It's no secret that teaching is hard. If you're not dealing with unruly students, you're dealing with unsupportive admin, to say nothing of all the work that's required of you when you're technically off the clock.
But let's go back to the subject of unruly students for a second: They can be more than merely unruly. In fact, they can pose a threat to a teacher while they're working. Who the hell wants to work in an environment where you might be assaulted by your charges?
Believe it or not – it definitely happens.
People shared their stories after Redditor TheRealZFinch asked the online community:
"Teachers of Reddit, what's the worst thing a student did to you?"
"After an inquiry..."
"I had a student run into me and bounce off of me. She then accused me of shoving her and hurting her back. I was relieved of my position and I resigned. Fortunately the footage shows that I was hit by her, but I still lost my job."
"After an inquiry with the Texas Education Agency they found I did nothing wrong and I got to keep my license. Fortunately I was offered a position with a government contractor making more money with a lot less stress. I never want to step foot in a classroom as a teacher ever again."
damnpenguins4269
I knew a teacher in a similar situation that forced her into early retirement. She was bitter until the end and I can't say I blamed her one bit.
"Had another student..."
"Out loud to the whole class, I had a student wish cancer on my unborn son. Had another student say he would shoot my wife."
mywifemademegetthis
Hopefully this student was removed and received some serious help. It wouldn't surprise us if you're no longer teaching.
"During my first year..."
"During my first year of teaching a student put coins in a condom and then flung it at me. It got wrapped around the document camera I was using... but hey, at least they have protection on themselves."
HistoricalPublic80
Ha! At least you have a good sense of humor about the whole thing.
"Had a high school student sneak up on me..."
"Had a high school student sneak up from behind me, jump on my back and lock me in a rear-naked choke. I was able to break out quickly and he bolted from the school."
MrHill1971
That is terrifying. The student must have been caught and punished after that, yes?
"I taught elementary kids..."
"I taught elementary kids in Korea and they were honestly angels, but when I subbed for a friend’s high school class for a week I had a student and his friends try to lock me in the classroom alone with them while they acted really overbearing and sexual."
punctuationist
Being trapped in a room with students sounds terrifying. They are so unpredictable.
"Just a lot of general disrespect..."
"Just a lot of general disrespect and apathy towards anything educational. And that was about 90% of the students. Very little to no support from admin or district."
"They act (and talk) like they care about the kids, they have meetings and draft long, exhausting 'frameworks' for teaching and classroom management, but when it comes to actually doing something about the problems facing teachers and helping the kids, they do nothing."
littleshopofhoors
Many of the teachers I have met have told me that though they dealt with some terrible students, few things irked them more than admin.
"A colleague..."
"A colleague was stalked by a kid. Found out where she lived, where she shopped, what her routine was. Used to get her friends to stand outside her house and harass her outside Tesco."
"She would make comments in class, such as 'Aren't green curtains nice?' knowing the teacher had green curtains, for example. It got so bad she got the police involved and ended up moving house."
EveningRose619
It is unsurprising that this wasn't taken all that seriously. Women who are stalked seldom are taken seriously.
"A 14-year-old boy..."
"A 14-year-old boy threatened to beat me up and 'get me' after school. When he stormed out to scream in the corridor, I had to lock the door. He then was pounding on the door and screaming at me."
"There was no phone in the room and teachers aren't allowed their mobiles on them. So one of the kids had to phone the office for someone to come help, as the other teacher in that corridor wasn't bothering. Nothing was done."
EveningRose619
No phone in the room?! Hopefully this rule has been changed.
"I'll never forget..."
"I'll never forget the day I had a student light off a firework in my classroom. It's not the worst thing I've ever had a student do in my classroom, but it's definitely the most unexpected thing that I've had happen."
DerekIsAGoner
Fireworks are so dangerous and people don't seem to realize this until gruesome accidents happen.
"I was a professor..."
"I was a professor for a short while before I noped out of there. I had a student hack into the lab cluster and encrypt the drive because he didn't like another student. Luckily while I was trying to "reason" with him my other students unencrypted the drive."
BeaBeaTurtle
Okay, this is evil... and genius and I hate it? Talk about an inconvenience.
"I had a student..."
"I had a student bring a weapon to school with a list of people they were going to knock off with it, myself included. Side note, the school wanted to return the student to my classroom after a week, I had to get a court order to stop that from happening."
nicehumansfinish1st
This whole experience sounds like it would have been prime for a proper lawsuit.
"A very aggressive child..."
"A very aggressive child attacked me, digging his nails into my arm and drawing blood. He then twisted my arm backwards. That was a fun report."
Winchesters_TARDIS
When I read stuff like this, I am reminded that I don't particularly like to be around children.
Not only is being a teacher difficult, it also comes with all of these risks! Rethinking whether you should teach? So are all the people in the profession to begin with.
Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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