I was in fifth-grade
the year I got
headaches every day
couldn’t get my homework done
still couldn’t spell
or do my math facts quickly
but, I could read!
I read Stephen King for my book report
my teacher didn’t believe me
Called me to his desk, covered the title on my project and raised his eyebrows, saying
“What was your book called again?”
“The Eyes of the Dragon” I said
He looked skeptical
I think that’s the year I learned
that trust and respect are
two-way streets
or should be
Oh, and that some people are jerks
I remember his name –
That teacher who didn’t
Know me
Didn’t believe I had headaches
Didn’t believe I couldn’t concentrate on my test with his radio on
(Can you imagine?)
Didn’t believe I could read that book
I remember his name, but I won’t name him
I will give him the
benefit of the doubt
and of time
Maybe he was trying his best
Maybe he was having a hard year
Maybe he was someone’s favorite teacher
He certainly taught me a lot about teaching
– the what not to do
Plus, it’s easy to give grace to a jerk
if they are probably already gone
from this world…
Fifth-grade was a long, long time ago.
On a Thought 
Wow. That experience really stayed with you, and shows how damaging negative responses and lack of trust can be. Sounds like you learned a lot from this unnamed teacher. I really like “I will give him the benefit of the doubt and of time.”
It’s funny how some of these memories just stick. I remember my fifth grade teacher, mad that we “didn’t know our math facts”. Gave us 50 multiplication problems to do in 3 minutes. (Might have been 5, but it wouldn’t have mattered to me…) If we got them all right, we got an A. If we missed even one, we had to do it again a few days later. That time if you got them all right, you got a B. If not, well, wash, rinse, repeat with the grade going down each time. Needless to say, I failed. That’s why I HATE traditional timed tests, and found ways around them as a teacher!