Bad Classmates...Tell Your Story (or Stories)

[Miss Misery]

I always got along with my teachers, more or less, since I was a quiet kid who didn't make trouble. *However*, my family moved around a lot when I was young, so I was always the "new kid". Add to the fact that I was horrifically shy, introverted, and had a hideous overbite (which wasn't corrected until after I graduated high school, I'm 33 now), and guess what? I was the kid everyone picked on.

A few highlights:

* 5th Grade: I'm standing up in the front of the class (I don't remember why) and the teacher calls a male classmate to come up too. His response? "I don't want to stand next to the dog!" (meaning me)

*  6th Grade: I'm the new kid again *during the last two months of the school year*. One girl named Jeananne decided she hated my guts and tried to beat me up during recess.

*  7th Grade: A girl named Bernadette calls me a "reject" to my face. Oh, and Jeananne is in my class and she still hates me for no reason.

* High School: Four boys--Scott, Jason, Jeff, and Jimmy--somehow or another decided that I was a drug addict (I don't smoke, drink, and have never done any illegall drugs). They nicknamed me "Weed" and made the last two years a living hell. After high school I worked at a fast food place when Scott came in and I ended up having to wait on him. He said something about me being a "drop out". I now regret not reaching across the counter and strangling him.

Yikes. It's a wonder I made it out alive.

[RoseRose]

I have a few, but here's one (maybe I'll post some others later).

It was the last day of 7th grade science.  At the end of class, about 2/3ds of the boys in the class threw little bits of trash (bits of paper, pencil ends, erasers, paper clips and the like).  I told the teacher... and he said there was nothing he could do because it was the end of the year!

[LibrarianGal]

Kids (and teens) can be really cruel sometimes. Some can be really sweet and nice, but when a kid's mean, they're vicious!

I was the same type of kid- quiet, got along with my teachers, smart, and not into any drinking/drugs/etc. I was also picked on and harrassed like crazy. Honestly, from 5th to 8th grade, I was cursed out (with language that I certainly can't repeat here!) every single day, and I wish I was exagerrating. I had transfered into a school where everyone had been together since Kindergarten, so I was an outsider and I also was a miniority in the school (racial slurs were common).

I've long since pushed the abuse into my past, but one comment still sticks in my mind, largely because I can never tell if I should have taken it as a compliment or an insult. It was a day when we had to dress up for school, so I decked myself out, and when I got to class, one of the biggest bullies said "Hey the 'female dog' actually looks good today."

Oh well Its just their loss they never found out how wonderful I am   !!!!

Seriously, though, I just don't understand the mentality behind the minds that do this. Logically, I know some of it might have been a reflection of the home environment, but the rest of it? I just don't know


 

[RuneGuardian]

I was quite a hellcat in my younger years. Here's some of the things I did while in [Catholic] elementary school:

- punched a classmate in the eye when I was in kindergarten; he had a shiner for three weeks.
- stole toys from the classroom in kindergarten on more than one occasion (even though I had dozens of my own toys at home).
- stabbed someone in the arm with a pencil in kindergarten so hard that I drew blood.
- called my kindergarten teacher names that would have made a sailor turn deep shades of red.
- threw high-pitched tantrums when I did not get exactly what I wanted (guess what class this happened in  )
- punched a different classmate in the back and knocked him clear off his feet.
- threw a case full of pencils and pens across the classroom at someone I was angry at.
- threw rocks at cars driving by the playground in fourth grade.
- threw tantrums and spit at the gym teacher when someone scored a goal when I was goalie in first or second grade.

Of course I got picked on occasionally as well because I was obese. Only a few brave boys dared make fun of me because they knew I had no problem beating the crap out of anyone. Just because I was in a skirt didn't mean I was afraid of other people seeing my undies in the event I body slammed someone who insulted me. Didn't I sound like such a precious little angel?

But as the years progressed, I mellowed out a lot. I think I drove my kindergarten teachers (two to watch the whole class) to drink. Now I'm very introverted, quiet, and can't be offended no matter how hard one tries. You'd think I was a completely different person if you knew me now compared to who I was fifteen years ago.

[Cyndi]

98% of the people I went to school with bullied me after 4th grade, so I really can't name any singular incidents without bursting into tears.

[RoseRose]

You know... sometimes I forget how hard it is to deal with the aftermath of the cruelty of classmates.  Well... here's one I have gotten over (well, at least the ORIGINAL incident.  The fallout still has some consequences with me.):

My second story-  When I was in kindergarten, I tried making friends with this other kindergartener on my bus.  I thought she WAS my friend... then a while later, I discovered she was (at FIVE!) spreading rumors about me and making it so I had no friends at school.. and it stayed that way until I moved in the middle of second grade.

That fallout I mentioned:  There was a little boy in my grade whom I started to become friends with.  Well, you all know the song "____ and ____ sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G"?  The minute we started hanging out, that song became INCESSANT.  It literally became so bad, he couldn't stand to play with me anymore.

[hkkatie]

I have no memory of this (must have blocked it out), but my mom told me so it must be true. when i was in 2nd grade, I had to sit next to the "bad kid" in class. She was constantly scratching me, pulling my hair, stabbing me with pencils etc. My mom thinks my teacher made me sit by her because I was the only one who didn't complain to her about the girl! (I was also very shy, afraid to talk to teachers etc.)

[grinningcomb]

In seventh grade we had a grade assembly for DARE and I sat in front of a few girls that didn't like me at all.  One of the girls had thrown her shoes over the lockers, in the girls locker room, at me.  I wish now that at the time I had locked them in my locker and if she had told the teacher I would have claimed she must have wanted me to have them since she threw them at me.

...anyway back to my origional story.  The girl chewed up some laffy taffy and stuck it in my hair.  That was pleasent trying to get out. 

[Emmy]

Oh, boy, I have stories I can tell. 

I am an introvert and went to a snobby school where if you didn't fit in kindergarden, you were screwed.  Of course I didn't fit in with the 'right people' and therefore wasn't destined to have much luck.  It wasn't all bad, I made great friends to help me through the tough times.

There was one girl in elementary school who was bratty; she thought she was soooo adorable, had many friends, and thought she could act how every she wanted.  I'll call her Lucy (like on the Peanuts).  In kindergarden Lucy would ask me to hang upside down on the monkeybars when I was wearing a dress b/c she wanted to see my underwear and laugh at me.  Maybe she was secretly gay  .  Anyway I wised up to Lucy after my mom told me her real motives (I was niave and a people pleaser).  Although it was a long time ago, I think I remember hearing her say that if I wanted her to be my 'friend', I should do it. 

In 5th grade I had Lucy in my class again.  She was trying to get me to go out with the 'geekest' boy in the class.  Lucy probably figured we'd make a perfect match.  I said I was 'too young' to be 'going out' with people and that 'she should like who she likes and I'll like who I like'.  I remember she called me a baby for saying that.  One time Lucy told me to "go to help" (which means go to h3ll) one time because I'm sure she thought she'd be a good Cathoic as long as she didn't use the actual word (even though that's what she meant), I told her to "go to h3ll".  (I am a Christian now and realized I shouldn't have said that).  I don't remember what provoked the incident, but I'm sure it had to do with her doing or saying something against me and me standing up for myself.  In 5th grade gym we were playing volleyball and were on the same team.  Whenever Lucy missed the ball she just giggled like it was just the cutest thing, but when I missed the ball she yelled and screamed at me.  For some sick reason, although Lucy was a horrible human being, I thought she was cool at the time just because she was popular. Bleh. 

Anyway, in 6th grade, once again, I had the misfortune of having Lucy sit at my table in 6th grade woodshop.  She made fun of the make-up I was wearing (I'd sneak it out of the house) and proceeded to get the 3 other students at the table to get in on the fun and make fun of me as well (don't remember where the teacher was).  I remember just trying to smile because I desperatly did not want to cry.  In 5th and 6th grades, I remember hearing other students say how mean she was to me and they felt bad for me.  Fortuantly Lucy moved not too long after that.

Wow, all that just about one person.  Just to make it brief, in my school career besides regular run of the mill teasing, I had little pieces of chewed gum thrown in my long hair as well as other things thrown at me, a 'please kick me' sign placed on my back, a girl who made a huge fuss in the middle of gym class about not being my badmitten partner, and so much more.

Although I certainly don't condone school violence, I can understand why it happens.  I feel sorry for those who are so hurt/angry/terrified to go to school everyday that they feel they have to end their own life or kill those who are hurting them as a way out.  Although I went to school before it became common, I remember wanting to hurt certain people, espeically when became a teen.  For adults who say, "deal with it" or "they are just being kids" - imagine going to work everyday and being in a similar situation.  If behavior like that is unacceptable in the work place and violaters are punished, it should be that way in the school.

[Bob Ducca]

Once in the 6th grade we were playing charades.  Kevin, whom I had known since kindergarten, got up and mimed he was doing a movie title.  He pointed at me.

"Big!" the boys yelled.  Kevin shook his head and pointed at me again.

"The Shaggy Dog!" they yelled.  He shook his head again and pointed at me and made some weird gyration with his hips.

Eventually, the insulting titles stopped, and the title was revealed.  "Debbie Does Dallas."  We didn't play charades in class again.

 

[Amitisoo]

In 5th grade I played on the grade 5/6 basketball and volleyball teams. I was horrible at sports and hated them but thought I'd go out on a limb and try really hard. There was a 6th grade girl who made my time there miserable. She'd pick on me, tease me, and on occasion beat me up.

I went on with life and consoled myself with the fact she was most likely a complete loser now. That was until I heard she......

won olympic silver. 

[Chocolate Cake]

In 5th grade, my "nemesis" was Tracy.   She must have been a miserable human being because she sure liked to share the misery.  When I had the misfortune of being paired with her to quiz each other over our new spelling word list, she would "help" me learn to spell the words incorrectly.   After I received a couple of failing spelling quiz grades, I caught onto her scheme and then wouldn't believe anything she said with regard to how I spelled a word.  I would just look it up later to learn the right spelling.

Then, once in P.E., we were playing the game where everyone stands in a circle and bounces the basketball to each other.  Tracy stood across the circle from me.  As I briefly looked away, she threw the ball directly at my head (it was supposed to only be bounced to the person).  When I turned back, the ball hit me right in the face.  Broke my glasses and really hurt.  I left the circle and went and cried in the locker room.   The PE teacher saw the whole thing and admonished her, but not as severely as she should have been.  She never apologized either.

When she moved at the end of the school year, I was really happy (naturally). 

[Brentwood]

Here's my story.

http://thatsloanegirl.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_thatsloanegirl_archive.html

It's the last story on the page; scroll down to the entry titled "At Thirteen." I am "Donna" in that story.

[Athos_000]

I was a perfect target... shy, overweight, clumsy. The "smart kid" who helped the teachers after class. From grades 6-9 all I wanted to do was disappear. I tried as hard as I could not to be noticed.

I had a very similar experience to Cathy's. I was in 6th grade band class. Our teacher was late so the popular girls decided to harass me. Our chairs were arranged in a semi-circle around the teachers podium. The girls and their cohorts whispered and giggled and pointed at me for a minute or two from across the circle, then one of the boys broke away from the group, marched up to me, and asked loudly if I had ever counted my fat rolls. The girls erupted in laughter. I was mortified, and I never told anyone about it until I was an adult. I never stood up for myself in all those years.

 I completely understand why students come to school and shoot their classmates. I internalized it all, I figured if I killed myself at least the daily torture visited upon me would end, thankfully I never followed through with that.

I fear for my future children. How do we protect them when we don't know it's happening? For those of you with children, what do you do to make sure it doesn't happen to your kids? I hate the "they are just being kids" excuse from school administration... kids can be evil. It broke my mom's heart to hear some of the things that happened to me at school, she never knew any of it was going on.

[Lisbeth]

I got made fun of a lot, but three girls really stand out in my memory:

1) A girl in 5th grade who falsely accused me of stealing something she lost.  She turned the whole class against me for a while.

2) A girl named Katy and her friend/cousin Tracy, who went out of their way to make 6th grade living hell for me: They made fun of me, followed me around, pretended to be friends one day and turned their backs the next.  I had the misfortune of running into them off school grounds at a family picnic once and they made what should have been a good time for me miserable.  I ended up switching schools halfway through 6th grade just to get away from those two snots.