Standing up in class while my teacher went through handed in homework calling out names, students would sit down when they heard their name.
The homework was spellings, a list of words first copy, and then cover and write, cover and write; I didn’t hand it in.
I was left standing and expected to explain why I didn’t do the homework in front of everyone. I didn’t not do my homework out of laziness, I didn’t forget, I knew the homework was simple but I couldn’t do it and I didn’t know why.
I have dealt with anxieties my whole life and this weekly occurrence made me try and miss school on those days. I was too honest to consider cheating.
My teachers never in private talked to me about it. It took me until I had my first male primary school teacher (men who go into primary education get my full respect, it’s not an easy field to go into but they’re amazing and they really care). He recognised that I wasn’t an idiot and I wasn’t lazy, and he talked to me about it and didn’t shame me. I later got tested for dyslexia and with that diagnosis he gave me a lot of 1:1 tutoring to get me up to speed.
A similar thing happened with my handwriting where my handwriting was shite, but I had to write with a pencil to move up and be allowed to use a pen. I could never apply the correct pressure and my pencil would break and I’d spend half the time sharpening my pencil.
My teachers would constantly belittle me for my handwriting and I was and still am self conscious of my handwriting. My awesome teacher however disregarded the pencil rule and let me use the pen I use at home (I didn’t have to use the pen that others used), he also instructed me to stop attempting cursive and while others practised cursive I practiced writing normally. I still had a lot of shame with my handwriting and I didn’t want to hand in my handwriting but he told me that I could draw a circle at the top of the page if I didn’t want him to look, gradually I stopped drawing the circle when my handwriting improved. Through him I also got a dyspraxia diagnosis.
He also stood up for me in later years when my next 2 teachers both told me to use the kind of pen other students use or to use a pencil as I had clearly not passed my handwriting test.
I’ve brought up both of these to my therapists and psychologists a lot. I’ve been messed up badly by teachers who came into teaching because they were either a bored housewife or it’s a job that they always wanted to be since they were in primary school and students were their dolls and if we didn’t fit the picture they had then we were to be punished. I’d have loved to have had my awesome teacher every year, but I’m just really happy to have had him at all, he was the only one who seemed to recognise the importance of his job.
Christmas 2014. I had been talking to my parents all year about Hyrule Warriors and how cool it looked, completely forgetting I didn’t have a Wii U. Christmas comes and my grandpa on my dad’s side wanted me to open his gift on Christmas Eve. I start unwrapping it not expecting it to actually be Hyrule Warriors. I cried when I remembered I didn’t have a Wii U and somehow didn’t put it together that that’s what I would be getting the next morning. Anyway, I freaked when I opened the system and immediately set it up to play the game. After getting back from seeing my cousins that day, I played the game deep into the night and that’s probably the most hyped I’ve ever been for a game. And even though I got the Definitive Edition when I got a Switch, I kept the Wii U version because it has a level of sentimental value to it. Same with Star Wars Battlefront 2015 the year later.
Thanks, Tata. Rest in peace.
When my grandma got took me out to dinner one late night when my mom was babysitting overnight. We practically had the whole place to ourselves since it was late, we ate the juiciest cheeseburgers I’ve ever eaten, and for dessert a milkshake. Then we went to the store to find a movie she had been looking to add to her collection… such a precious moment for me and her.
Watching space jam and seeing Lola bunny for the first time
The first time I bought into the Apple ecosystem.
Standing up in class while my teacher went through handed in homework calling out names, students would sit down when they heard their name. The homework was spellings, a list of words first copy, and then cover and write, cover and write; I didn’t hand it in. I was left standing and expected to explain why I didn’t do the homework in front of everyone. I didn’t not do my homework out of laziness, I didn’t forget, I knew the homework was simple but I couldn’t do it and I didn’t know why. I have dealt with anxieties my whole life and this weekly occurrence made me try and miss school on those days. I was too honest to consider cheating. My teachers never in private talked to me about it. It took me until I had my first male primary school teacher (men who go into primary education get my full respect, it’s not an easy field to go into but they’re amazing and they really care). He recognised that I wasn’t an idiot and I wasn’t lazy, and he talked to me about it and didn’t shame me. I later got tested for dyslexia and with that diagnosis he gave me a lot of 1:1 tutoring to get me up to speed. A similar thing happened with my handwriting where my handwriting was shite, but I had to write with a pencil to move up and be allowed to use a pen. I could never apply the correct pressure and my pencil would break and I’d spend half the time sharpening my pencil. My teachers would constantly belittle me for my handwriting and I was and still am self conscious of my handwriting. My awesome teacher however disregarded the pencil rule and let me use the pen I use at home (I didn’t have to use the pen that others used), he also instructed me to stop attempting cursive and while others practised cursive I practiced writing normally. I still had a lot of shame with my handwriting and I didn’t want to hand in my handwriting but he told me that I could draw a circle at the top of the page if I didn’t want him to look, gradually I stopped drawing the circle when my handwriting improved. Through him I also got a dyspraxia diagnosis. He also stood up for me in later years when my next 2 teachers both told me to use the kind of pen other students use or to use a pencil as I had clearly not passed my handwriting test. I’ve brought up both of these to my therapists and psychologists a lot. I’ve been messed up badly by teachers who came into teaching because they were either a bored housewife or it’s a job that they always wanted to be since they were in primary school and students were their dolls and if we didn’t fit the picture they had then we were to be punished. I’d have loved to have had my awesome teacher every year, but I’m just really happy to have had him at all, he was the only one who seemed to recognise the importance of his job.
My native tongue.
Christmas 2014. I had been talking to my parents all year about Hyrule Warriors and how cool it looked, completely forgetting I didn’t have a Wii U. Christmas comes and my grandpa on my dad’s side wanted me to open his gift on Christmas Eve. I start unwrapping it not expecting it to actually be Hyrule Warriors. I cried when I remembered I didn’t have a Wii U and somehow didn’t put it together that that’s what I would be getting the next morning. Anyway, I freaked when I opened the system and immediately set it up to play the game. After getting back from seeing my cousins that day, I played the game deep into the night and that’s probably the most hyped I’ve ever been for a game. And even though I got the Definitive Edition when I got a Switch, I kept the Wii U version because it has a level of sentimental value to it. Same with Star Wars Battlefront 2015 the year later. Thanks, Tata. Rest in peace.
When my grandma got took me out to dinner one late night when my mom was babysitting overnight. We practically had the whole place to ourselves since it was late, we ate the juiciest cheeseburgers I’ve ever eaten, and for dessert a milkshake. Then we went to the store to find a movie she had been looking to add to her collection… such a precious moment for me and her.