Siblings are… amazing. We love them, we hate them. We go through a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings towards them throughout life. Sometimes, people who have siblings wish they didn’t, and only children, sometimes, to have some.
Yes, siblings can impact your teacher’s view of you.
Sometimes our siblings do things that impact us, such as becoming a teacher’s favourite or a teacher’s worst nightmare, and, regardless of what our parents say to try to reassure us, it impacts us at certain times. Fortunately, I haven’t been impacted majorly by my older brothers’ legacy regarding teachers. Both of them kind of… “blend in” as your average students. But there are always the instances where your siblings are exceptionally good, or at least known to be good at something, and you get asked, or people assume that you are also good at that. Things like, when I was asked in year 7 “Oh, your older brother was alright at art, how about you?” Unfortunately, not, no. I’m afraid my art capabilities stop at stick figures, and even they come out extremely disproportionate. Side note: if you can do better than a stick figure, good job, you are amazing. I wish I could.
An upside, however, of siblings knowing teachers or being taught by them is knowing stuff about the teachers before you even have your first lesson with them. It is almost as if you are getting a preview of what they’re like. In my personal experience though, watch out when you ask your siblings these questions because it is possible that the simple question of if they have had or know this teacher, can turn into a twenty-minute-long rant about whether or not they like the teacher, and also highlights and lowlights of classes with them… just thought I would give you a warning. Siblings are also not 100% accurate resources on what a teacher is like because it depends very much on an individual.
The nicknames your sibling’s friends give you, or not
I’d also add here the nicknames. Younger siblings will probably know this more than older siblings, although it goes both ways. The most common nickname, one that easily can come from younger sibling’s friends or older, is the “_____’s sister/brother”. Where sometimes your older or younger sibling’s friends don’t even know your real name, and just refer to you as their friend’s sibling. Unfortunately, this has happened to me, no, it does not always pass after you tell them your name, if my oldest brother’s high school friends come over, they still refer to me as “Selwyn’s sister”.
There are other nicknames that sibling’s friends call you as well that I have found to be common, but less so. Such as being called either your sibling’s name Junior or your last name Junior. I also have been called this, however by my other older brother, who, by some of his friends was just called Sweeney, and so therefore I was Sweeney Junior. Honestly, I much prefer this to the friend’s sibling nickname.
There are not always nicknames that friends give to siblings. My younger brother is just Shay. His name. It depends on your sibling(’s) and their friends on whether or not you have ever gotten one.
If you have one, share the nickname you got from your sibling’s friends in the comment section!
Different siblings’ attitudes towards you in school
Some siblings tend to take the, pretend they don’t exist method at school. They only talk to their sibling when they have to or want something from the other. This works well for some. It can be beneficial, allowing you to be yourself at school. It can also allow you to not know that your sibling is
away on camp until they come home with a bag, resulting in your mum questioning you how you could not have realised.
Some siblings, as portrayed more by my younger brother, have a more friendly approach during school. Giving waves to each other in the corridor, asking what each other has next, in brief conversations and so forth. It’s a step up from being ignored, as long as you are on good terms with your sibling, otherwise, there’s the side eye or the death stare. Fun.
Some sibling relationships, which I don’t believe I will ever have at school, are way more friendly. I mean, specifically going up to them at recess or lunch to talk to them or sit with them. Cannot imagine any of my siblings doing that. Ever.
Whether your sibling ignores, you or your best friend at school creates an unease, and hope that teachers don’t realise your siblings or not. I think we can all agree that they have a massive impact on our lives.
Like this article if you believe you are the better sibling.
