Students are supposed to look up to their teachers.
And why wouldn't they? Educators are there to impart knowledge in the hopes of inspiring the younger generations to pursue their dreams as they pave the way for the future.
Unfortunately, not all teachers are built the same.
Curious to hear examples of situations in which teachers weren't being role models, Redditor _-_Yes_ asked:
"What's the worst thing a teacher has done or said to you or someone else?"
Some teachers are more into punishing students than enlightening them.
Turning A Blind Eye
"My glasses broke in fourth grade. It was manageable bc I sat pretty close to the front. My teacher asked me several times when I was getting new ones and all I could say was idk. One day, she moved me to the back of the room."
"Couldn’t see the board from back there. She stopped saying what to do out loud and told us the problems we needed to do were on the board. Told the girl next to me she better not tell me what the board said, if I wanted to know my parents needed to get me new glasses."
"I’d try and sharpen my pencil or get a tissue or something so I could sneak a look. The girl next to me would write down what it said in the board and slip it to me, that way I know what math problems to do or what pages to read."
"I was ten. I couldn’t force my parents to get me new glasses. Money was tight. She was an awful teacher."
"Once time a girl slammed my fingers in a desk, on purpose. She saw it and ignored it. I was a good kid. I never got in trouble and was always well behaved. Idk why she had it out for me."
– TheMudbloodSlytherin
The Better Sibling
"My teacher asked me if I was jealous of my older brother since he is such a great guy and so smart."
"It may seem small, but the tone of her voice was important. I had never realized people admired my brother in any way more than me."
"That was 30 years ago this year. I still think about it sometimes. It really hurt to hear someone describe me as the lesser sibling."
– Mahaloth
Too Young To Have Opinions
"Middle school English teacher first day of vlass: "'ou are too young to have formed any worthwhile opinions. Therefore you will keep your opinion to yourself."'
"The persuasive writing unit was a sadistic psych-ops aimed at destroying any iota of adolescent self-esteem."
– tossaway78701
The Shaming
"A teacher in high school called a student a slut and a distraction to the boys. He told her that if she was raped or taken advantage of, that she was 'asking for it.'"
"He made her stand in front of his class with her hands to her side. He then took a ruler and measured the distance from the bottom of her skirt to her fingertips. It was half of an inch. The teacher then sent this girl to the principals office and she stormed out in tears."
– GW2RNGR
Some teachers needed to keep their mouths shut.
Intimidation Tactic
"In kindergarten, my teacher held a coloring competition. I took so much time using crayons to color within the lines. She looked at mine and called it 'scribble Scrabble.'"
"I still resent that b*tch 30 years later"
– Sad-Memory-6513
Untalented
"This sort of reminds me when I was about fourteen and I asked my art teacher how I was doing, and she replied with pure confidence and smugness with a 'It'd be good, if a child did it.'"
"B*tch."
– Meoworangecat
Unsolicited Opinion
"Worst thing a teacher did to me was smash my dreams."
"I was in 4th grade, maybe, drawing. And my art teacher saw me and said 'well I know the one thing you'll never be is an architect!' Guess what my dream job was at the time. Like, why the f'k would say that to a child?"
– AndroidDoctorr
The Skeptic
"'You did this too fast. You must've cheated.' I had to beg my mom not to go to the school to complain. Looking back, I should've let her go raise hell. That teacher was a b*tch."
– cryptosleep1
Forced To Play
'“If you don’t go outside and play with the other children, when you grow up, you’ll be a cripple in a wheelchair.' Said to me when I was 5 (school starts young where I’m from) because I had bad asthma so I was reading in the library instead of running around. F'ked up on so many levels."
– coveredinhope
Out Of Tune
"Not me, but a friend. A music teacher once told him 'Music isn't supposed to be fun.'"
"My guy would go on to play in well respected metal and indie bands in the 2000's. Nothing huge, but locally recognized and did some international touring. He's a very talented guitar player, and had LOTS of fun playing music. F'k you Ms. James."
– Inside-Cancel
These instructors received a fail for Humanities.
Jumping To Conclusions
"One time I asked how to spell 'obituaries' and the teacher thought I was secretly trying to call her a b*tch in front of the class and sent me to the principal. We ended up googling it to confirm it was a real word and when he sent me back she refused to apologize or admit she was wrong in anyway."
– DMMEPANCAKES
Hear What You Wanna Hear
"My school was really violent."
"I got slapped in the face in first grade by the teacher for 'mouthing off.' I sure did afterward. Called her a b*tch. Got sent to the principal's office."
"We had one teacher who had a paddle with screw tips that stuck out about a ¼ inch. Same teacher would also make you put your head up against a concrete wall if you refused the screw tip paddle, so the regular paddle would hit you, then you'd smash the top of your head into the wall. Your choice."
– PeopleLikeUDisgustMe
False Accusation
"My golf instructor called me a pervert in front of the whole class. I got up to use the bathroom but the men's room was locked, so I knocked and then went and used an empty women's room. I was 9 years old and probably would have had an accident if I didn't go right away."
"But when I walked out of that women's bathroom, the teacher was right there outside the door to scream at me. He had security with him and made a big scene out of it. When we both went back to the group, he told the rest of the golf class that I was a pervert and liked to use "the ladies' room" so I could watch girls pee. Of course everybody laughed."
"I was so embarrassed I told my parents I wasn't going back and to tell my grandfather I was sorry that I wasn't going to use the clubs or the lessons he bought me. I never told them why until my wife brought it up over a birthday dinner at their house a couple years ago. I'm over it now, but as a kid it bothered me for years."
– anon
Racist
"My 6th grade teacher called the only Latino kid in class a 'f'king beaner' one day."
"She took a two week leave of abscence, was allowed to finish out the school year and was forced to retire a year or two early."
– Sea-Kitchen3779
When I was in sixth grade, our teacher took us outside to play softball together for the first time outside of P.E. class.
I've always hated sports and managed to avoid it until this point. I've never wielded a bat before but everyone else has.
When it was my turn to bat, I was very intimidated and afraid of the ball and swung it without putting any effort into it.
My teacher came charging at me and yelled, "Are you a p*ssy?? Everyone else knows how to swing!"
She grabbed the bat and proceeded to demonstrate how to take a swing at the ball, inches from my face. I'm not exaggerating when I say she could've smashed my nose.
I was terrified and embarrassed. It still pisses me off that she talked to an 11-year-old like that and borderline gave me a nosejob.
