I attended nyc public school my entire life. In the third grade we had moved to a new house near the suburbs of Long Island and I attended a new school. My teacher Ms Vallis was a total bitch. She was a racist and hated me for what I now attribute to her rascism. She used to call me monkey, I always thought it was because when she would ask questions I would get excited to answer and in the Steve Urkel fashion would yell “ooh, ooh” as I raised my hands. But who knows. Which kid doesn’t make that sound? Well she started calling me monkey due to something and so did everyone else. She would pick me out from the class and embarrass me often. Shortly after starting she put me in an esl class for a portion of my day. 3rd grade me did not understand and complied. I didn’t belong in esl, I was always above my reading level, I would read my science and social studies textbooks from cover to cover every weekend. Then go to the library to borrow more books. My hobby was to read the world book encyclopedia. This was my routine. We didn’t have video games, our tv sucked (poor signal, no cable), and I wasn’t allowed to play outside till afternoon. My most prized possession was my book shelf. Well at the end of the year my esl teacher took me aside and gave me a certificate, hugged me and told me “you don’t belong here, you’re too smart” Boosted my self esteem a bit. But Ms Vallis damaged me. I was a recluse for a decade, never answered questions in class, never participated, didn’t really have friends. Just kept to myself. She just destroyed my psyche. I was able to break out of it sometime in college. It was a lonely 10 years. I was informally punished for my skin color and it scarred me for a decade of my life. Ms Vallis I hope you rot in hell.