What school subjects did you find a humiliating experience?

[BeRubyReader]

Apart from PE
I would say Spanish , couldn't learn the language so humiliating when having to do the bit where you had to have a conversation with the teach inn the language

Needlework. I couldn't even thread the needle.

Art and needlework. Couldn’t do either for toffee. Even as an adult, my drawings are about the level of a 7 year old!

PE - if a teacher laughed at a child who couldn't do Maths they'd be sacked - but it's ok for one who can't do PE?

Needlework. I hated it! Also cross-country running in PE.

Sorry Spanish made you feel that way, OP. I'm a languages teacher and do my very best to make kids who find languages hard feel ok about them!

I didn’t mind PE but the Dressing Up Race was a humiliation. I was chunky as a child, I had boobs and hips early on. I didn’t fit into the sad selection of lost property they chucked onto the field.

I also think my OCD stems from that. At least partly. Touching damp and unwashed clothing was wildly unhygienic, even by 1980s standards.

Totally agree! I challenged exactly that in 1977 when being bullied by the teacher to run a mile fast. I said that you don’t expect everyone to be good at maths so why do you expect everyone to be able to run?
put me off for years. Took running up at 50 and found I loved it!

I was terrible at music. Rubbish at french (although having lived there I'm now quite good), I couldn't cook so HE lessons weren't good either.

Somehow none of it mattered like PE though. I think because team sports are designed specifically to set class mates and friends against each other.

No-one else cared if my butterfly cakes came out flat with violent purple icing, I got verb declensions wrong or I squeaked and groaned my way through cello.

Why exclude P.E., @BeRubyReader - the first experience many of us had of institutional humiliatiopn and abuse?

Mine was Art - I loved it until I started getting marks for it and discovered I was crap rather than just someone who enjoyed creating.

Art and textiles. Both teachers made it clear I should not be pursuing either as a GCSE!

Needlework - in particular dressmaking was hopeless - strange as I was actually quite good at embroidery but we never did that.

French - I was fairly near the top in my other subjects - but could I do French - no just didnt get it - when Ive been to France I freeze when trying to speak any more than Bonjour - I can read simple French and get the general idea. Never understood why I was so hopeless.

It's a shame about PE isn't it. I know a number of grown women who hated it at school but who quite enjoy keeping fit now. Research shows that the issue for girls is often what you have to wear – and if plain black joggers were allowed (and why not?) they would enjoy it more (I had to do gym in navy blue knickers fgs). So schools should really look at that (and tbf the one I taught in did allow any black trousers or leggings).

It's also a shame about the MFL @BeRubyReader – I can see how the speaking assessment is a challenge though. Would you learn a language now or has it put you off forever?

as well as the hideous PE kit (tho I didn't mind PE itself) I also found art a challenge and never did very well. I dropped it as soon as I could to take an extra language.

PE. Hated every second of it.

PE and languages for me too. But especially PE.

You'd never get a kid who was bad at maths being made to answer questions publically in front of a whole school of parents and classmates whilst simultaneously 'letting their team down' when they came last everytime. My kids sports day seems a lot gentler now than mine- lots of races run in a relay so its not as obvious who is going slow.

@drspouse my maths teacher did laugh at me and humiliate me in front of everyone because I couldn’t do Maths and she certainly wasn’t sacked, sadly. I still panic when I have to do any kind of maths now I’m middle aged!

hockey. I was the worst. My best friend was hockey captain.

Art for sure. I was not very good at it, but now I've seen my children's schools, I think it could've been more fun and creative rather than treated that way where I felt so crap at it.

Music. I love music and was a really enthusiastic student but the teacher (one music teacher for the whole secondry school) very obviously had favourites. She was mean and sarcastic to anyone else. I have a good singing voice but stage fright to awful to use it thanks to her.

I loved languages and wanted to do Spanish O'Level but the only Spanish teacher was the evil Nun. She became my Frrnch Teacher. I was so terrified I couldn't say my name in French never mind English! I aced the translation and written papers thankfully.
my spoken Spanish is quite good. I still struggle speaking French. I can understand what is said but get tongue tied when responding.
I had a lovely Nun for Latin.

Humiliated in Maths and Sports. By the same teacher.

PE... I couldn't do the high jump. And once during hockey when I was chatting instead of running she shouted no wonder you've put on so much weight. That along with my mother set off years of disordered eating x

Textiles. The only teacher to make me cry in secondary. And it was because I couldn’t get the hang of knitting. I can’t say it has held me back in life.

PE was of course ritual humiliation.

Maths- I was 2nd set doing well, they moved me up to top set and I struggled so much, felt stupid.as I just couldn't get some of the work, plus some of the girls were awful to me.
I asked to move several times but they refused, I think because it looked good on paper, I only got a C as it was a higher paper and didn't understand half of it!

Maths. I am so bad with numbers it is embarrassing at times apart from the very basics.

Maths. I hated being put on the spot to answer questions. I lost all my confidence. I never got it back and will avoid mental arithmetic as much as possible.

Drama!