My seventh-grade science teacher was one of those teachers who would openly criticize students. She didn’t seem to target anyone in particular, at least not in my class, but heaven help you if you did something she didn’t like.
She starts off the first day of class by saying she can already tell who’s serious about science, who the trouble makers are, who the jocks are, etc. Except I think she pegged me as a super girly-girl and not as a girl who actually enjoys math and science. I only say this because even though I got an A in her class, she seemed to look for excuses to validate her opinion of me. I did not give her many excuses. When the first class ended, she revealed she was one of those, “the bell does not dismiss you, I dismiss you” teachers. I don’t even know how many times I was nearly late to my next class which was right around the corner.
At the beginning of the school year, we were issued our science textbooks. Then she tells us to take out a piece of paper and write down any and all damage that it has. Examples include if the covers were worn from use, pen marks, or if some of the pages were ripped/folded at all. She expected us to get through all 500+ pages in maybe ten minutes. Then, at the end of the year, when we returned our textbooks, she would flip through each book and ask us about any damage. If there was damage that we hadn’t written down at the beginning of the year (I missed a super tiny tear on a page that was maybe half a centimeter long) she would berate us and demand to know how the damage occurred. She would also deduct a point from your class participation grade if the damage was significant, but not enough to warrant replacing the book. Her voice was naturally very loud, so the entire class could hear her berating you if your book had any extra damage.
Another time, we had a fire drill during this class. Everyone immediately stands up but she yells at us. “You do not get to leave until I say so.” She only lets us line up once she’s grabbed the roster and emergency bag. (I don’t know what all was in this bag, but there was one in every classroom and teachers were required to grab it during fire drills.) Once we’re lined up and quiet, then we’re allowed to exit the building. We line up with the other classes, but she has us move a little ways away. She claims it’s so she can hear us when she calls roll, but I think it’s so the other teachers won’t hear her lecture us.
As she calls roll, she moves from one end of the line to the other. Then she gets to my name. My last name starts with a W, so I’m near the end of the roster, and I’m standing in the middle of the line. She calls my name, I say “here” and she glares at me. “(My name), why aren’t you at the end of the line? I don’t want to have to be walking back and forth along this line to hear all y’all say ‘here.’ Last names at the beginning of the alphabet are at the front, and names at the end are at the end of the line. So get at the end of the line and let’s try this again.” Yes, she made me move to the very end of the line and she started over from the beginning. By this time, the other classes were back in the building. We had to wait for her say we could head back, and she proceeded to lecture us about lining up alphabetically in the future, looking at me the entire time. I had self-esteem issues at the time since a couple of weeks earlier my so-called friends told me to my face they no longer liked me and didn’t want to sit with me at lunch anymore (but that’s a whole other story), and her calling me out like that really messed with me and nearly made me cry in front of everyone. I regret not telling my parents about this incident.
Definitely not my favorite teacher and she very nearly made me hate science forever. Thankfully my eighth-grade science teacher was much better.
