22/12/2025
When you ask someone if they want to go back to school days most say yes. For me it was never like that.
I studied at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya and some of the worst experiences of my life happened there because of certain teachers. I used to be strong but slowly my mental strength broke down. I still remember coming home crying telling my parents I couldn’t go to school anymore.
From Grade 1 our homework mistakes were punished harshly. I remember seeing my book in a muddy puddle. Once a teacher hit my shoulder with a ruler and I bled. I was just a child.
As the years went by things didn’t get better. During O/L classes every year there seemed to be one student teachers chose to target. That year it was me. I was constantly targeted, stopped from competitions, blamed for things I didn’t do, and teachers even asked my friends to isolate me. They said I wouldn’t let anyone go above me but the truth is I wasn’t even focusing on my studies I was helping others cas i loved it. I didn’t have the backbone to stand up for myself.The teachers couldn’t come after me much anyway because my grades were good and I did extracurriculars.
I was part of the senior brass band and worked hard but the teacher in charge wanted me gone so badly. She and the section head made my life miserable.
Teachers are supposed to guide and protect children. If a child is struggling or makes a mistake their job is to help them learn and support them not break them down.
At school I was always seen as playful and cheerful so nobody really knew the pain I went through except my family. When teachers couldn’t break me they blamed my parents too which I couldn’t bear.
One teacher truly cared my dance teacher Nemali Budhawatta. She told me if I stayed I wouldn’t get the recognition my talent deserved and encouraged me to leave so I could spend the rest of my school life in peace. Leaving was hard but it made me happy.
I’m not writing this out of hate and this isn’t the whole story. I’m writing this because so many students still go through things like this. School is just one chapter of your life. It doesn’t define you. Stay strong and stand up for yourself.
