i've had teachers be mean and irrational toward me in elementary school; they said that they were preparing me for middle school. i've had teachers be mean and irrational toward me in middle school; they said they were preparing me for high school. i've had teachers be mean and irrational toward me in high school; they said they were preparing me for college. i've had teachers be mean and irrational toward me in college; they said they were preparing me for the real world. i'm not sure why people are that way in the real world but it might have something to do with the way they were treated for the first 20 years of their life.