Bad School Days

I'm going to share a few stories from my childhood in the school system. Education in America (and probably elsewhere) is very alienating and riddled with bullying. Though bullies are traditionally other kids in school, my most memorable experiences come from the harsh actions of teachers.

Lead image source: Another Bad School Day That I Curse Autism
https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/schooling/another-bad-school-day-that-i-curse-autism/https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/schooling/another-bad-school-day-that-i-curse-autism/

My time in school was pretty terrible, and I know there are a lot of things that could've been done better to improve my learning experience. I don't really want to be a victim or anything, I just have had these stories bouncing in my head for years, and I would like to share them somewhere.

I'm probably on the autism spectrum, but I've never been examined or diagnosed with any developmental disorder. We didn't go to the doctor often in my life due to money problems, and when we do, the medications and recommendations given usually don't help anyway. We can easily see how other problems in society - such as lacking healthcare - can impact schooling and vice versa, eh?

Without further ado, here are some things I've experienced in the American education system.

Kindergarten - 6 years old

This story is going to be somewhat brief, because I don't remember much of it personally. My kindergarten teacher thought we would use restroom breaks to get out of class for no reason, so she would only take us in a group twice a day, and we would take turns using the school restroom. This whole process made me uncomfortable, and I sometimes couldn't go at the time she wanted us to.

One day, I remember that I had an especially bad need to use the restroom, and she wouldn't let me go. I don't know if I might've been a little sick that day or what, but I was young, and I was still pretty new to using the toilet, and on that day, I couldn't hold it in.

After pooping my pants in the middle of class, I was completely embarrassed and filled with anxiety about school. Human brains are complicated and weird, and for some reason, this incident made me unable to use the toilet. I would tense up and be unable to go, and I literally had to start wearing diapers again. It took me a while to break this anxiety and learn to use the restroom like a normal person again.

I was reading a children's book - the Berenstain Bears, I think. Reading was a passion of mine from an early age; my mom relates stories of me asking for her to read me the book Lassie each night before bed, and we read it so much I had each word memorized, but I still wanted to hear it again. Now, I was reading a children's book, minding my own business, when another kid threw up a fuss.

See, as I was reading, I was tracing the page with my finger. Unfortunately, this random kid was under the impression that the finger I was using to follow along the words – my middle finger – was somehow a personal attack on him. He went and got the teacher, and I ended up in the principal's office.

Now, what did the principal say to me?

"Honey, some people use that finger to insult others!"

Hahaha, no.

I was shocked and confused, probably crying (I did that a lot in / about school), and she basically accused me of lying. When I didn't stop being confused, she told me:

"Go home and ask your parents."

Then she suspended me from school for 3 days.

My mom was understandably angry when I got home upset and asking what the middle finger means. She was even more shocked to find that it was the teachers who conspired to teach me the hurtful gesture, and enraged that I was being punished. It didn't do any good, though. From this moment on, the principal kind of acted like I was a spoiled kid whose mom would always take my side...

1st Grade - 7 years old - Art class

I really loved drawing. It was very disappointing to me when my art teacher actively discouraged and dismissed sketching, as if it was somehow a lesser art form than painting. This was the last time I really put any hope into a class in school actually encouraging my interests, which is pretty sad.

Anyway, I distinctly remember one particular incident in this art class. The teacher was doing a contest for us to win candy. She said to pick any stencil out of a box, and we could win by fitting the highest number on the page. I chose a stencil which resembled a dog wagging its tail, with its tongue hanging out as if panting.

We all went to our seats, and I began filling my page. The goal was to fill the paper with as many stencil drawings and I could, but none of them can overlap. I think I might've gotten like 35 dogs on there. When we turned in our work, the teacher looked at my page and disqualified it, saying I couldn't have any candy.

The art teacher said the dogs - which were drawn from a stencil in a box of stencils that she gave us to choose from - looked like they were "licking each other's butts", and she insisted that I must've done this on purpose as some kind of joke. The principal gave me some kind of punishment for this; I can't remember if it was a 1-day suspension or what.

Now, when I got home, my parents truly pointed out that dogs lick each other's butts, and this is perfectly natural, but I don't even remember this thought going through my head to be honest. Again, I felt like I was being randomly punished.

My dad and I went into the school to talk to my teacher about maybe not punishing me for no reason, and this was – no joke – her response to my dad: "Your son isn't as innocent as you think he is."

Are you kidding? Why must you make villains out of literal children?

3rd Grade - 9 years old

This year, my school intentionally split my best friend and I up into two separate classes, because we always wanted to communicate with each other. Even if they put us across the room, we'd be glancing at each other and laughing at certain things. We would always want to walk in line together. I don't think it ever interfered with anyone's learning, but whatever.

I didn't even think about girls at this age. My aforementioned best friend spent a lot of time over at my house, and I had some confusing romantic feelings about him that I've still not worked through, but let's stroll pleasantly by that point for now and onto our next terrible teacher tale.

On the way to recess one day, we were walking in a line behind the teacher, because kids must be taught to fall in line. I noticed a quarter on the floor in front of me, stopped, and picked it up.

A few minutes later, my teacher called me over from the playground. She told me that a girl reported to her that I touched her butt, and berated me for harassing someone. I had no idea what she was talking about, and I don't know how long it took for me to find out that my head or something must've brushed her back when I bent over to pick up the quarter. I didn't even know the girl.

My teacher made me sit out of recess for a few days and do busy work as a punishment for this. I don't think I really minded, since I could sit there and draw in my notebook instead of being outside with the other kids who hated me anyway, and I couldn't play with my one friend since we had been split up to different recess periods. In fact, he was actually also held out of recess one day with me, so we ironically ended up together in punishment!

Wow, this is already getting long, and we're still in elementary school! I think I will leave it off here, and we can come back with part 2 to relate some of the worst parts in 5th grade and high school.

I don't know how these stories can help you, but maybe you just want to read about my experiences haha. Please subscribe to catch more content of all different varieties from history and philosophy, to personal stories and fiction, to cryptocurrency and tech articles.