... makes up for a lot of bad schooling.
Do the best you can with schools, but always make your home a refuge.
I suffered bullying and harassment starting in the fifth grade. I was a weird kid. No doubt about that. Middle school was the worst. By high school I'd learned to be as invisible as possible. But I was still frequently harassed and sometimes assaulted, and there were teachers and administrators who'd see me getting tripped in the hallways, called "queerbait," who'd see me getting my head slammed in lockers, witness bullies vandalizing my stuff, and then blame me for causing trouble.
Fortunately I was safe at home, it was my refuge, and I did most of my learning there. My parents were always willing to buy books, subscribe to magazines, and buy inexpensive tools and electronic parts I used to build computers and other gadgets.
They supported me when I decided to quit high school for college. Quitting high school was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I got a lot of flack from some adults, especially those who thought their own high school experience was wonderful...
Oh, you'll never experience a high school the Prom! and no, I never participated in high school sports, not even attending a football game, but why would I? High school was a place where I was tortured.
I had a few good teachers who were aware of my predicament and offered some shelter and encouragement, but many teachers were burnt out or stretched too thin to fight the toxic school culture, or worse, didn't see how badly some kids were hurting or thought it was their job to toughen kids up for the "real world."
I graduated from college (after some misadventures...) and I'm still as eccentric as I ever was, but I'm still here all these years later, married with adult kids, doing what I can to make the world a better place.
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