“For all of third grade, my teacher seemed to target me and my friends. She’d always try to embarrass me in class in front of everyone. Like, she would yell at me if I wasn’t staring right at her when she was teaching. Or the other times when someone would be talking to me but I’d be the only one she would yell at. I was involved with a conflict between my friends and this other girl. My teacher somehow got involved with the drama and would only listen to the girl’s side of the story, ignoring what my friends had to say. She would just yell at us and threatened to call our parents. I learned not to trust my teacher and be more closed off with teachers when I was young. I guess it also made me act better in school, like I started paying attention so I wouldn’t get called out by teachers."
"I did eventually realize I could depend on the school staff after another terrible incident. It happened in freshman year. There was a guy who kept harassing me all year. He made comments about wanting to rape me and constantly showed unwanted private pictures, it was so disgusting. He forced physical contact, made threats, and never left me alone even though I’ve rejected him multiple times. I always felt so uncomfortable and stressed out by him, and it was hard to avoid him because we had similar classes and he sought me out. Then I just had enough and reported him to some of the school staff. They helped walk me through some things and now he doesn’t bother me anymore. I’m glad I found the courage to ask for help, even though I’ve had terrible experiences with the school staff.”
Sugitha Elango
Venus Fernandez
Sugitha and I were both students at the same elementary school and are currently attending Howard High. We share mutual friends and talk to each other once in a while. Her story provided a new perspective on the people I’ve once knew, showing that you really don’t truly know people that well despite living in the same community. I also connected with this story because I shared a similar experience of a teacher belittling me during the school year. This also caused me to become cynical of the school system, taking whatever the principal, teachers, counselors say with a grain of salt. I assume the worst from the staff until they somehow prove the intent to actually help rather than hoping for the best and figuring out that they’re terrible. I understand it’s really hard to trust teachers as I have once somewhat warmed up to a teacher, believing she was kind and understanding. But as the year went on, it was apparent she had a short temper, was biased, and was closed minded, refusing to understand anyone’s view that differed from hers. She made my life difficult to unbearable. Her facade of friendliness melted while nitpicking projects to casual times of conversations. Someday I hope to find enough in me to fully trust at least one school staff member just as Sugitha has by having the persistence to find someone who actually cares.
