and people say that the red ink on test papers are scarring the kids...
Yeah. God, no. There were plenty of things I survived that today's parents (excluding you and other sane moms and dads like you) seem to faint over. I got red ink, I'm sure I failed a test or two here and there. I got sent to the principal's office, I got yelled at. (There's a noticeable difference between "yelling" and "screaming"--for one the adult is in control, for the second, noticeably not.) We had races where not everybody won (although everyone WAS told "Good try!") and contests where there was a first, second, and third. Etc., etc. The fact is, negative feedback is safe and even necessary. It just has to be done RIGHT. I'll admit that finding the line might be difficult...but the extremes are, and should be, easy to spot.
::EDIT:: may I interest you in GTO? Great anime and it sounds like you'd like it after reading this post....GTO isn't a racing anime? LOL. I have no idea anymore, I'm so behind. While I love giving any anime a shot that is
( ... )
Great Teacher Onizuka = GTO. I've never seen the anime but I have seen the live action movie, which is amazing. I saw it in Japan with no subtitles, amazing.
Wow. Just... that's the kind of things kids have nightmares about, and you had to live though it. That's just HORRIBLE. And to think that she may still be teaching?
It makes me sick. That she has the potential of doing that to other kids, if she hadn't found a new kicking dog every year since (and who knows how many before you...)
Yeah. That is, I think, the part of it that gets me the most. It's bad enough she did this to me. If I were an isolated incident...then fine, I'll live. (I obviously have.) The thought that she might be doing this EVERY year? And worse, to younger students who have almost no defense whatsoever? It makes me kind of violent, I have to be honest.
Wow, I read a post yesterday about the daughter of a friend who is in her first year of kindergarten and bow much she loves school and learning and how great her teacher is, etc.
And I commented to her that she's lucky she has that, and beware of the teachers (and there are many) that will attempt to crush that enthusiasm.
Yours was 4th grade. Mine was my 3rd grade science teacher, who was my 4th grade math teacher, my 5th grade "everything but art" teacher, and my 6th grade math and science teacher. (ALL THE SAME HORRIBLE MAN)
I literally could not escape him for FOUR YEARS, and my mom tried the best she could, but my dad refused to let me change schools (I was also regularly beat up and/or tortured by the other kids - gotta love private school), and so by the time I hit 7th grade (junior high) at my first public school (major culture shock), I was pretty much worthless as a student.
And I'm not over it either. So *hugs* and part of me really wishes you HAD knocked her to the ground today.
Wow, I read a post yesterday about the daughter of a friend who is in her first year of kindergarten and bow much she loves school and learning and how great her teacher is, etc.
And I commented to her that she's lucky she has that, and beware of the teachers (and there are many) that will attempt to crush that enthusiasm.
::nods:: One hopes that those will be in the minority...but really, all it takes is one. Two or three, tops.
Yours was 4th grade. Mine was my 3rd grade science teacher, who was my 4th grade math teacher, my 5th grade "everything but art" teacher, and my 6th grade math and science teacher. (ALL THE SAME HORRIBLE MAN)OMG. What the hell? First of all...I mean, even if a teacher is a great one, must it not be disorientating to them to have to switch between science, math, general, and back again? How can they do their best when everything keeps changing on them? And, seriously, kids do well with different stimulation, I realize that stability MIGHT be nice in some ways, but really, having to adjust to a new
( ... )
It was a small private school, so from 3-6 grade, the teachers would just rotate rooms for certain classes. Mr. Wright (yes, REALLY) was the math and science guy, and I had him a lot
( ... )
In 6th grade, my family took me out of school a couple of times for vacations, and that meant I got stuck in his classroom for recess and lunch doing homework, which made me even MORE of a target for my peers than I already was.
That is so re-goddamn-diculous. I'm sorry.
He's the kind of teacher who uses embarrassment punishment. If you forgot to put your chair up on your desk after class, you spent a recess putting your chair up and down. He would stick your nose into a chalk dot on the blackboard, or make you write hundreds of sentences on the board, etc.
The first one I can sort of see, although I disagree. The last one isn't terrible, it's a time-honored tradition. But why on God's green earth would you have to stick your nose into a chalk dot? If someone did that to my kid (unless it was an exact punishment, because my kid had done it to some other kid) I'd be furious.
Once I sneezed in line and he decided I was faking it to be disruptive so I had to spend a whole recess sneezing and coughing. It was humiliating but at
( ... )
"figured I only had 6 months to live (I was having my spine operation 2 months later)" I guess that should say 2 months since I was actively counting down the days until I thought I would die! lol
Ah, I gotcha--I thought my math was off or something! Either way, that must have been awful--I can't imagine what it feels like to think that your days are numbered. I'm SO glad you're okay now, understatement of the YEAR, I know, but I need to express even one TENTH of my sentiment!
I actually had a teacher say something similar to my mom, who is also a teacher, when I was roughly the same age. My mom (who will confront anyone over anything) looked the lady in the eyes and went "bullshit". Because it is.
Yay for your mom!
I'll tell you, I had a terrible elementary experience. My teachers thought I was retarded,
I remember you mentioning that even the word "retard" is kind of a trigger for you--I try to keep that in mind. So many people toss that around without thinking, and while they don't mean it, I can understand why it would cause bad associations for others.
Then came the graduation from 5th grade. The head mistress (I went to a private all girls school) included photos of every single girl in the class, except me. And I noticed.
How could you not?
Now, I was 11, figured I only had 6 months to live (I was having my spine operation 2 months later), so I went up to her during the assembly and demanded to know why I was left out. She said she had photos of me in her office.So doesn't count, even if it
( ... )
Seriously. It kind of makes me a little crazy, part of the reason I want to ruin her is to protect them.
I'm sorry you had such a tough time in school - I had a teacher like that in 7th grade. She was a nun and she taught math. She made me feel SO STUPID when I couldn't get the simplest things correct. She made life a living hell for everyone in her wrath, so it wasn't just me.
For what it's worth, MOST of my school was actually pretty righteous, I have had my fair share of really wonderful teachers, too. But it just takes one, or two, or three, to really scar you for life...you might heal, I'd like to think I did, but yeah, the scars are still there. I'm sorry about your nun--I hate to overgeneralize, but I think a lot of nuns aren't the best teachers. Just because you've dedicated your life to God doesn't mean you know how to deal with children--in fact, it might guarantee that you don't, because you've never had one and know you never will.
She had to take a leave of absence when I was half-way
( ... )
Comments 37
::EDIT:: may I interest you in GTO? Great anime and it sounds like you'd like it after reading this post.
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Yeah. God, no. There were plenty of things I survived that today's parents (excluding you and other sane moms and dads like you) seem to faint over. I got red ink, I'm sure I failed a test or two here and there. I got sent to the principal's office, I got yelled at. (There's a noticeable difference between "yelling" and "screaming"--for one the adult is in control, for the second, noticeably not.) We had races where not everybody won (although everyone WAS told "Good try!") and contests where there was a first, second, and third. Etc., etc. The fact is, negative feedback is safe and even necessary. It just has to be done RIGHT. I'll admit that finding the line might be difficult...but the extremes are, and should be, easy to spot.
::EDIT:: may I interest you in GTO? Great anime and it sounds like you'd like it after reading this post....GTO isn't a racing anime? LOL. I have no idea anymore, I'm so behind. While I love giving any anime a shot that is ( ... )
Reply
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Reply
It makes me sick. That she has the potential of doing that to other kids, if she hadn't found a new kicking dog every year since (and who knows how many before you...)
Ugh.
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And I commented to her that she's lucky she has that, and beware of the teachers (and there are many) that will attempt to crush that enthusiasm.
Yours was 4th grade. Mine was my 3rd grade science teacher, who was my 4th grade math teacher, my 5th grade "everything but art" teacher, and my 6th grade math and science teacher. (ALL THE SAME HORRIBLE MAN)
I literally could not escape him for FOUR YEARS, and my mom tried the best she could, but my dad refused to let me change schools (I was also regularly beat up and/or tortured by the other kids - gotta love private school), and so by the time I hit 7th grade (junior high) at my first public school (major culture shock), I was pretty much worthless as a student.
And I'm not over it either. So *hugs* and part of me really wishes you HAD knocked her to the ground today.
Reply
And I commented to her that she's lucky she has that, and beware of the teachers (and there are many) that will attempt to crush that enthusiasm.
::nods:: One hopes that those will be in the minority...but really, all it takes is one. Two or three, tops.
Yours was 4th grade. Mine was my 3rd grade science teacher, who was my 4th grade math teacher, my 5th grade "everything but art" teacher, and my 6th grade math and science teacher. (ALL THE SAME HORRIBLE MAN)OMG. What the hell? First of all...I mean, even if a teacher is a great one, must it not be disorientating to them to have to switch between science, math, general, and back again? How can they do their best when everything keeps changing on them? And, seriously, kids do well with different stimulation, I realize that stability MIGHT be nice in some ways, but really, having to adjust to a new ( ... )
Reply
Reply
That is so re-goddamn-diculous. I'm sorry.
He's the kind of teacher who uses embarrassment punishment. If you forgot to put your chair up on your desk after class, you spent a recess putting your chair up and down. He would stick your nose into a chalk dot on the blackboard, or make you write hundreds of sentences on the board, etc.
The first one I can sort of see, although I disagree. The last one isn't terrible, it's a time-honored tradition. But why on God's green earth would you have to stick your nose into a chalk dot? If someone did that to my kid (unless it was an exact punishment, because my kid had done it to some other kid) I'd be furious.
Once I sneezed in line and he decided I was faking it to be disruptive so I had to spend a whole recess sneezing and coughing. It was humiliating but at ( ... )
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Reply
Reply
Reply
Yay for your mom!
I'll tell you, I had a terrible elementary experience. My teachers thought I was retarded,
I remember you mentioning that even the word "retard" is kind of a trigger for you--I try to keep that in mind. So many people toss that around without thinking, and while they don't mean it, I can understand why it would cause bad associations for others.
Then came the graduation from 5th grade. The head mistress (I went to a private all girls school) included photos of every single girl in the class, except me. And I noticed.
How could you not?
Now, I was 11, figured I only had 6 months to live (I was having my spine operation 2 months later), so I went up to her during the assembly and demanded to know why I was left out. She said she had photos of me in her office.So doesn't count, even if it ( ... )
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Seriously. It kind of makes me a little crazy, part of the reason I want to ruin her is to protect them.
I'm sorry you had such a tough time in school - I had a teacher like that in 7th grade. She was a nun and she taught math. She made me feel SO STUPID when I couldn't get the simplest things correct. She made life a living hell for everyone in her wrath, so it wasn't just me.
For what it's worth, MOST of my school was actually pretty righteous, I have had my fair share of really wonderful teachers, too. But it just takes one, or two, or three, to really scar you for life...you might heal, I'd like to think I did, but yeah, the scars are still there. I'm sorry about your nun--I hate to overgeneralize, but I think a lot of nuns aren't the best teachers. Just because you've dedicated your life to God doesn't mean you know how to deal with children--in fact, it might guarantee that you don't, because you've never had one and know you never will.
She had to take a leave of absence when I was half-way ( ... )
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