Why is there a need for scapegoats. Why cant the guilty receive the blame or punishment they deserve. When I was in school many teacher had pets. The pets never got in trouble. I had a 4th grade teacher that treated me the way you describe. This is a fact, I remember taking a spelling test writing the words and all of a sudden my teacher said, Maryl you are cheating you are looking at another students paper. I had my head on my desk how was I cheating. These are sad situations and you are right they can scar young people! i hope your adult life is much more fair!