}

1 September 1976

Challenges (School years: 1977 - 1988)


Anxiet

  • Sub A:  Fear of caning (terrified on 1st day that "cuts" meant being punished with a knife)
  • Convinced I was stupid, and the only reason I did well was because I studied harder that everyone else.
  • Mental Tests every Friday (Std 2)
  • Anxiety and dread ahead of school tests (e.g. geography crying)
  • Agony after tests, remembering mistakes I'd made
  • Messed up my English test (Std 3) - felt so bad, I pretended to be sick and went to sick-bay.
  • Missed the Std 6 mid year exams (I pretended illness by putting the thermometer in my coffee, wrote exams at home)
  • Std 7 history test about 2nd world war - hadn't studied part of it. Agonised over it.
  • Taking days off (pretending to be sick) so I could study.
  • Feeling the need to start studying for exams long before everyone else.
  • Final exams - an inability to sleep. Wrote several exams stupefied.
  • Acort and the note to see the headmaster
  • Only an A and coming at the top of the class will do.
  • Dreading school swimming when cold.


Depression and obsession

  • Nordika soap obsession
  • Outside room and smell of hamster urine
  • Obsession re contaminated pond water
  • Std 9 depression - not know what was happening
  • Afraid I had schizophrenia (for some reason I can't remember)


Emotional bullying

  • High school bullying (Leon, Gorrie, Canagoski, borders)
  • Myburgh's mommy
  • Gorrie "You're so ugly."
  • Leon "He'll never get an A."  Learns by rote.


Humiliation and shame

  • Unprepared speech when I had a mind blank in front of the school and Gramps
  • Forum Discussion chairman - mind went blank (Std 8). Madam Suttle tirade as a result.
  • Afrikaans essay on rugby read to the class. I was accused of cribbing (Std 8)
  • In Std 1, I said something to a new student that others in the class didn't like and felt judged by them and ashamed (fuzzy memory of the details but I remember being in floods of tears during the break.)
  • Had to put my hands on my head and keep them there as punishment for talking (Sub A)


Guilt

  • Took stamps and hid in desk
  • Rowan Alston and the little china figures
  • Money for stamps
  • Missed a physics test that I had to write when I came back. Andrew Miller gave me his paper to prepare.
  • Andrew found Afrikaans exam questions ahead of the exam and some of us cribbed.

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