What a great thread this is! It's poignant to read all these stories and realize just how lousy things can be for kids.
My story isn't anything like some of the physical travesties that others experienced, but here goes...
In eighth grade algebra (can't recall the level) I was assigned to my middle school's most legendary teacher, a strict, stern Irish schoolmarm type who was revered by all exactly because she was such an old-fashioned throwback.
"How many barrels in a hogshead?" she would bark, and we would recite back all this ridiculous rote stuff from the 1st half of the 20th century or whenever. But everyone, parents and kids, loved her.
Well, one evening while doing the homework, there was a word problem that I was puzzled by...I just could not find the answer. After considering it for quite a while, I realized that there was some ambiguous punctuation (maybe it was a comma separating a clause clumsily, or something of that sort).
When I considered the alternate interpretation, I solved the word problem! It was a "Eureka" moment. I thought, wow, I really do like this subject! It was satisfying to experience one of the most rewarding aspects of math...you don't have to ask somebody whether you are right or not...you know it because the equation balances.
Well the next day in class we were going over the homework, and when this problem came up, neither the class nor the legendary inspirational teacher had solved the problem...they were stuck in the wrong grammatical interpretation and hadn't considered there was another way of understanding it. She solemnly concluded to the class that the book was mistaken.
Of course, at the first opportunity I had to clarify I raised my hand, and she called on me, and I began to explain to the class humbly, diplomatically (so that no-one would be put off), how the comma was placed such that the sentence could have 2 meanings, and the 2nd meaning would lead to the solution.
Well, rather than being pleased, as I had expected, at being enlightened by a devoted student who actually took time to ponder and solve the problem, instead of watching TV or whatever, she scowled and said out-loud, deliberately enunciating each syllable in her thick brogue,
"Well, some...people...have...obtained...the answer book...and are cheating." The class tittered and snickered.
Dang, this is cathartic (chuckling)