Discrimination does not know skin colour, it can make anyone its victim. In the short stories “A Teacher’s Reward” by Robert Phillips and “Long, Long After School” by Ernest Buckler, there are two characters who have been victims of discrimination when they were in school. One of them by his teacher, and the other one by other students. People are the product of their surroundings, and when one is being discriminated against or being bullied, it will affect their future in a very negative way –no matter who they may be.

In “A Teacher’s Reward”, Raybe was bullied by his teacher because of his financial conditions, therefore, his classmates would not accept him as a friend. Raybe explains how Miss Scofield treated him too harshly when he was in class because he did not have the money that the other kids had. He would even get blamed for things that he had not done because of the prejudice that existed against him. Raybe explains to Miss Scofield, “Because you picked on me all the time. Made me out worse than I was. You never gave me the chance that the others had… And you always told me I was dirty. Just because my aunt couldn’t keep me in clean shirts like some of the others. You punished me for everything that happened,’’ ( P. 386, Philips). This is evidence that Miss Scofield bullied Raybe. He then goes on,   “The other kids left me out of things because you were always saying I was bad” (P.386, Philips). That means that because of how Miss Scofield treated him, the other kids would not become his friend, and her treatment turned him into an outcast.

In “Long, Long After School”, Wes, the main character is often bullied by other kids because of his skin colour, but unlike Raybe, he had Miss Tretheway as his supporter. There were many times when other kids made fun of Wes, or bullied him because of his skin colour. Like when “[The girl] wouldn’t take my hand. She said ‘Your hands are dirty’” (P. 50,Buckler). This shows that Wes was bullied because of his skin colour. However, unlike Raybe’s teacher, Miss Tretheway was kind to Wes, and would confront the bullies. When Wes was called dirty be the girl, Miss Tretheway said, “‘Why, Marilyn, Wes’s hands are much cleaner than yours. Maybe Wes doesn’t like to get his hands dirty,’” (P.50 Buckler). By defending Wes in situations like that, he made felt more comfortable in his skin, and made the bullies ashamed of themselves. Miss Tretheway kindness, made the other kids’ harsh treatment less hurtful.

Although Wes had Miss Tretheway as his supporter, he did not turn out to have a normal life, just how Raybe did not have a normal life. When Miss Scofield asks Raybe about his occupation he says that he has “been into prison”(P.387Philips). Therefore, it can be concluded that Raybe did not live a normal life, and had become a fugitive. In “Long, Long After School” The Narrator describes Wes as an outcast by saying “I should say that Wes is our local ‘Character’. His tiny house up behind the ball park is furnished with almost nothing but books,” (P. 48, Buckler). When the narrator describes Wes as their “Local Character”, it gives the reader the impression that Wes is not welcomed as a normal person to their communities, therefore he is treated as an outcast. As visible, neither Wes or Raybe did not have a life like the other students had, because they were the victims of discrimination.

At last, it is the people’s treatment that can form a human’s way of living, and if the people around  a person , or at least, most of them do not show love to the person, it will affect their future. Just how Raybe and Wes were bullied in school and none of them turned out to have a normal life because Raybe was thrown in jail, and Wes was known as a weirdo in his town. People need to learn that their actions have consequences. They may not see or feel those consequences in their own life, but other people can become a victim to their cruelness, and it can affect them for their whole lives.