Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Teachers Describe The Worst Thing A Student Has Ever Done To Them

Teachers Describe The Worst Thing A Student Has Ever Done To Them
NeONBRAND on Unsplash

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!

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

A young boy cries inside a claw machine as firefighters work to rescue him.
@eric_hz143/X

Wisconsin Firefighters Go Viral After Rescuing Boy Who Got Stuck Inside Claw Machine—And The Internet Has Questions

There are plenty of childhood rites of passage, like scraped knees, questionable snack choices, and an unwavering belief that the claw machine is winnable. (Hint: it's not.) But one Wisconsin kid took that curiosity a step further, somehow ending up inside the very game designed to relieve him of his allowance.

How he landed in there is a mystery, but he was rescued from the machine almost as soon as firefighters arrived. As crews moved into position, the boy clutched the pile of plush toys around him, peering out through the glass.

Keep ReadingShow less
Courteney Cox, winner of the 'Artists' Inspiration Award', Jennifer Aniston, and Lisa Kudrow attend SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA Foundation

Lisa Kudrow Just Sounded Off On The Gross Behind-The-Scenes Treatment Her Female 'Friends' Costars Were Subjected To

Two decades after Friends defined a generation of sitcom television, Lisa Kudrow is pulling back the curtain on what she describes as a “mean” and at times inappropriate behind-the-scenes culture that didn’t treat its female stars equally.

While the NBC hit sold audiences on the easy chemistry of six tight-knit friends, Kudrow talked about a writers’ room dominated by men and shaped by behavior that often crossed the line. In a recent interview with the Times, Kudrow pointed to an overwhelmingly male writers’ room of 12–15 people as a key force shaping that dynamic.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millie Bobby Brown
Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown's Upcoming 'Enola Holmes' Sequel Is Getting Roasted After Fans Notice Bizarrely Modern Detail In Promo Pic

One thing about beauty standards is that they change drastically over time. That does not seem to have occurred to the good people at Netflix, however.

The platform just released first looks at the third film in its series Enola Holmes, set in the 1800s and starring Stranger Things actor Millie Bobby Brown.

Keep ReadingShow less
AT&T Stadium at Texas Tech
John E. Moore III/Getty Images

Texas Tech Just Banned The Teaching Of All LGBTQ+ Topics In Classrooms—And Critics Are Sounding Off

A new memo issued by the Texas Tech University System (TTUS) chancellor impacting programs and course content across their five campuses drew sharp criticism for its bigotry in the form of restrictions on LGBTQ+ topics in the classroom to comply with the state's Reforming Faculty Senates Act.

TTUS is a public, state-funded group established in 1999 and includes Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, and Midwestern State University.

Keep ReadingShow less
ICE agents at Atlanta airport
Megan Varner/Getty Images

The White House Just Tried To Rebrand ICE Agents As 'NICE Agents' With Hilariously Propagandistic Graphic

The White House was criticized for sharing an image to rebrand ICE agents as "NICE" agents, including a poster of an agent kneeling next to a child that has been condemned as blatant propaganda.

The decision came after President Donald Trump shared a post from a supporter urging him to change the name of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would change the acronym from ICE to NICE. Trump said in a post on Truth Social it would be a "GREAT IDEA!!!"

Keep ReadingShow less