This…

is the kind of school I went to:

England and Wales
In England and Wales, Catholic schools are either independent or voluntary aided, with the funding divided between the state and the Catholic Education Service. The service provides education for approximately 840,000 pupils each year through its 2,300 schools. In addition, some 130 independent schools have a Catholic character.[8][9] The Catholic Education Service in their website indicates that they interact on behalf of all bishops with the government, and other national bodies on legal, administrative, and religious education matters. This as their website indicates is to: “promote Catholic interests in education; safeguard Catholic interests in education; and, contribute to Christian perspectives within educational debate at national level.”[10] There have been considerable changes to the way the money has been collected to the support of Catholic schools. The money towards the Catholic community in regards to building and supporting schools has risen from 50% to 90% in both England and Wales. In 2009, Catholic schools in England comprised two-thirds of all religious secondary schools.[11]

Oh, and FYI, I had a reading quotient of 150 at the age of ten.

So suck that up, buttercup!

Repercussions

A multitude of articles have been written about bullying.  Countless studies have been conducted.  Less explored and rarely acknowledged are the long term effects school bullying can have on adults.  The repercussions can last a life time.  They are helping people who are currently being bullied but little thought is given to those who have suffered in the past and are forced to live with the consequences.

We tend to be wary of labelling people ‘victims’ because it could affect the way in which they see themselves.  It is said that people can be incapacitated by that label.  Indeed the very word ‘victim’ can be used as an insult and frequently is.  Acknowledging one’s pain is necessary to enable people to move on but many people get stuck in that stage and never progress beyond it.

I am in that stage and I wish I knew how to move on.  I have built walls around myself.  I can’t get out and no one else can get in.  And I’m sure there are many others like me.

What consequences does bullying (particularly school bullying) have for society as a whole? How much potential has been lost?  How much talent wasted?  How many people fail to fulfil their academic potential?  How many people wind up on psychiatric wards or resort to self harm?  How many people are unable to hold down a job?  All because of bullying.

Unacknowledged pain is the worst kind of pain and many people are reluctant to admit they were bullied.  They are ashamed.  ‘There must be something wrong with me,’ they tell themselves.  ‘or they wouldn’t have done it.’  The ‘bullies’ must have had their reasons is the rationale.

I told people what was happening to me at school but they either wouldn’t believe me or seemed to think it was my fault.  I was chastised for having the audacity to complain. They told me it was all a part of growing up.  They made me doubt myself and my own perception of the world.   And decades on I am still paying the price.

Nuns

Catholic nuns take a vow of poverty.  The nuns who taught me in primary school were no exception.  It is a semblance of poverty if we are honest; they did not face starvation and there was always plenty for them to eat.  However, it gave them an air of detachment from the material world.  They were located firmly in the realm of the spiritual.  You could present them with the most precious diamond in the world and they would remain unmoved.  Money was not their driving force and I envy them that.  They are as close to God as one can get.  They are replete, complete, self-sufficient.  The slender threads that pass through the eye of the needle.