[rdgrad15]

I went to a Elementary/Middle school for deaf and hard of hearing students. I didn't have the best experiences there so I have bitterness towards them in a way. I got in trouble because I was unable to stop bullying that was going on, don't know why they couldn't do anything about it. I felt like they were just being lazy and wanted me, who was like 14 or younger at the time, to stop a couple students from another school, to no longer allow them to call a classmate names.

I also got made fun of by the students and some teachers there and in some cases they even condoned the bullying. Like if someone yelled at me to stop being stupid or something, there was one teacher that would smirk or laugh. Another teacher would treat me like I was stupid and give me weird looks if I accidentally gave the wrong answer in a class. Also one teacher who I believe had anger problems and didn't have much patience, would threaten to report me or anyone else to the principal if we didn't start to understand something he was teaching us.

They also babied everyone. One advantage I had was that I was one of the very few students that could hear almost perfectly well and speak well, while everyone else were severely to profoundly deaf and had severe speech problems. In that case, I was treated more of an adult than the rest during my last couple years there, which in a way, was a good thing. But I still don't understand why they felt the need to give me a hard time and now I hold resentment.

I want to work in a high school or college for Academic Counseling, my parents think I should work at my old elementary/middle school but I have no desire to due to the bad memories I have about that place. I know it sounds dumb but I just feel like the way they treated me was a sign they didn't like me for some reason. I'd much rather go back to my high school, which I have done a few times, despite not liking high school that much either, than going back to my old elementary/middle school.

I wish my parents would understand that I have no desire to work there as well. Is this considered abnormal to have a low opinion of faculty and former students after so many years have past? I feel like it is since I left that school in June of 2006 but I just can't help it. As I mentioned before, as much as I didn't like high school, I actually liked it better than my elementary/middle school in terms of dealing with the teachers and students. At least in high school, it was a bigger atmosphere and the teachers were way nicer and more professional. Only thing I had to deal with was gossip and rumors about me, which made me dislike high school to an extent.

[Michelea]

This is your decision to make, not anyone else's. Work where you will be happy working at.

It's not abnormal at all to not want to work at a place you didn't like.

It's normal for you, what I mean by that is that only you can truly know how you feel about your experiences at the school. I can appreciate you want your parents to understand, but if you have explained it to them and they still don't then it might be that they never will. You are an adult now and as such you should not feel the need to justify your choices.

Bullying, and adults condoning of it, can make a real dent in our confidence into adulthood, so I don't think it's abnormal to not want to go back to that place - and if you have other options then plenty of reason not to go back.

It sounds like you have a real insight into what makes a good healthy educational experience, good luck in your career as school counsellor.

[rdgrad15]

Originally Posted by Michelea

This is your decision to make, not anyone else's. Work where you will be happy working at.

It's not abnormal at all to not want to work at a place you didn't like.

Yep exactly. I didn't like it at all, so I would not want to go back and work along side the same faculty and staff who condoned bullying when I was younger.

[rdgrad15]

Originally Posted by prefabsprout

It's normal for you, what I mean by that is that only you can truly know how you feel about your experiences at the school. I can appreciate you want your parents to understand, but if you have explained it to them and they still don't then it might be that they never will. You are an adult now and as such you should not feel the need to justify your choices.

Bullying, and adults condoning of it, can make a real dent in our confidence into adulthood, so I don't think it's abnormal to not want to go back to that place - and if you have other options then plenty of reason not to go back.

It sounds like you have a real insight into what makes a good healthy educational experience, good luck in your career as school counsellor.

Yep exactly. I don't mean bitterness like I wish bad things upon them. I am not bitter like that, I just simply would rather not work along side the same faculty and staff that condoned bullying years ago when I was a student. Obviously the students I had to deal with are no longer there, but I still just don't want to go back there. Yeah, my parents will just have to deal with it.

And I agree, adults that condone bullying really puts a dent in it. I was too shy back then, but if it happened right now, I probably would have said something to them. Not in a mean way, but I would still suggest they actually do something about it rather than blow it off or let some other powerless person deal with it. And yes I do have a real insight and thank you!