SOMETIMES A TEACHERS HELPED
to counter the loneliness & abuse

PREVIOUS: ACoA Ed Inv. (#1)

See ACRONYM Page for abbrev.

NOTE: There might be some overlaps with Qs from Part 1. You can skip those, of maybe here where in a different context, or you’ll remember something else.
TEACHERS
• how did you get along with teachers? Anyone special or especially helpful?
• how were you treated / what was their attitude toward you?
• did you ever get in trouble with school authorities? If yes, when & what for? What was the outcome?
• did you use drugs &/or alcohol connected to school  (events, people…)? What happened, & what was the effect on you?

PEERS
• How were you treated by other kids?  How did that feel?
• If you were not accepted by your peer, what do you think made you different from them?
• Did you have any friends? Who, how many & in what grades?
A BFF or best bud? For how long? What happened to the friendship?
• If you were popular, when, where & why do you think you were?
• If that changed at any point, what happened that caused a shift?
• What did you do, (if anything) or not do, to protect yourself from other kids?
• Did anyone help you with your social problems in school?

COLLEGE
• how many colleges did you attend? What type? (local, vocational, under-grad, grad….)
• who decided where? Why?
• how was the money put together for your schooling?  Did you have to pay it off? Is it done or ongoing?
• where did you live then? What were the circumstances? Did this help or hurt you?
• what were your majors & minors? Who picked that?
• did you change majors? Why? Which one did you prefer?
• did you finish college? If not, why? Do you want to go back & finish?
• if you go back to school, what would you take? Finish or add to an old major, or take something different?

GRADUATIONS
List all the graduations & special ceremonies you we part of at all your schools
• were any family members there? How did they behave? What did they say about these events?
• who else attended in your honor?
• were there any celebrations?
• did you enjoy these occasions? (aside from any family drama)
• were there any graduations or ceremonies at your school that you missed? Why?
• were there any you didn’t want to go to? Why? How do you feel about that now?

PS: What about school Reunions, for any level? Have you gone? If not why? If yes how did they turn out?

EVALUATION
• looking back, what have you learned about your attitudes toward
— schools & education             —  peers & teachers
— your intelligence, talents, study habits, accomplishments
• have these attitudes changed any since you’ve been in Recovery?
• have you seen improvements in the past few months or years?

✶ DOING WELL in life, with or without a formal education, implies not only native ability but also having certain skills, such the ability to understand, absorb & retain complex information.
In school it required concentration, comprehension, following instructions, memorizing, speaking….  many of which you probably did NOT get from your dysfunctional home!
You managed to survive the system & even excel, in spite of all the stress you went thru, so give yourself a lot of credit & give your Inner Kid a BIG HUG.
You can learn, no matter what you heard at home or anywhere else. You survived a lot of hard times. You ARE smart! You survived them, didn’t you?

If you have a 12-Step Sponsor, therapist or appropriate friend, you can share what you’ve written to get positive feedback!

NEXT: Family inventory Overview