made a teachers life hell now feel guilty

When I was about 13 until 16 (back in the 1970's) one of our teachers was a quite elderly man and he actually flew spitfire aircraft during the second
world war. He was one of the men known in Britain as "the few". They were called that because I believe Britain only had about 20 fighter aircraft and the took on the Luftwaffe that had hundreds of aircraft and the British still managed to winn the airwar known as "the battle of Britain".
Anyway we used to get him in tears because we would ask him which side he was on during the war, and his nickname (that we used to call him) was "Hitler" We were so disorderly and insulting to him that I feel quite ashamed now and sometimes really regret that I could have taken part in this activity.
Is it right to have this guilt now that I realise exactly what those people did for us? I find the guilt of it so unbearable sometimes that I just wish there was something I could do to put things right.

 

Kids do stupid things. Hell, everone does stupid things. Sometimes all you can do is accept that you did the wrong thing, and resolve to never do that thing again.

Maybe you could try tracking him down, through the school or through a list of WWII vets and talk to him about it.

 

yeah, but he said he was a quite elderly man. we all have things we regret. the fact that you regret doing it shows that you have matured. perhaps you could send something, like a thank you card to one of his living realatives? thanking them for his service. or maybe even find his grave, and apologize.

 

You are giving him great credit as a teacher ... clearly you have learned a lot.

 

Oh. Must have missed the part where he said he was an elderly man.

Maybe you could make a donation a war veteran foundation or something.

I think the remorse you feel for the way you acted is enough of an apology. I'm sure if he were alive today he'd forgive you.

I can't think at the moment. Sorry.

 

I think you should still see where his final resting spot was. If you can, go out there and talk to him. He'll listen. You're obiously sincere about it.

 

I doubt it matters if you go to his final resting place or not. If one still exists in some form or other once one dies, it's not like they'd hang around they're rotting corpse for eternity. And if they did, they'd be under six feet of earth, and if they could hear you through that, i'm sure they could hear you from wherever you where. Still, going to his grave is more "symbolic" i guess. Not that that really matters.

 

Thanks for your suggestions, and I am quite sincere about this - I have spoken to a few friends I have and none have said anything like the advice here. I do believe you are right and I especially like "revolution time's" suggestion. Its strange but we all give teachers a bit of hell when we we young but - I just feel in hindsight that he deserved better from us, he was actually a kind man. An example that he took light heartedly was the fact that he used to change out of his shoes into a pair of slippers in class. One kid we knew sneaked into the classroom during the break and nailed his slippers to the floor. Now that all the tributes to those veterans have been played on telivision I just feel now is the right time to try and put something right - the whole episode has plagued my mind for several years now.
Thank you all for replying

 

Wow..that story seriously crushed my heart, poor guy..wow..i'm surprised he even came back to teach the next day.

 

My eyes hurt very bad right now. Well I have came to the conclusion that if you did something to someone and it hurt their feelings deeply. They will most likely remember what you did and hold a slight grudge against you. So it really doesn't matter, we just have to move on.

 

I suggest you give yourself some space. You weren't given a choice to be in school, and circumstances influenced you in ways that it was easy to join in ridiculing/teasing that man.

Some say that wisdom is knowing the consequences of one's actions. Now that you have opened to such wisdom, you can take the responsibility to live your life from such an understanding (of knowing how easily/deeply people can be affected by your actions), and let go of All guilt. Guilt cuts us off from the love that we need to be the best beings we can be.

 

You have repented on the non critical. The non critical things you have done may have been wrong but are only slight compared to others. But to see the way of your errors and to apologize to them is far more crucial in the long run then worrying about the negatives. I wished there was more people like this in my life. Just keep that mind open and you will excel. Peace

 

u should be ashamed,u were rude,ignorant,mean,cruel.and now u feel bad about it?what good is that going to do,its a little too late to feel bad about it now.could you imagine the emotional hell u put him thru.be proud of what you did,you belittled and possibly destroyed a war hero who put his life on the line for your coun try.could you imagine he must've thought it would've been better if he died protecting your countrys freedom?way to go.clap clap clap