A single second can ruin your life at school.

[Jamie (K)]

Have you ever seen something happen in just a second or two that causes a person to have problems at school for weeks or even years afterward?

Example: I know about a girl who was randomly chosen from her science class to cough into a petri dish. Over the next week, the class got to watch the bacteria from her breath grow into a black, disgusting mass in the dish, and kids started to avoid her, because she was "contaminated". They knew there was nothing wrong with her, but kids can be cruel.

Another example: A substitute teacher in my 5th-grade class affectionately called a rather tough boy "cream puff" one day. He was teased about being a "cream puff" for a long time after that.

[Molly]

I thought you were of the opinion that schoolchildren need to be tougher when faced with such "cruelty". Seems you have a soft side, J.

So, tell us your story. What were you teased about at school? Caught in the bathroom reading the biographies of republican presidents?