I can never understand where children’s cruelty comes from. Kids come into this world innocent, after all, and even though they get tougher over the years, facing obstacles in their way, how can they be on top of evil when they move on to high school?
I’ve been an English teacher practically all my life. I’ve taught a lot of classes from fifth through eleventh, and I’ve seen a lot of kids. I’ve met some real monsters in other people’s classes, too, but I’ve also met some perpetual victims. Such children are always defenseless, and for some reason the whole class pounces on them, trying to eat them alive.
In mine, too, there was a boy who was immediately disliked. He was quite normal, good-looking, but a bit overweight, and the kids teased him first because of that, and then because he asked too many questions in class (and at recess), as if he were pulling the covers over himself. He tried to study well, but he wasn’t always good at it, and the kids also humiliated him so much that he was embarrassed to go to the cafeteria alone to eat and sat at the teacher’s table where I and some other teachers ate.
Somehow talking to children at that age is useless – they are out of control. It was only over the years that Adam began to be treated a little better. When, in ninth grade, some of the children were about to leave, everyone became somehow friendlier, they were busy with their grades and exams, and a kind of truce came to the class. Every once in a while, though, there were those who offended Adam. Sarah was one of them, and she was always picking on everyone. One time she tore Adam’s jacket and intimidated him so he wouldn’t tell his family. He didn’t have to – I told her parents myself and made Sarah apologize and sew up the boy’s jacket.
After that, she seemed to treat Adam even worse, but she was afraid to molest him directly.
After ninth Adam left school, and Sarah went on to eleventh grade and entered the music department.
I’ve long been the class teacher of another class, but I keep in touch with former students on social media. And then, recently, I came across a photo from Adam and Sarah’s wedding. I was so shocked when I saw it. Their other classmates were, too.
Curious to hear how it happened and how they came to it. Very curious. I mean, they resented each other, and Adam was also afraid of her, and here they were husband and wife.
How, after all, life is unpredictable! Once they were children and didn’t get along, and then life turned everything upside down. I am happy for them, and surprised at the same time. Now I look at the other kids fighting in class, wondering if something like this will happen to them in the future, or if Adam and Sarah are a special case.
