What was it like to attend a school with a sibling at the same time?

I had an older brother that was 2 years older. We’ve always been good friends and never had a rivalry. He drove me to school so I wouldn’t have to ride the bus, but I had to catch it on the way home as he was in sports and worked. I don’t ever remember hanging out with him during school though. He was busy with his friends and being older, they didn’t want me to tag along. It put a crimp in their style.

Two older sisters, and we were all two grades apart. Ugh. “Are you as smart as [oldest]? Or maybe as hardworking as [next oldest]?” I was always delighted when I had a teacher who had had neither, so there was no comparison.

The good news was that I was in classes with bunches of other younger sibs, so we all commiserated.

My younger sister was in elementary school at the same time as me. We were 3 grade years apart. When she was in kindergarten and I was in 3rd I remember sometimes going to her kindergarten room with my mom to drop her off or pick her up. Otherwise, I never saw her. She only went to school a half a day in kindergarten.

When she was in 1st and I was in 4th I was on the other side of the building and never saw her during the day.

We moved when we were in 2nd and 5th and I probably saw her 3 times the entire year during the day when our classes happen to be in the same hallway at the same time. I always liked running into her. Same the following year. We never had much time to even acknowledge each other, because in elementary school you need to stay in line and move with the class.

I think I would have really liked if we could have been together in some classes or at lunch time. If my mom had not put me ahead a year that would have been the case in jr high.

Our high school was 10–12 and she lived in NY for 10th and 11th, so by the time she came back I had already graduated. If our high school had started in 9th grade she would have been with me when I was a senior. I think maybe that would have made things easier for her, but I don’t know. I only went to school a half year in 12th grade.

I’m currently in this situation.
It’s not too bad although he yells my name in the hallway whenever he sees me.
I’m a senior and he’s a freshman

Yes, my older sister was a year ahead of me, and she was a goody-goody. Straight As, and so on.

I frequently had the same teacher she had had bu a year later, and I was constantly being compared to her. It was a royal pain in the ass.

I was also the one who got into trouble for stretching the rules. She never did.

I have an elder brother by 1yr & one younger by 2, guess you could say i’m “piggy” in the middle.
We followed each other throughout most of our school years but only one incident really stands out.
I was punished with detention through mistaken identity as my younger bro had taken it upon himself to steal some sweets (candy) from a kid in his year.
This unfortunate pupil informed the headmaster giving only our surname as evidence, a series of events led to me being blamed, bloody teachers were incompetent back then.

My sister just ignored me anyway, so it was like we didn’t even go to school together. She only talked to me when she wanted something.

I have a twin brother, so the two of us were at the same schools for 13 years. We were even in some of the same classes sometimes. We’re fraternal, so there weren’t as many expectations about us being exactly the same as there could’ve been, but there were a lot of people who seemed genuinely surprised at how different we could be (he’s always been bigger, more athletic, more outgoing; I’ve always been quieter, shier, and more bookish)—that said, we’ve always gotten along well too, so I didn’t mind having him there. The “crowds” we ran with overlapped as well, so there were times when we’d get invited to the same party or something like that. I mean, sure, sometimes he annoyed me and it was frustrating that we could never seem to get away from each other, but now that he lives 3000 miles away from me across the country, I miss some of that!

My kids are two years apart. I asked both of them at various times over the years if they talked to each other at school, both said, “no, we don’t see each other.”

@Pied_Pfeffer Are the answers very different than you expected? Did you assume siblings closer in age got to see their siblings more in school? It seems quite the opposite for most of us. We barely knew the other sibling was in the same building.

My siblings are/were 6, 8, and 10 years older than me.

Even though we were never at the same school at the same time, teachers were always comparing me to my older siblings.

If they previously had one of my sisters, the teachers always seemed a bit disappointed with me. And if they had my brother, they seemed to assume that I would also be a trouble-maker.

It was a pain either way.

Thanks all. The stories are fascinating.

@JLeslie I had no idea what to expect, which is why I asked. I thought it would be interesting to read the answers and am not disappointed.

@Demosthenes Thank you so much for sharing. There were a few sets of twins at the schools I attended, and always wondered what it was like to have a sibling in the same classes.

My story takes a different twist. The oldest sibling (14 years older), graduated from university and moved home. She got a job teaching English at the local middle school. While there, I had to call her by Mrs. _____ (she was married by the time I got there). It was a bit awkward at times.

Well..I never had any school with my sisters. They were 3 and 4 years younger than me and I don’t remember them from school at all.
What I DO remember is being responsible for getting them safely on the bus after school. One day they never got on the bus. I was utterly beside myself, scared shitless. I was in 4th grade. When I got home no one was home. I frantically called the school because I didn’t know who else to call.
Turns out Mom had picked the little kids up for a dentist appointment and didn’t bother to tell me. I’m pretty sure I yelled at my Mom when she got home and didn’t even get in trouble for it! I was SO scared.

Had a brother 2 years older. It was okay. A lot of people knew me because of him. Of course, it is the job of every older brother to torment the younger and he did! But in the end, 20 years after H.S., I met my current wife who used to sit right behind him in homeroom through most of school. She thought I might be related and it opened up our conversations which led to a happy marriage. All-in-all, it wasn’t a bad thing.