Music Appreciation Class

I have to explain this because it keeps coming up in my memory.
When I started high school at age 11 (sixth grade starts High School for us in Trini), we had a class called Music.
When we got to Form 4 (9th grade), it was called Music Appreciation. There was one Music teacher, Mrs S.
She was apparently very good at what she did, sang opera, was known in music circles around the world and the 'it girl' of music in Trini.
But WHOA! She was some kinda mean.
We were ALWAYS scared.
I did well always in music theory because it was interesting, and I like learning about people so the lives of Mozart etc., was like reading a celeb magazine.
I could memorize notes and treble clef stuff no problem. But reading music was a nightmare.
I just could not get it at all!
So I had to write all the notes in my music composition book. So for exams I had the letters written down under the notes. I would play my recorder and try not to shake while she accompanied on the piano. I usually got A grades for my playing and stuff, but when we had group playing Mrs S would go mad.
I swear she would make four of us play at a time.
There was always someone who couldn't read the music and hadn't written the letters under the music notes. So they went too slow.
Then someone else didn't understand the tempo so they would go too fast.
Mrs. S would always hear it and scream.
She wanted to know who was fowling up the music. She wanted to know who was making a mockery of these great works. (The Bumble Bee was great work?)
So she would line us up and make each of us play while she screamed. I just tried to keep my composure. I mean this was some traumatic stuff going down.
I am sorry to say this but Shakuntala had a very weak constitution. She was always shaking when someone was yelling, so the music sounded shaky. Then Mrs. S would yell and say "get the hell out of my sight." I felt sorry for Shakuntala but glad that it wasn't me.

It got so bad that I had to stop sitting with Kisha, Giselle and Nikki during Music class.
I had to stop because they/we were always making jokes about why she was so cross. Of course it all had to do with the frequency of how often she was actually 'getting any at home' (remember we are age 13 when these jokes started, then music appreciation at age 16). So we would be giggling hard at everything she said, all these innuendos we made up ....most of which I didn't get anyway. The way she sat, how she walked, everything was a joke about how much she 'got'.
Well I know that laughing while you are trying to play isn't good...Most times I was kinda lipsyncing the stuff till she called on me....I just couldn't chance a mistake in group.
I was always stressed out in that class.
It was really pretty bad. Bt I must say that what I remember and like most about it was Bolero by Ravel (lot of controversy behind that piece), and the Erlking by Goethe. At least I appreciated something!
M