Growing Pains

"Boys will be boys" is the common saying describing a young boy's behaviors such as teasing and rough play.  But where is the line drawn between normal boyhood aggression and bullying?  History has shown how situations can spiral out of control, resulting in more than just hurt feelings for either the bully or the bullied.

It's the 2nd grade and it's just another day at school.  You see the boy with whom you have a history of violence and tension.  The problems are often started by teasing, sometimes by jealousy, sometimes to impress a girl but you both always end up in the principal's office being dealt yet another speech and punishment.  You eventually get used to the routine but today turns out being different.

In the middle of class, everything is normal and you're talking to some of your friends.  Then he comes by and hits you on the back of the head.  From there starts the teasing and where things get out of control.  You both go back and forth for a while but then you realize your friends are laughing at you.  The last things you see are your desk and your pencil.  You lose yourself in you rage and embarrassment, and you come out of it seeing blood.  You realize you've stabbed him and see him crying.  You can't help but feel bad for what you've done and also break down in tears, the teacher's panicking and screaming doesn't help either.  As his wound is cleaned, you wait for him in the principal's office.  We both got our final warning about how we treat each other before we would both face serious consequences.

I have the scar on my palm to this day.  And I've been more mindful of how I treat others since that day.

WC: 300

Point:  Be careful how you treat people because what you say or do can affect them more than you can imagine and just may end up being the victim yourself.

My Love & Hatred for Teachers

My best learning experience is from my Language and Composition class.  Essays had always been a struggle for me and often found myself short for words both in writing and in conversation.  It was often due to thinking that whatever I said or wrote had to be perfect and concise at my first attempt.  My teacher made it seem so simple by saying "It doesn't need to be that complicated, just say what you think and don't think too much on it."  This gave me a new outlook and helped me to better communicate myself, and not just on paper.

WC:  100

My worst learning experience involves ridicule and embarrassment.  In my early school years I was a much slower learner than I am today.  That being said it was hard for me to grasp math, reading and writing, and learning Spanish as a second language.  In my 1st grade Spanish class, my teacher would come around to check our homework, and one day she simply laughed at all that I had written down with little explanation, at least not in a way that I could understand.  It had affected how I would view my intelligence and how I would approach learning.

WC: 100