As If I Hadn't Spoken

I am sick of not being listened to. In my class last night I made a point, which I know I didn't make in the most elegant way possible, but I think I still got my idea out. My teachers seemed to think deeply about what I said, but none of the students really responded. About five minutes later another student in class said in a more polished way what I thought I was saying before, but this time several students responded in the same way our teachers responded to what I said, as if it was a deep thought. I don't know if I cannot communicate well with other people, or if I am on a higher level than my peers. Since other students understood it once the other student said it, it was almost like it was their point, their breakthrough, not mine, because that is what really impacted students. That is really frustrating because it was insightful and useful to our conversation, and I was proud of it.

Today I had a conversation with my two teachers from that class, which we have once a semester and is part of our class work. It seemed like whenever I tried to answer their question they restarted the conversation by restating the question or asking a new question. Granted, I couldn't answer most of their questions head on, but when I tried to propose something else to look at to get us their or a tangential question that I might have something to say about. They kept refusing to talk about what I proposed, and we never actually talked about anything. They were too stuck on their ideas and didn't seem to listen to me or at least humor me by talking about anything I brought up.

During class today, I volunteered to explain something. I have a history of explaining things in this topic well and felt like I could offer a concise and clear explanation of the thing. I spoke for a minute or two and then sat down. Someone who is historically adept at this subject asked a question which I did not understand. For the next forty minutes the class attempted to address his question in many ways, none of which were satisfactory. Eventually several points were made separately which combined gave an answer to his question. I had talked about all of those points in my explanation at the beginning of class. I feel like those forty minutes could have been used better, if I had been heard by the people in the class.

I am sick of hearing ideas I said come out of someone else's mouth later in class as if I hadn't said anything.

It is frustrating that I don't know if I don't say things well enough or if other people are the problem. Some people understand me, though.