I had both atrocious nasty little bullies of teachers who were more immature than their charges, and also simply wonderful teachers who inspired interest in their subject and put themselves out as far as humanly possible to aid their students.

I've no idea why, but most of the excellent teachers I knew were male while most of the immature spiteful ones were female. Bizarrely, I encountered some of these same bitchy immature figures when working as a teaching assistant and observed the exact same behaviours from them as an adult, as I'd been on the recieving end of as a child. I think positions of power can bring out both the best and the worst in individuals. Teaching is unfortunately no different, except that children are very vulnerable to the damaging emotional impact of such thoughtlessness in adults responsible for their development.

My negative experiences with nasty cows of teachers very nearly destroyed my natural joy of formal learning at an early age. Fortunately as said, I also had some genuinely fabulous teachers too and they will always be remembered with respect, gratitude and affection.