My Experience of School

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Wow, I haven't experienced anything close to that. People disgust me sometimes.

I'm supposedly classified as gifted/learning disabled, only found out about the learning disability in late teenagerhood (auditory processing disorder).

Teachers used to get really frustrated with me because they couldn't understand why I was so good at some things and yet just didn't get others. I also have cystic fibrosis (CF) which went undiagnosed until I was 9. A constant untreated lung infection and low nutrion (increased energy requirements) affected my concentration on top of everything else. I would get yelled at for not listening or making the same mistake 2 or 3 times, even thought my brain just didn't work the way it needed to to complete that task. I would also get yelled at for sniffling too much (related to CF) and not using a tissue, even though I was scared to get up and ask for one, as I found the teacher's reactions so unpredictable I just assumed she would be mad at everything I did.

Even got into trouble for "cheating" in math (ie not working out) - writing down the process was too slow for my brain, once I had written down a step I'd forget where I was and have to start again. As a kid I always thought working out was pointless and inefficient, so I'd just write down the final answer. When I handed it in the teacher assumed I had copied someone else and told me off. Interesting how short sighted some people can be - if I had wanted to cheat and get away with it I would have written the other person's working as well. She really didn't give me much credit for intelligence.

The same teacher used to force me away from my book at recess because I "Should be making friends,".

This sounds exactly like my first, second, and third grade experiences... add in really messy handwriting that took forever to write, so it was even more inefficient and frustrating, so I just stopped writing out my work and just wrote the answer. I mean, seriously, they want us to get the right answer, right? Why do we have to do all the extra written work? And don't get me started. My 2nd grade teacher STILL has my copy of "The Two Towers" which she confiscated one day when I came into class bouncing and saying "Gollum's good! Gollum's good!". Lucky for me, I had another copy of the book at home... Recess was awful.

My other experiences from school include being really badly bullied by kids both in the classroom and at recess. I used to take my desk out into the hall and just stay there, so that the evil girls sitting with me wouldn't copy off my paper or kick me under the table or steal my pencils and papers, etc. And then my teacher would yell at me for solving the problem in my own way. I was quiet and the hall was a nice place, because everyone is required to be quiet in the hall, so I could work there.

It frustrates me that teachers encourage bullying of students who are "different". Schools are supposed to be cultivating individuality and good citizenship in students, not cultivating hatred and violence towards those who are different. It's just so messed up.

I went to a catholic school, however, the teachers were nice and never tried to embarrass me.They were kind and they were the reason I made it through my school years despite the cruelty and bullying I endured from the other students.Some students were nice, but there were others who went out of their way to make me miserable.
In grade 9, we got a new gym teacher because the one we had went on maternity leave.The new teacher allowed bullying to the point where in the dancing unit of our gym class, I was going to lose 10 percent of my final grade because nobody wanted me in their group and I was picked on constantly by the others..I skipped school for the duration of that week, and I didnt lose that mark because I was absent.I was excused from that portion.During the rest of that year, I snuck out of that class, which was very easy to do, since he only did attendance at the beginning, and didnt really pay attention to who was coming and going.That was the only class I ever skipped out on.I passed despite my "truancy" and moved on acedemically.We have no truancy laws in Canada, so I didnt face any legalities.That same bad teacher also taught us grade 9 social.In social studies, I was getting a 78 percent easily before he came.With all of the bullying and his inability to teach, my mark went down to a 64 from a 78.