I realize 13 years is a long time to be mad about something…. But we all know how it is- we look back on a situation and think, “if only I spoke up, if only I said this or did that.” Hindsight is 20/20. I saw a bit on The View about a new documentary called Waiting for Superman and it made me think of this….
When I was in 4th grade I was placed in a math class that was for the kids who were right on track with where they should be at that age. After our first homework assignment I was moved into the ‘dumb class’ as I thought of it. It was my first time doing homework out of a text book- I didn’t know how to organize my answers on a blank piece of binder paper because before this I had only done math homework on worksheets. So of course it was a mess- I drew lines around the different sections… anyway, my teacher used my homework as an example of what not to do and showed it to the entire class. Of course she covered my name so no one would know it was me- how sweet… ug. I was humiliated! Yeah, no one knew it was mine- but still- what a terrible teacher. The right thing to do would have been show me how to do it properly and give me time to get it right- just because it was disorganized doesn’t mean I couldn’t handle to material. So the next day I was moved into the ‘less advanced’ math class. I knew immediately I was too smart for it- it drove me nuts when the other students would say “you minus this number” or “you plus this number”…. I wanted to shout “SUBTRACT and ADD not minus and plus you idiots!!” I always had an easy time with the homework, and was continually embarrassed about people thinking I wasn’t smart because I was in the lower math class.
So to that teacher- whatever her name was: Thanks a lot for doing a shitty job and being lazy with me. I appreciate all your support and belief in me. Bitch.