff.

I took it to my third grade teacher in public school. I was seven. The dumb broad said, "Why, no NORMAL child would be interested in mythology in elementary school."

So when I went out the door and school was dismissed that day, my daddy picked me up, and I got in the csr and said, crying, "Daddy, am I normal???"

[GoddessOfGuinness]

61. That's funny...

My son's third grade homeschool course includes "Gods of Greece", a rough outline of the stories. My son has really not responded well to it; and I'd rather have him focus on something that truly interests him, so he's studying about various pirates throughout history at present.

What a shame that your teacher was such an oaf. I would think most teachers would be thrilled to learn of their students' interest in sophisticated material.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

69. My school had an interesting name, if you had imagination

My school was William B. Bailey Elementary School.
So I called it "Won't you Come Home, Bill Bailey" Elementary.

Nobody in that administration would have gotten that joke, even though they would have been old enough to know the song.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

85. Haha!

:rofl:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

52. math teacher

Geometry. She wasn't a math major. I would go up to her desk and she would explain the problem twice and then say "You should know how to do that."
I asked the smart kids in the class how to do it, and they would not explain it to me, so I was screwed.

I made a D in Geometry and an F in Alg. II under this brainless wonder, and had to take Algebra II twice in college just to pass it and it ruined me in math. I ended up transferring to a different school where I could get a B.A. in biology instead of a B.S., so I wouldn't have to take organic chem and computer science and more math.

After I graduated I tried to get a job as a science teacher, and couldn't, so I decided all the whining about how we need more math and science teachers was bull.

[Fawkes]

53. Yes

In first grade, my teacher paddled me on the leg with a ruler because I was talking in line. Although I was getting straight A's and she had put me in charge of a reading group because I was already a reader (what a thing to do to a first grader), I told my mother I didn't want to go to school any more.

I had a bit of a rough time in junior high (who doesn't) and my high school counselor told me in my sophomore year (first year of high school) that "You are not college material." That shocked and really hurt me. The good news is I graduated UC Berkeley. So there, Mrs. Morehoff!

[ThomCat]

89. My Guidance councelor told me the same thing

in my freshman year of high school. He refused to allow me to take math that year because he said I'd never need it. So I was behind in Math when I got to College. He kept trying to put me into vocational courses becuase that's all he thought I could handle.
x(

[Kutjara]

57. My 4th Grade teacher...

Mrs. Kidd. I still hate that bitch with a fury bordering on the pathological. I was the new kid in school that year, and she made an express point of making my life hell. She'd ridicule me in front of other kids; make me put my desk under the coatrack on rainy days so the water dripped on my head; make me sit on a chair behind the classroom piano for weeks on end so she didn't "have to look at your ugly face." She was an evil, mean spirited, deranged woman who took a savage joy in applying the paddle for any misdemeanor (a footlong board whimsically labeled the "Board of Education."

I knew from day one that my life would be hell. The bitch pointed at one kid in the class and said, "you're going to be my pet because you're soooo cute." Then she pointed to me and said "you're not because you're not." She was as good as her word.

That year was torture for me, the patsy for every schoolyard bully and loudmouth who knew it was open season. Many of the things I endured still scar my personality and dealinge with others.

Nothing I told the teacher was believed; everything the other kids said about me was taken at face value. So I was punished again and again and again. When I finally got up the courage to tell my parents, they went to the Mother Superior (yep, Catholic school - surprise surprise), only to be informed that, in her professional opinion, I was a "budding terrorist." Being good Catholics (and industrial-grade psychotics themselves), they took what they were told at face value (despite my never having caused a day of trouble at my previous school), and punished me repeatedly for being "incorrigible."

The cycle was beautiful: Teacher creates victim - kids torment victim then tell teacher victim instigated trouble - teacher punishes victim then reports to victim's parents - victim's parents punish victim. Everyone's happy.

Rot in hell, Mrs Kidd.

[amitten]

63. That is terrible. No one in the world deserves that kind of cruel

treatment. That woman was clearly seriously disturbed in many ways.

You don't have to tell her to rot in hell. I think she's already there, in her own way. Only miserable people seek to make others miserable.

Sorry you went through that crap. :hug:

[Digit]

58. YES! My 2nd grade teacher would pull my hair

She did not like my bangs in my face and would scrape a bobbypin against my scalp to pin my hair out of my face.
I stopped performing for her and flunked 2nd grade as an act of rebellion.

My report card reads, "Has a problem with authority" or some such nonsense.
I only had a problem with people pulling my hair as I have a sensitive scalp.

[HughBeaumont]

59. As a child, when was I NOT embarrassed by a teacher?

First Grade: Paddled in front of the class for being pushed out of line at the drinking fountain. Yes, not STARTING anything, being pushed out of line. The teacher didn't care that I was pushed, she just saw two boys making mischief, so she paddled both of us. The other kid came back in the room red faced bawling his eyes out. I walked in chin up and didn't shed a damned tear. It's going to take more than five whacks with your stupid ass weapon for me to cry, bitch.

Second Grade: I didn't have a neat desk. So did the teacher talk to me about it? No. It's much easier to grab my chair, push me aside, and in front of the whole fucking class tossed the entire contents of my desk on the floor. Yes, it's fun being stared at while your seething with anger. Really.

Third Grade. Teacher sent home a four-page note to my parents about my atrocious behavior, describing in detail these heinous acts and how it disrupted the classroom and recess. My crime? Bragging to kids how smart I was. OOOOH, CALL OUT THE SWAT TEAM!!! You know, because life doesn't suck enough at this point, let's just have both of your parents yell at you and ground you. Three weeks later, I took home another note, stating "Perry's behavior has improved greatly." Right, because I pretty much did what it seemed ALL adults wanted me to do - keep to my DAMNED self and only speak when spoken to. If you haven't guessed by now, I began to really, REALLY fucking hate school and hate it quickly.

Fourth Grade. Moved to a new city. Went from being an A/B student to the C/D/F realm. Frequently humiliated in full view of classmates who couldn't stand me from jump. It's a morale builder, really.

Fifth Grade. Think fourth grade, only this time caught the ire of two older teachers, one acting much like Mrs. Wormwood of Calvin and Hobbes fame. Again, got made an example of quite frequently, in front of classmates. This is when the bullying started, and would continue throughout the next seven years.

Seventh Grade. Nearly failed. Teachers didn't help when I asked for it. They didn't have time for it.

Eighth Grade. Physically assulted by a teacher. Yes, you read this right. He thought I called him a name, so he grabbed out of my seat, in front of the whole class, took me in the back room and he shook me, the whole while threatening me to knock me on my ass. I didn't tell anyone until years later even though it was witnessed by a whole class. In the phone-cam era, a teacher wouldn't even THINK about attempting that shit. Back in the early-mid 80s, it was commonplace.

Ninth Grade: Almost failed freshman year. Biology teacher told the class I was failing and was snide about it.

Tenth Grade. Oh yeah, the shits just KEEP ON COMIN' . . . verbally accosted by my science teacher quite often. Humiliated by my math teacher. Bullied. Failed half of my classes.

Eleventh Grade. By this time, I had completely stopped caring about school. I'd study for three hours a night and got nothing but below-average-to-failing grades to show for it. Didn't hang around Vermilion much since I got sick of the bullshit. I didn't know or care what I wanted to be when I grew up. Homework wasn't ever anything to learn from, it was only meant as something to be finished. The only reason I didn't drop out is because I didn't want to be another statistic.

Senior Year. In case you were wondering, the bullshit STILL hasn't ended. Psychology class: I was reading a magazine. Teacher took it away, in front of everyone in class and said "THIS is why you're not passing!" OK, did you HAVE to go and tell the whole fucking class I was failing, Teacher of the Year? I grabbed the magazine off his desk and walked out. Later in life, this guy would go on to have an affair with one of his students. And he's in his 60s. Classic.

With all of this bullshit, it literally IS a wonder I'm as far as I am in life, quit drinking at 19, never smoked or did drugs and do nothing worse than Red Bull. I guess that paddling set the tone though; knock my ass down, I'll get up and win in the end, motherfucker. The universe tends to right itself in favor of the victimized, and bullies of all walks need to come correct with this fact.

Unless your last name happens to be Bush. That's one the Devil was allowed to have, apparently . . .

[u4ic]

62. It didn't affect my aspirations

but I can recall a couple of incidents.


A couple of elementary gym teachers I had constantly criticized me and told me how unathletic I was. I actually came to believe it - because largely all we did in those classes were gymnastics in the winter, and track and field in the spring and fall. I excelled at neither.

Yet when I went home, I cycled, played baseball, tennis, badminton, street hockey, ice and roller skated, hiked, did some cross country skiing, and my most favourite of all - horse back riding.

But for years I felt that I was unathletic because I didn't fit into their limited idea of what athletic meant. (never mind that the rare occasions we played floor hockey and soccer I was picked first or second because of my goaltending skills; that was never acknowledged)


Another incident was with a teacher (also one of the gym teachers mentioned above) who I was looking for support for my art work. I was always drawing horses, and when I showed him a picture I had drawn, and also the pic that inspired it - he told me they looked nothing alike, and that I didn't have any talent. I was hurt, but it didn't stop me - the next few years (in that same school) I got A's in art.


The one time I can remember feeling embarrassed by a teacher was in grade 10 law class, where Magnum (I don't remember the teacher's name, but we called him that owing to his resemblance to Tom Selleck) read a note I was writing to a friend.

From then on, I started writing my notes backwards. The next time he tried that, he embarrassed himself by not being able to read what I had written, and never bothered me again. :rofl:

[Wapsie B]

65. Oh yeah. PE teacher.

He'd a given Lee Ermey a run for his money as a drill sergeant. He knew exactly how to push buttons, belittle, and made PE class absolute hell.

[alittlelark]

67. Sister Jovita, St Charles, Alb, NM, 1974

She crushed all she possibly out of her chosen victims. She was sent to a 'retirement home' for nuns at the age of 42 - she had ripped an earring out of a girls ear 2 years after I had her.

I was one of her chosen victims - but I rebounded.

I have yet to get over the horror of her. Kicking the backs of our knees so we would fall at the pencil sharpener - the 'crib' we had to stay in because we were babies........


Unfortunately this is not a sarcastic post.

[Zookeeper]

88. Wow, she sounds mentally ill...

It must have been serious for her to have been "retired" at 42!

[emmajane67]

70. Okay, where do I start...

The equivilent of First Grade, well, I was there for a week until I read the whole of Dick Whittington to the teacher on Friday afternoon and was promptly marched to the next class up and told that's where I'd be from the following Monday, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of my early school years.

I had 2 male teachers, one when I was 6/7 and one when I was 8/9 who took me under their wing and tried to teach me additional material. One helped me be able to identify and name (in Latin) 30 native plant species, that sort of thing, but always showed extra interest in me and took extra time to help me out. So in both cases the rest of the kids decided that not only was I a nerd and a teachers pet but that the teacher actually loved me or had a crush on me and give me absolute hell about it, lots of sexual jokes etc. Very cruel. So it would build up for a spell until I would do something mean to the teacher (woopee cushion on the seat or something) to win back the other kids respect and prove I didn't 'love the teacher'. One time one of teachers, a fully grown man, actually cried in front of the class when he found out it was me that did the horrible thing to him, because he was so hurt that I would do such a thing. It was a very hard situation.

A couple of years later I had a teacher who constantly told me a looked ill and tired and had to drop some extra curriclar activities. My folks used to write her notes telling her to shut up, I was not ill and I was an adult who could decide to do whatever I wanted if it was teaching me something and that her classes were the least educational thing I was participating in and I had decided to prioritise them accordingly. She obviously wasn't a big fan after that.

Then High School. Wow. Just about killed me that place. I would love to work with young adults who are diffierent and intelligent so they don't fall through the system like I did.

I used to do community theatre, drama lessons and went to some national drama workshops for young people so for ages my drama teacher used to get me to help teach the class. One day I put up my hand to say something and he yelled at me infront of everyone to put down my hand, he didn't want to hear what I had to say because everything I said had an alterior motive. I was shoked and upset. He apologised after class but I hated him from that moment on.

I could go on adnauseum about high school screwing me up. The worst 5 years of my life and to this day my parents biggest regret is not pulling me out of there sooner. It literally took me years to get my head straight after that horrific experience and to remember that I am a creative and intelligent girl, 5 years of being told otherwise and you start to believe it. Lucky for me I managed to smoke pot, wag school, drink every weekend and pull good marks outa the air and get by so didn't shut any doors to myself, it just took me a long time to remember the person I was before High School beat it out of me.

I will say though I have had a handful of WONDERFUL teachers who care deeply about all of their students, who can recognise talent and nurture it without making the child feel different or a 'nerd' and who can equally well deal with kids in turmoil or with behavioural issues and it's those teachers I choose to remember. I have been and visited my great teachers over the years to let them know everythings cool and how much they meant to me.

A great teacher is a very special thing.

[mykpart]

71. Thank you for this thread.

Teachers like the ones described here ruin things for the good ones. No wonder teachers aren't respected or better-paid, when so many people have been hurt by the awful ones.

[Zookeeper]

87. You're welcome...

I have been lucky enough to have had some good teachers, too. I ALWAYS remember their kindness to me.

[QMPMom]

72. I had an 8th grade math teacher that was horrible, but I got my revenge.

I struggled with Math from the day they showed me my first number.

When I was in 8th grade I was having a particularly hard time in Math and just couldn't get the hang of it. Now, it didn't help that the teacher was only there because of who his father-in-law was, and he did not care one bit about his students.

He'd sit at his desk and lean back in his chair and reach over his shoulder and write on the board. He wouldn't even look at the board.

One day he was explaining something and he actually got up out of his chair and wrote properly on the board. When he was finished he looked over at me and said, "Got that Benson?" I was mortified and very upset. My parents got me moved to another teacher's math class and I did much better.

Many years later I was in a store in our small town that was owned my this teacher's wife. He was working there that day and couldn't figure out how to run the cash register. I had to go behind the counter and check myself out because he couldn't do it!

Five or six years ago he retired. Our hometown paper printed pics of his retirement party and he was sitting as he accepted his plaque! He wouldn't even get off his ass to accept a damn retirement plaque. I laughed so hard I nearly wet my pants. I immediately called my parents and we all had a huge laugh together.

[datasuspect]

74. i was in catholic school

kindergarten.

our "assignment" was to color a picture of a little girl. we were supposed to color her hair yellow and the eyes blue (yes, we were instructed to do it this way).

i gave her silver hair and purple eyes. the nun reminded me about the guidelines and i told her, "not everyone has blond hair and blue eyes." as a result, i was punished (yes, smacked on the hand with a ruler).

my mother was summoned to the school and they told her "mama datasuspect, your son is a non-conformist."

[La Lioness Priyanka]

76. my piano teacher ruined any musican love i may or may not have had

fucking bitch!

[noonwitch]

77. I had a cruel 3rd grade teacher/questioned my authorship of a poem

I wrote a Thanksgiving poem, and she thought I copied it somewhere. She even called my mom and asked her if she wrote it for me. Bitch.

[MissHoneychurch]

78. Yes, actually when I was in kindergarden

we were supposed to go to a clinic for whatever reason and had to dress up. My mom put me in an outfit the group lady didn't like. So I had to put on my sports clothing.
Also, she used to braid the hair of another girl. When I asked her to help me, she told me if I can't do it myself I shouldn't wear long hair :wtf: I was 4 or 5 at that time. I believe she didn't like me because for one year in between I went to a special kindergarden because of my speaking problems (aka talking very fast and gulping down the endings). And speaking problems is similar to being stupid. At least in the eyes of that lady. I still hate her.

[sakabatou]

83. One of my teachers got mad at me because I knew too much

Science really. She said I would "spoil the class."

[sakabatou]

84. One of my teachers got mad at me because I knew too much

Science really. She said I would "spoil the class."

[Taverner]

91. Yes I had a Fundie Xian Teacher tear apart one of my stories

I was writing and said all I had were sinful ideas.

God I hate Fundie Xians!

[ronnykmarshall]

92. I'll just say 6th grade and leave it at that.

Let's just say when I saw "Carrie" I really identified with it.

[Nye Bevan]

93. That's terrible- it reminds me of that scene from "The Wall"

Teacher: What have we here, laddie? Mysterious scribblings? A secret code? No! Poems, no less! Poems, everybody!
(class laughs)
Teacher: The laddie reckons himself a poet!
(reads poem)
Teacher: "Money get back / I'm all right, Jack / Keep your hands off my stack / New car / Caviar / Four star daydream / Think I'll buy me a football team." Absolute rubbish, laddie.
(whacks him with a ruler, growls at Pink)
Teacher: Get on with your work.