Throughout my school years I had kept to myself. I was also a quiet and reserved child and I never spoke out of turn. It wasn’t until one instance that I did, and it changed me for the better. Without that one instance I wouldn’t be where I am today. 

I was never a problematic child. In school I was shy. I never spoke back to teachers and just let them talk to me however they pleased. It stayed like this until my second year in middle school. My school was sorting out schedules which resulted in me being transferred into a new class. I was transferred three weeks late into the school year so everyone had already gotten their assigned seats and teachers had already started giving assignments. I walked into what would be my science and homeroom for the rest of the year. The classroom had 3 rows of medium sized desks, each with two students seated at one desk. There was a large chalkboard in front of the class with disney magnets and photos on it, as well as a long tall black table with two sinks at each end. When I walked in I introduced myself to the teacher and told her I had just been transferred into her class. I asked her where I should sit and she didn’t answer. She then proceeded to raise her voice and say, “What are you doing, go to the back and sit”. I didn’t think much about it at first. I figured that I must have just interrupted her lesson and she had gotten annoyed by it. As the school year progressed I noticed that the teachers behavior towards me had just gotten worse. She was constantly making degrading comments towards me. When I struggled with work she would call me up to the board to answer questions, and when I couldn’t do it she would make sly remarks at me. She had even begun to stop by my other classes just to tell my teachers how bad of a student I was in front of my class and I. However, what stuck with me most is that whenever I spoke in spanish she would question me and try to get me to say what I had said out loud and in english. As a young girl I was still shy to mention my period around others. I was still under the impression that periods were taboo. Therefore if I needed a menstrual product I would ask a friend in spanish. One time during class We were in the middle of work and I needed a pad so I proceeded to ask my friend in spanish if she had one. My teacher then proceeded to say, “Michelle, is there anything you want to say out loud instead of just to your friend” I proceeded to tell her no but she kept insisting and I said I was just asking her for a pad. After class she continued to ask my friend “what did Michelle really tell you”. I remember hearing that and feeling so disrespected and devastated. This behavior went on for the rest of the school year. I nearly failed her class because of it. 

However, despite being a quiet child, I realized that there were students who were louder than me, yet she allowed it. I noticed there would be students talking and being disrespectful, yet she allowed it. It made me think, what was so different? What separated me, and those other kids? And then I realized the only difference was our race. As a mexican american I was categorized as a trouble maker. Yet the white kids were able to go and do as they pleased. I didn’t understand why. A majority of my friends in middle school were hisapnic as well. While talking to them I realized that they were dealing with similar issues regarding the same teacher. One of my friends had stated that on the first day of school she told him, “Oh I already know i’m not going to like you. You’re a troublemaker” I was baffled when I heard this. How could this teacher treat all the minorities so poorly? As the school year progressed I began to grow tired of her behavior. I thought it was unfair for her to let other students slide yet she was so strict with the minorities. I began to become vocal, If she would say something diminishing I would defend myself. This didn’t help my grade in her class but I was so fed up with the treatment I had been putting up with. Then one day I remember getting into an argument with her. I don’t remember what it was about, or what caused it. But I do remember shouting at her. She proceeded to call my school’s vice principal who then escorted me out of the room. As soon as I left the room I broke down crying. I began hyperventilating, and realized I was having a panic attack. I realized that this was all the frustration I had been holding all year. When the vice principal helped calm me down I proceeded to tell her what happened. I told her about the way she had been mistreating and humiliating me throughout the whole school year. Despite being in shock I was also proud. This was the first time I had ever stood up for myself against an adult. This one incident helped kickstart my career in activism and student rights. After telling the vice principal about what happened I was sent back to class with no punishment being done. My science teacher was furious to see me walk back in as if nothing happened. Upon coming home I had explained to my parents what was happening and they arranged a meeting with the principal, vice principal, dean, and teacher. The meeting was rescheduled several times because the teacher refused to meet with my parents. However after getting tired of waiting my parents dropped in unannounced and demanded they had the meeting. The teacher had to be forced to meet with them. I was sent out of the room because of how poorly the teacher spoke of me. Despite being a few rooms away I could still hear her remarks. She was yelling at my parents saying I was a horrible student. She stated I never did any work in her class and that I was the most disrespectful student she had ever met. These remarks just went on and on. My parents were furious. My dad started yelling at her as well, asking how she can start a fight with a thirteen year old. He also said that if I was so disrespectful why was she the first teacher to ever complain, because throughout the year all my other teachers loved and praised me. She then proceeded to call me sneaky and say I was a liar. Never had I heard a teacher say all this about me. I began to cry. It was stressful and painful to hear her say all that when I knew it wasn’t true. My school’s principal came to see me in the other room to check in on me. She had started helping me throughout my issues with the teacher. The teacher was then sent out of the room because of how disrespectful she was being towards my parents and I was invited back into the room. They had all agreed that the teacher was not allowed to stay in the same room as me. After this meeting I had spent my homeroom and science class in the principal office where I would help her organize or do work for my other classes. It stayed like this for the remainder of the year and as well as my last year when she would occasionally be a substitute.  

 Despite me having a hard time in middle school I’m grateful to have lived through it. My experience in middle school helped me grow and mature. This made me want to help other students in similar situations. Without my experience in middle school I would probably still be that shy frail girl. To whoever may read this; You have the right to stand up to what you believe is right. It’s okay to speak up against an adult if you feel they are trying to make you less than you really are.