Claire, I can definitely empathize with you. While I had quite a few teachers encourage my ambitious habits and zest for knowledge, many others were very rude—even bullyish, like your example here—about it with me, even to the point of discouraging me as you’ve been. A history teacher I admired a lot—I’d had her in another course as well—rolled her eyes as I continued to raise my hand to answer questions, musing, “Does anybody but Sara know the answer?” I was humiliated. When a boy who was a year older than me tried to copy off me—and then a student next to me—and I moved in time with him, covered answers, and generally didn’t allow him to copy, he called me horrible names; it was quiet and everyone could hear him, but the teacher did nothing. When I turned my test in—it was a constitution test you had to pass to graduate—she just looked at me like I was a bug. My perfect score, nor my integrity, meant nothing to her. And it wasn’t like I was in it all just for me, either; I tutored many students in that class, especially when the same teacher was out pregnant.

I’ve also had teachers ridicule me in front o f the entire class. One announced, during a period in which I was very depressed in my life, that I needed mental help—in the middle of giving a lesson! My younger sister, too, had experiences with various teachers—some worse than the ones I had—that were so bad we just decided to pull her out of high school and homeschool her.

To be fair, I’ve had my share of awesome teachers—some of whom even inspired me to become one myself. Most of my heroes are teachers. But you’re right, they are supposed to be role models, helping us to succeed rather than discouraging our desire to learn.  I’m so sorry that you had to endure this experience, and regret to say that it might not be the last time you experience it, either.

What I can tell you is to not let it get to you. My mother used to tell me to think of it as a work relationship where you didn’t like your boss, but you were getting something from him and he, in turn, was getting something from you. It would be temporary and eventually over, and while you didn’t like it, you could stick it out—and definitely NOT let it change you for the worst. You could, however, let it change you for the better in learning how to deal with such people, realizing that such outlooks do exist, and simply moving on.

I don’t know if that helps or not, but hang in there. It sounds like you’re doing really well otherwise; please don’t let one snarky Scrooge put a damper on your love of learning.

Hi Claire, thanks for sharing this post. I’m really sorry that you had to go through something like this. I, too, remember being bullied by teachers in elementary school and in high school (I attended public schools for grades K-12). I think that it’s very unfortunate when teachers behave in a manner that’s inappropriate, unprofessional, and damaging. The minimum requirement for a teacher should be to treat each student with respect and kindness.

I wish adults would treat young people as they’d like to be treated. Would they like it if the principal embarrassed them in front of other teachers by calling them a kiss-up?

I’m glad that you questioned your teacher’s reaction and shared how much it bothered you. Remember that no matter how much authority or power adults gain, and how much they should know better, they’re still little children inside. They’re sometimes insensitive and immature. Their own emotional baggage still influences the way they interact with others. I can bet that your teachers were bullied themselves in some shape or form, so it’s a shame that they don’t remember how bad that felt.