Dear High School Faculty,

Thank you. Thank you for helping me grow as a person. I am thanking you because the actions that you did not take that you should have helped me grow more independently as a person. You should have been there to stop the harassment I was enduring instead of pushing it away. Just because a student was seen as popular and likable does not mean that they are. You helped me stand up for myself, but not in the way I wanted.

I had to be the one to tell the people around me to stop. "Stop acting like you're a child" and "leave me the f*ck alone" are statements I had to say to people in order to get them to stop bullying me. When it was obvious to you in your classroom of 25 students, you just ignored it and carried on. Why would you care? You were still getting your paycheck at the end of the day. I am not your child or your concern after 2 p.m. or on your weekends that you spend with your family.

Thank you, high school faculty. Thank you to the guidance councilors who I talked to. Thank you for not listening to me. Thank you for ignoring my pleas of my desires of being transferred to a different high school within the district. Thank you for not allowing me to switch some of my classes because my teachers had a bias against me. My good grades did not matter, just the fact that you had to make it until 2 p.m. to go home, just like the rest of the student body and teachers.

I am grateful, however, to the teachers that did care about me. The ones that I could approach with trust and they would maintain that trust. They were concerned about my emotional health and my grades. They always asked my how my day was going and how I felt. These are the teachers who I am friends with on Facebook today and try and stay in contact with.

My vice principal was the best, too. He always cared about the students. He always greeted us with a warm, welcoming smile. He never once tried to blame the victim of a bullying situation. He always tried to give every student the benefit of the doubt and never sought out to punish anybody. He only reprimanded misbehaving students when necessary. The other vice principal acted very conversely. She tried to give out suspensions and never listened to the victims. She only listened to her favorites and talked to students and faculty in an authoritative tone that displayed her God complex.

In conclusion, thank you. Thank you to the faculty members who did not care about the students around them, but about just getting through your work day. To the miserably acting faculty, nobody told you to be a teacher. To the faculty that helped me and many others like me, you are gemstones in this world. Rare, beautiful, and delicate. You all put your time aside to help students because you cared about your job and and treated us like children of your own.

From,

A Student