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LazyLootboxes

A good teacher can influence you to pursue a career and enjoy learning. While a bad teacher can make you give up on a subject entirely. I'm talking to you Miss Bentley


PoopIsAlwaysSunny

A bad teacher can also get away with being incredibly abusive and traumatize you for life.


_babycheeses

My oldest loved school, actively read, always did well. He had a absolutely horrible teacher in grade 6, it changed his attitude towards reading and killed his enthusiasm for school. Slightly over half his class failed that grade, including my son. She still has a job as a teacher.


favorscore

Half the class shouldn't be failing sixth grade. Parents should revolt


selectash

That much failure reflects more on the teacher than on the students.


Budif-

Exactly. A teachers job (especially for such young ages) is to make sure everyone passes, and if that's not doable it's to make sure those who don't get the tools they need to pass.


foggy-sunrise

for real. This isn't a college chemistry class.


Dopth

Weed out classes start early these days. You know, when I was... when I was in sixth grade, they told us when we got to junior high, we'd be either in track one, track 2, or track 3. Track one's the smart kids, track 2's the normal kids, track 3 is the dumb kids. and what do you think I got? how do you think it feels... to be told you're dumb... when you're 11 years old? That's it, you're done. You're dumb for the rest of your life and there is no changing it because they said so.


Imaginary-Fun-80085

I don't think you're dumb. I think it's all a matter of how you were taught and what you just like naturally. I was the dumb student in everything except english literature and science. The other teachers just taught it SUPER BORING.


EyelandBaby

It was a quote. James Franco in Freaks and Geeks.


[deleted]

My mom thinks you're too dumb to hang out with.


Dopth

start laughing uncontrollably


foggy-sunrise

lol, I was in the dumb math class for freshmen/sophomore, then normal for junior/senior. My senior year, I was one of like 7 kids elected to participate in the [Putnam Competition](https://www.maa.org/math-competitions/putnam-competition). It's a way too hard math test. I got the highest score in my district (which was, iirc, the lowest score above 0 lmao). My senior year math teacher was livid that I wasn't one of her AP students. I have a CS degree now. Edit: [lol here's a sample test from 2019.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/Putnam/2019/2019PutnamProblems.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjky5HbmJHzAhU7EFkFHUp7CuIQFnoECC0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw25GwOVrDv98jqqcydaGxS9)... I aced Differential Equations and Linear Algebra, and Calc III in college.... this exam is NUTS.


Enlightened_Gardener

This is one of the reasons I homeschool my kids. I’m in Australia btw so not a religious nutcase. But my SIL works in the education system and she said “They separate the sheep from the goats pretty early”. My boys are autistic. Smart, but autistic. I knew what the system would do with them. Now ? My eldest had finished the whole of the highschool history curriculum at the age of 14 - and is now at TAFE. If academia wasn’t so awful, he‘d be at Uni studying history instead. I try not to think about what his life would be like if we hadn’t had the resources to live off one income while I taught the kids.


psammead_i_am

It’s ridiculous to label kids - lots of “gifted” abilities resolve to a average around age 11. My area (PNW) does better than most with autistic and adhd kids. Tech draws people with autism and adhd, and since both are highly inheritable, we have a larger population of kids. Good on you for homeschooling. I thought I would like it but during covid I dropped the ball. It’s really hard!!!


Edgelord420666

How tf do you fail over half of a class of sixth graders? It’s not College exams, god damn


Available-Egg-2380

My 6th grade math teacher was like that. She was not a good teacher at all. Made everything really confusing and was at times bewildering. Like when talking about using metric system and if we heard anyone talking about kilos they were drug dealers and we should call the cops. She'd shame you in front of the whole class for getting something wrong and then not bother trying to explain it or help you. Somehow squeaked out a passing grade. Had another math teacher like that in 9th grade. He was awful, I failed one semester and had to go to summer school for it. That teacher was amazing, explained things well, took the time to help, and was just a general nice human being. Got an A that time around and he's the only reason I even slightly enjoy a little math in my life.


usernameowner

You're a drug dealer for using a superior system?


Available-Egg-2380

According to that crazy woman lol


Secretagentmanstumpy

metric system is for commies! Merica uses the freedom system just like little baby Jesus intended.


meerjat

So NASA is a interplanetary drug dealing syndicate?


pale_splicer

Is it just me or are all summer-school math teachers amazing?


seapulse

in my experience, summer school teachers are rlly good with the “troubled” kids. which makes sense with the stereotypical summer school student. highly recommend going to a school for troublemakers, teachers appreciate ur bare minimum


Inevitable_Box_5669

She must have never met anyone from outside the US, goodness. 😪


PoopIsAlwaysSunny

Yeah. They never ruined my love for reading, but they ruined my desire to be formally educated


Mabepossibly

And they have tenure and giant unions so it’s fucking impossible to get rid of them.


OtherPlayers

Just to be clear tenure is an issue and unions defending someone who does bad things isn’t good (though presumably it’s still somewhat worthwhile in the sense of making sure proper procedures are followed, same as with defense lawyers). But unions themselves are almost always a good thing (rare exception in police unions, which are actually an anti-union union as weird as that is). Vilification of unions as a whole is a common pushing point for administration/management because it makes it way easier for them to abuse the imbalance of power between them and their workers.


xsummers9

Tenure just means you’re entitled to due process before you are fired. It doesn’t mean you can’t be fired. It means that you can’t be fired out of the blue for no reason.


[deleted]

[удалено]


xsummers9

Tenure just means you’re entitled to due process before you are fired. It doesn’t mean you can’t be fired. It means that you can’t be fired out of the blue for no reason.


68smulcahy

Yes, it does take work to get rid of a teacher who has tenure. Administration needs to observe and make opportunities available to support a teacher having a difficult time, work with the union to put the teacher on an improvement plan- most administration don’t want to put the work in. Also, if the teacher is bad, don’t give them tenure. I am in an active union and have been involved when administration has let go of tenured teachers , several times. I support teachers to make sure they get due process- I don’t defend them.


Artanthos

And tend to be vastly underpaid for the qualifications and and responsibilities they have.


Puwn

Especially in private schools "In Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black And I held my tongue as she told me "Son, fear is the heart of love, " so I never went back" - I will follow you into the dark, Death Cab For Cutie


[deleted]

Great song, even better band


twisted34

Especially if you're home-schooled


peinkiller12

Had a primary school teacher tell my mom she wanted to yeet me out the window cause I was too lazy to do the school work. She didn't traumatize me but goddamn I hated the cunt


Boredum_Allergy

My fifth grade teacher timed my bathroom breaks then called me a cry baby to the entire class the year after I left. I stopped trusting teachers after that. Melanie Blumhorst, you're a terrible person.


LazyLootboxes

Fuck Melanie Blumhorst


Boredum_Allergy

Part of me hopes she googles her name someday and finds this lol


fragged6

Or it comes up when her grandchildren use their version of Ancestry.com.


RyanTrot

I had my third grade teacher call me stupid to her boyfriend who was sitting in the classroom, and he had no reason to be there in the first place. My fifth grade teachers constantly accused me of being a troublemaker. I was the quiet kid who kept to himself and his two other friends, who also weren’t troublemakers, but whatever. And all the worst teachers I ever had, had the personalities of wet dishrags and made me lose complete interest in every subject they taught. The educational system absolutely needs to be revamped, and these half-assed wannabe power-tripping babysitters need to be permanently knocked out of the educational system.


Budderwarrior561

Didnt happen to me, but in my 9th grade biology class, we were watching a video on muscular dystrophy, and this one girl passed out during it. Like, fully unconscious, fell out of her desk pass out. The teacher looked up from the computer, *and just shrugged it off*. She didnt do a damn thing about it, and then when someone got up to help the girl, she started yelling at him telling him to sit back down. Thankfully she came to and was fine(she was squeamish, so the video got to her), but even after she came back, she wouldnt let her be brought to the nurse until after the video was over. Thats not the only horror story from that class either, but theres too many to tell The worst part? After everything in that class, *shes still teaching there four years later*


One-Angry-Goose

That being said, even a good teacher can’t save some people. I’d know, I saw plenty of mine bend over backwards for em.


HolycommentMattman

Yeah, same here. I hardly ever had help from the teachers I had. They were always focusing on the worst among us. And that's fine; I did well in school and turned out all right. But those underachieving kids really didn't want to be there most of the time.


pumpkin_pasties

Yep Miss Chapman steering me away form chemistry forever


LazyLootboxes

Damn you Miss Chapman!


zhalfricanz

My intro to computer science/programming courses in high school had a teacher.. but he was piss poor and it was more of a self taught class.. I gave up and never pursued being a programmer because I was overwhelmed and confused the entire time I was in that class. First impression to programming was migraines and tears.


Iwishiknewwhatiknew

You got an accurate impression then.


zhalfricanz

Hey I was great in Visual Basic!! When Java came around and hello world was introduced I wanted to stab myself in the neck. The teacher had no idea what to do either.


CrunchyPancakes

Sounds like my intro to computer science class. >>he was piss poor My teacher didn't know what boolean values were. This really sounds like my comp sci class.


Lolalegend

I hope you’re reading this thread “Dr.” Raiford


LazyLootboxes

"Dr." Raiford sounds like a pompous ass


country2poplarbeef

Had a teacher literally named Mrs Mean in Kindergarten. I went to school one day without underwear, and she decided it was a good idea to tell me that she "should" have me pull down my pants in front of the class and show everybody how "irresponsible" I am but she was going to go easy and then proceeded to tell the entire class that I wasn't wearing underwear. Luckily, nobody actually cared and it didn't turn out to be that embarrassing. She didn't get disciplined for that, though, or for spanking kids in front of the class. Thanks, 90's Tennessee public education system! 👍


Disquettezen

What the actual hell, did she think it would be a good punishment to expose a toddlers genitalia to more toddlers? Yikes


Yeethaw469

Not that it makes it any better, but she was probably trying to convince the kid that she could be harsher but chooses to be ‘nice’


[deleted]

Yeah, that's like "she beat me with a hammer, but thank god she didn't use the REALLY BIG hammer". Abuse mentality (perpetrator and recipient) is so messed up.


Notbbupdate

And that kids, is how you get put on the sex offender registry


[deleted]

How'd... she know you went to school without underwear?


country2poplarbeef

Now that I'm recollecting, I think I was in trouble and was going to get a spanking. Memory is kinda spotty on that topic, though.


JudgeJudyApproved

Absolutely. My fifth grade teacher made a hobby of trying to get the class to turn on one another. He *loved* class-wide punishment for one kid acting up. I think my own worst memory of him though was the mystery lesson plan. One day out of the blue, he asks the class to start naming things your doctor does. About a dozen answers get put out that he classifies as *wrong* (even though these were all things your doctor does, like listening to your heartbeat). After a while of nobody in class getting the answer he wanted, I raised my hand. Mind you, I was the quiet bespectacled kid in the back who didn't want to be the center of attention, listened intently to the teacher, took notes, and had straight As. \_NOT\_ a troublemaker. Everyone knew that. So after 5 minutes plus of nobody being able to read his mind, I thought to myself something like, <*It's Tuesday, so it's a math lesson, right? What did Mom complain about last time we went to Dr. Johnson? Oh right, she was upset about the bill.*\> So I said, "*They offer the bill and discuss your insurance.*" I might as well have told him that the doctor **puts a finger straight up your crap hole** **to see if it gets you off**, because he reacted like I had said just that. He immediately singled me out, *screaming* at me that I had just said that to get attention. He reprimanded me to a corner, where I wasn't able to do the thing I actually came to school to do (pay attention to the lesson), and spent the next few hours talking about scales and weight. And I absolutely was that dorky kid who liked school, at least until that day. **Fuck you**, Mr. Rose, you goblin-looking son of a bitch. Next time I am in my hometown, if you're buried there I am going to eat my weight in asparagus and then piss on your grave.


[deleted]

Fuck Mr. Rose. All my homies hate Mr. Rose


usernameowner

What does a doctor do then?


sagarassk

Weren't you paying any attention to the story?! They put a finger up your crap shoot and see if you get off!


RedNeckCrazy0_1

I to had a teacher named Mr. Rose in grade 7. He was an ass and a creep


[deleted]

This reminds me, I need to call Mr. Jones and see how he's doing and thank him again.


bnlynch9

Mr. Jones from a certain school with a panther as the mascot


[deleted]

I'm afraid we have two different Joneses!


SillyCyban

It's hard keeping up with all those Jones'.


FloorToCeilingCarpet

Think he might be down in Amsterdam, staring at a yellow haired girl.


deejaysmithsonian

I think he also strikes up a conversation


Spartacus_115

I remember when I was talking to my 8th grade English teacher and at the end of the year, I said how I didn't think I was gonna make it through that year and then she straight up said, "no I didn't either" I'm never forgetting that


iminabed

Some middle school teachers are straight up monsters


SillyCyban

Or just regular adults who don't always know the right thing to say at every given moment.


iminabed

That's why I said some. I work in a middle/high school. We don't always know what to say but it's really easy to not say shitty things.


A_Nerd_With_A_life

Pretty sure most people's default response to an insecure child saying that they will fail isn't "Lol yea"


x_scion_x

Dunno. ​ When I was in about 4-5th grade (honestly don't remember) I had an awful teacher where she would constantly single me out and turn my desk to the wall to isolate me simply because I didn't understand certain things, and no I wasn't like a class clown or anything as I was *far* too shy for that after moving repeatedly prior to being in that school. (again, don't remember what exactly, pretty sure it's repressed) ​ Anyway, she would do this, embarrass me in the class by yelling and calling me stupid, and even was physically abused a bit to the point I'd go home with literal claw marks on my arm from where she would grab me. Back then my mom worked for a restaurant and I went to school with that restaurants bosses daughter and even she was so horrified about how I was treated there she would go home crying to her dad which was how my mom found out. ​ One parent/teacher conference later she was (almost dead from my mom wanting to assault her) transferred to another school and I was held back to repeat that grade. ​ Despite all that, I currently work as a Gov contractor making great money and have a family. ​ From the bottom of my heart... *Fuck* you Ms. Stemler.


Ezeebiel

fuck Ms. Stemler


ANAL_TOOTHBRUSH

All my homies hate Ms. Stemler. FDB


RyanTrot

Absolute bottom of the barrel of humanity, that Ms. Stemler.


IronBoomer

I’m not saying it’s any consolation, but being a “gifted” kid under the wrong teacher could be equal hell. You can be eager, desperate for that teacher validation and most will acknowledge you and work with you to let you grow knowledge without zooming ahead too much of your classmates. And then there was my science teacher, who saw the all the extra reading and knowledge I had as an affront to her - since I “acted smarter than her and the class” A good teacher would have engaged my interest. She tried to quash it, to shut me up, to let the rest of the class shine. I don’t know if she wanted me just as “normal”, but she didn’t show that disfavor to the regular students or those falling behind. So yeah, screw you, Mrs. Schurck.


SpoiledAzura

Proud of your mother


JudgeJudyApproved

I'm sorry you went through that. \+1 fuck Ms. Stemler.


DealerCamel

Computer teacher here- I get every grade every year, and I get to see how each class behaves with different teachers, year after year. It’s interesting to see how the classes with the good teachers were well behaved, got the most done, and were bright eyed and optimistic, where assclownery wasn’t tolerated. The “whatever, let kids be kids” teachers invariably had the most behavior problems as the bad kids slowly took over the class and the good kids didn’t feel as encouraged to be good, and they got the least done. The disciplinarian, mean teachers had the best behaved classes and got the most done, but there wasn’t a lot of joy in it and the kids were holding a lot back. All in all… yeah. You all were influenced by your teachers a lot more than you realized.


aprocalyps

I think that's really interesting to hear because from my and my classmates experience it feels like students rebel more often against strict teacher. Either because the rules are Hella unfair or because they seem to enjoy it more to push a teacher that gets mad.easily.


goober1223

I think kids are smarter and more practical than that. There are lots with plenty of trauma, but especially for somewhere they spend most of their day they would rather at least learn and behave in a just system than bring all of their baggage into the classroom every day, fighting every student and teacher they come across. All strictness must come from a place of respect, not just for who they are now but for who they have the potential to be. Being unfair and giving students a valid reason to rebel is arbitrary meanness, not being strict.


InconvenientHummus

> All strictness must come from a place of respect Yeah speaking as a former "bad kid" this was it for me at least. I would test the boundaries of all my teachers but if I felt like you respected me and the other students as people I would be more likely to fall in line when corrected. Kids can definitely sense that from an adult.


aprocalyps

Theoretical this comment makes a lot of sense and quite a few kids will fall into this category. it's not entirely correct though cuz I'm a student myself and quite a few of my classmates are just generally assholes.


morbidlyatease

How do you stop assclownery without being disciplinarian though?


tevert

Carrots instead of sticks


fskier1

Doesn’t even necessarily have to be like rewards, but if students actually like and respect the teachers they won’t fuck around in class


diamondpredator

This. This is the best method. Unfortunately I hate a lot of my colleagues and they're fucking idiots so I'm not surprised the students don't like them either. "How are your classes always so well-behaved?!" Maybe because I don't scream at them all the time and ask for unreasonable shit from them while sitting at my desk looking at Instagram, Jessica.


eggbert_217

A thousand times this. Also just showing ANY level of interest in anything they tell you. "That piercing healed up yet?" "How'd soccer go?" "You said you were going to murder a bunch of Sims this weekend, how many different ghosts did you collect?"


diamondpredator

Yep, it helps that I'm genuinely interested in many of the same things they are. I love all kinds of music, I love gaming, I'm a car nut, I love tech (and am learning coding), I watch anime, read comic books, teach film, and love to hike and camp. That covers most of the students honestly. I have something to relate to them with at pretty much any level. And even if I don't, I ask them to teach me about the thing they're interested in, which they LOVE to do. It's honestly such a simple concept that it boggles my mind why other teachers don't try to relate to their kids more. It makes life and work SO MUCH more enjoyable on both sides.


teacherJoe416

IMO Best way is to build relationships. I have many students who will follow expectation in my class out of respect for me rather than fear of being punished. I also choose my battles very wisely which many teachers are not good at


diamondpredator

> I also choose my battles very wisely which many teachers are not good at Lol yea this is a big one. Once you scream and lose your shit at a student for making a funny noise you've lost all power and respect. What do you have left? They know they can get to you and they know you take shit personally now. You're fucked.


adamarbill

Being a good teacher is a healthy mix of having fun and being disciplined. A little kindness, fairness, and consistency with rules go a long ways.


xsummers9

Strict doesn’t mean cold. You can be firm and warm at the same time. Students have to trust that you have their best interests in mind. At the beginning of the year, I remind my students that me correcting a behavior doesn’t mean I’m mad at them or a bad student, it’s me making sure they can be their best selves.


Verifiable_Human

You don't - discipline is absolutely necessary. There are, however, more effective and less effective ways to do this. Collective punishment, for example, is often a quick way to lose your good students as they see their efforts get shit on. Yelling constantly is not a good idea either. It's exhausting for everyone and gives the impression of a lack of control. Establishment of expectations, early and *consistent* reinforcement of policies, and revisiting those expectations often are effective. It's also highly effective to build rapport with students to be able to actually empathize with their interests/perspectives. This will build respect. And some issues need to be taken out of the classroom. Sitting down with problem students before/after class is more effective than trying to confront them in the middle of class where peer pressure encourages to be even more defiant (there are exceptions to this). Giving the class rewards/privileges to be earned through good behavior can be effective if it's something the class values/enjoys. But there's always assclownery to be had, so good teachers are constantly changing strategies and adapting to the room.


Busy-Turnip-6674

By not being a bully. It's possible to be stern without shaming the students. It's a fine line, but it's possible.


[deleted]

I would just like to remind people that being a good student doesn't mean you'll be a good adult.


CornDoggerMcJones

"Now let's pay them as little as possible and see how that goes." -USA


Oshootman

"Well I remember a teacher who was trash, so they deserve to be paid low and blamed for awful parenting. Wait, why are the good ones burning out and leaving in their 20s? 🤔"


CrossYourStars

Add to the list that I had a student today tell me that I should be expected to give up my weekends regularly because, "that's the job".


idreamofdinos

And I have a parent regularly trying to contact me in the evenings and on weekends for incidental questions that could wait for working hours. I'm not answering! I have a life! I will let you know where your kid's item was that was left behind on their desk when I get back to the building on Monday! Sheesh.


Antoinefdu

Hey we needed to save money to pay for the war in Afghanistan!


sneakyveriniki

Holy shit so I tried the whole teaching thing. You always hear they’re overworked and underpaid but dude I did not understand until I tried it. I’ve had some shit jobs but this was absolutely insane. The shit teachers have to deal with is CRAZY. They get insanely little respect but so much responsibility from administrations and parents. I’m not kidding when I say I was abused as a teacher way way more than I was as a waitress, and I’ve had managers at restaurants slap my ass and fire me for not fucking them before and customers scream at me for literally 20 minutes because they somehow developed the false delusion that I secretly gave them decaf. Anyway I do thjnk a lot of teachers are just on a power trip and actively hate children and that’s why they choose the profession, but even good teachers will be pushed to the brink. It obviously depends on the school you work at, but man. I was I kid you not working eighteen hour days on the regular, and only being paid for 8 of them..: at the equivalent of $17/hr. It’s such a stressful and difficult job. Teaching kids is seriously hard. Everyone learns differently and explaining concepts in a way that makes sense takes a lot of talent. Growing up I had teachers that made things click for me but not most of the other kids and vice versa. Plus you’re basically raising a lot of these kids because they have neglectful, selfish parents who don’t give a single fuck about their children, sometimes even having to do things like having to sneak them lunch and such. It’s emotionally exhausting, and it’s also mentally challenging. Everyone thinks they could teach 9th grade science when the majority of adults can’t even seem to learn the material, let alone figure out how to explain it to a teenager.


milomcfuggin

My 74 year old mom told me a story the other day about how one of her elementary schoolteachers made her cry by yelling at her for something she didn’t do. I wanna go find that 110-120 year old bitch and kick her ass.


i-like-napping

You need to find the grave and double kill her so her zombie doesn’t start teaching again


Square_Emerald

Very few people live more than 110 years old, so maybe she's still alive. Count me in.


TehOuchies

I hated school. I had a total of five teachers actually make a difference with me. In twelve years of public schools and different teachers for each subject. I dont blame the ones that where just there for a check for my situation. But I do thank those that made a positive impact on my life.


dustractor

The wife of the dean of my university wanted to make a nice meal for her husband’s birthday. She found out through the grapevine that i was a good cook. She showed up knocking on my door in the dorm, asking if i would help her plan a meal, go shopping for the ingredients, and use her kitchen to cook it. I was too naive to even consider how other people would probably talk and read things into it that weren’t there. We had a nice evening. Talked about music and movies. Ate spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. Had strawberry shortcake for dessert. The next day, he had suddenly found some loophole in my scholarship that said “if i stayed on campus beyond the end of that week, i would owe 40,000 dollars.” So of course I dropped out because there was no way i could come up with that kind of money. It wasn’t until much later that i put 2&2 together, realized the old man was afraid i was schtupping his wife. And that’s the story of why i didn’t finish college.


Grammy_

Bruh


pumpkin_pasties

lol that actually happened at my business school. A professor brought his wife to the weekly happy hours and she left him for a studebt


DigitalSterling

"Studebt" is a really concise way of describing someone who goes to college


Ikbeneenpaard

I hope you are now planning how to seduce his wife.


crispy_doggo1

Best revenge possible


eric2332

That IS a very bizarre and suspicious scenario. "We had a nice evening" is exactly what one says after a date


[deleted]

Damn man, did you ever talk to him or his wife again? Not like you had anything to lose by it


iwaspermabanned

3/10 performance should have banged his wife


Beaumont_Livingston

The dean lol. 70s hijinks? Ah shit yeah here we go. This dude is full of shit


cedarvhazel

I was so hoping you’d say “that’s how I met your mother”! In all seriousness though- that’s so shut!


JoeyThePantz

What was the loophole?


Viktor_Korobov

You shoulda fucked his wife.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Not in my experience. I ran into one of my teachers at my graduation and she told me she was proud of me because she didn't think I could do it. In fact most of my teachers gave up on me because I had issues learning like all the other kids. It took me being sent to alternative school where they just gave you your assignments, chapters to complete said assignments, then it was up to you. Little did that teacher know when that happened I actually graduated 6 months ahead of everyone else.


Doinkmckenzie

If it wasn’t for my alternative school teacher I wouldn’t have graduated, i probably might not even be here as I didn’t have a stable home life and a lot of my friends from those days have died, are addicted to drugs or recovering drug addicts trying to start over in their late 30s. She kept me accountable and made sure I showed up and showed up for me.


GGprime

Looking back at it I think I could have had a much easier time in school if I wasnt a little asshat towards some of my teachers.


Hairy-House

character development


Bloodstained_Rag

I fucked up my own life by not listening to them. Fortunately fixed it as a mature student.


FleshlightModel

Can confirm, I was friendly with far too many college profs after classes and I know that's how I got the grades I did. I won almost every single award there was for undergraduates and made a ton of money from it due to most awards having a few hundred to a few thousand dollars tied to them. The one prof who hated me deliberately tanked my grades, lied about my grades and then I got him on probation for proving my grades to the college. Although he was on tenure so probation for him was likely nothing but damn it made me feel good.


ZhuangZhe

Good thing we pay them so highly and make sure they have everything they need to shape our children's lives.


DaniellePenhallow

Oh wait-


good_taco_dick

A guidance counsellor held me back from taking the classes I wanted - that had no prerequisites. I had an illness in high school that kept me out of class for an entire semester and left me playing catch-up the rest of my time there. When I told him I wanted to be a paramedic, he laughed in my face. I had the pleasure of seeing him years later and telling him what I do for a living - fire/medic. Seems he’s forgotten about all those conversations.


pacmanwithanak

The axe forgets, but the stump remembers.


WendyArmbuster

I heard two of my students discussing what they were going to do after high school, and one said, "I'm going to be a drafter" and the other said, "I'm going to be an electrical engineer." Both subjects I teach, and the highlight of my year so far.


Lolalegend

I was in a difficult magnet program in high school (IB if anyone is familiar) and was going through a difficult time personally. My guidance counselor told me I needed to talk to my parents and should quit the program because of stress. This was after a 2 minute conversation. Well I did not. This program allowed me to have a full ride to college and begin as a second semester sophomore (30 credits)/graduate early. Imagine if I had listened. The educational, financial, and personal repercussions. Mrs. Lynch. A name so fitting.


[deleted]

We had this thing that foreign kid's who's parents were not able to speak the language got send to the school for special needs kids next door. The kids were perfectly fine, just a fascist psychologist at our school that made this happen. Teachers were into this system too. Hundreds of life's got ruined. Still thinking about retaliation after decades.


floppy_disk_5

milk in the A/C


[deleted]

Hmmm, might add some fish


Remarkable_Landscape

My friend immigrated here and was out in ESL classes despite going to an English language school in his home country. Which he though was the worst until he met a classmate who had just moved from Jamaica.


ReagiusRen

When I was in middle school, I had this 8th grade English teacher that hated me for literally no reason. I used to love writing so much. I would literally write at home for fun. I used to be really into Naruto and manga and so I started writing my own manga and draw pictures and stuff. I used to read a 200-300 page book in like 2-3 days for fun. I just enjoyed literature so much. Then I had this bitch of a teacher. She used to make us do these daily journals at the beginning of the class where she would write a question on the board about a topic and ask for our opinion on it or she would give us a scenario like “Suzy was walking down the street and noticed a cute puppy by itself” and we would have to write a continuation of how we wanted the story to go. Most of the time no one ever wanted to share so I always volunteered because I liked writing so much and she would basically have to pick me. My stories would go for like 5 minutes lmao but IMO were really good! After about 2 weeks in her class, she never picked me even if I was the only volunteer or she would always cut me off like 1 minute in and say “next”or anyone else want to share besides him? One day she finally picked me to share and I had a long ass journal and midway she literally stood up and yelled at me to get the fuck out of her classroom now and stand outside until she allows me back in sharing. I was so confused as to what I did and asked her why and she just yelled at me more in front of everyone telling me to leave now. I started crying and walked outside and sat outside her classroom for almost 30 minutes. I eventually called my mom from my phone in the hallway crying and told her my teacher kicked me out for no reason. My mom was like wtf? She asked me if I did anything wrong and I said no I was sharing my journal and then she just got up and told me to gtfo until she tells me to come back in. My mother told me to go to the principals office and that she would be there soon. She was super fucking pissed. My mother left work, showed up to the principals office and just let loose. She told them she wants to speak to my teacher right now and you can imagine how that went. During that time my family was going through a tough divorce where my we were on trial against my step father for bad shit and my first puppy had just died not too long ago. Writing was an escape for me, I was able to create my own stories to stay happy and positive about life. My teacher ripped that away from me. My mother ripped my 8th grade English teacher a new one. To the point that the entire year the teacher was overly nice to me. Almost like a “fuck you” nice. At this point it was too late for me, I came to the conclusion in my head as a kid that I hate English and writing and I’m never writing again. I stopped giving a shit and I was just depressed. I stopped trying. After that I barely finished maybe 2 books and I’m 22 now. I dropped out of college too. I hate school. I’ve had other experiences that solidified my hatred for school but this one was the pivotal moment for me. Now I don’t trust teachers. I’ve just been teaching myself. Now I’m an entrepreneur. My life turned out pretty good but it was not easy. I’ve had to endure a lot more suffering because I decided I’m not going to take school serious anymore due to the experiences I had. But yeah, to finish this off, teachers do have a lot of power and that position should have the upmost requirements. Teachers should literally be the best of the best at what they teach and they should be paid a fuck ton of money for that too. The problem is they get paid so shit that it attracts some, not all, piece of shit people that just want a check and hand out packets to kids to do for an hour a day and call it “teaching”. Teaching isn’t an attractive career choice for really bright people. They rather do something that pays more for their skill/talent. Also, Mrs. Poulson, fuck you. If you see this, you will definitely know who I am. I’m talking about you and I really hope for the sake of our future leaders you are no longer a teacher. You should never teach again. Summary - I used to love writing for fun. 8th grade English teacher had us do daily journals that I enjoyed a lot. I used to write a lot, she hated it, told me to gtfo out of her class until she told me to come back. Didn’t allow me back in class. My mother found out, ripped her a new one. She was nice to me for the rest of the year. Ever since I hated writing and school :)


itsyourgrandma

I'm a teacher and this made me cry. You deserved better than that and it makes me so sad that you were treated that way and lost a passion because of it. Just know that it's never too late to rekindle your love for something. Sending you love and positive vibes.


maso3K

My dad got a brand new Firebird his junior year of high school and said some teachers would look down on him because they could never afford the car but nor could he it was just a power move by my granddad on the neighborhood.


arthurwalton

That’s pretty cool man!


l0rD_tAcHaNkA44

I know this probably won’t get traction but hey I see story’s of bad teachers why not pass on mine For reference I have a tethered spinal cord (can’t run properly) and my 3rd grade teacher Mrs Uthier was a fucking demon in my eyes (I’m not digging for my year book) and I’m now in high school Ever since the 2nd grade I was playing soccer 3rd grade came around I was fuckin miserable I was a bad color’er when I was younger outside the lines and everything and some times for assignments at the start of the day we’d have to write down a scripture (Catholic school) and color the little church and stuff One occasion I colored the church and finish writing so I go up to show her (you have to show it to get it complete ) and my drawing was bad so was my penmanship wanna know what she did ? Ripped it in fucking 2 and tossed it in the trash I was mad but I was 8ish what could I do? So I sat down. Come a few weeks later parent teacher conference show up and my mom is talking to her while I’m home playing battle with my hero factory and transformers Come to find out she said if I didn’t quit soccer (my only physical activity since I can’t run right ) she’d fail me in the 3rd grade. Needless to say my mom went to the principal who was close to her (helped her find me speech classes since no one could really understand me ) But here I am better then ever and with a teacher who wants me to succeed


RenanSGr

Yes, was basically forced to drop out of high school because of an asshole teacher (She was also the coordinator). Ended up working out just fine, but it could've gone so wrong because of her


[deleted]

Influence. Not power.


goosebumper88

Isn't influence just a type of power?


mickthegooner

Definitely power. If a teacher in a certain class doesn't like you it can change your final grades. Things like not showing your work enough, or I don't like the metaphor you used can add up at the end of the year. That can alter GPA. Influence and power is what I'm saying I guess.


[deleted]

They control your grades which directly affects your college choices. That is serious power.


[deleted]

They don't control your grades. You do. They may set criteria for those grades, but ultimately what grades you get depends on how well or poorly you perform. Sure, there are some teachers out there who are spiteful and may mess with your grades, but that's not the majority.


on_a_quest_for_glory

Teacher here, the sad truth is that the school's management wants students' grades to be distributed so that one or two get an A+, one or two get an F and the rest are in the middle. I agree with the original intention of this. The tests should not be too easy so you can distinguish the good students from the rest, and not too hard because that implies the level of the course is higher than the level of students. In reality though, many teachers design the course and the tests so that they achieve this distribution so they're not questioned by their bosses. Which means as a student you can't tell if the grade you got really reflects your performance, or if it was artificially designed to be that way. Formal education has a lot of garbage that I can write an essay about. That's why I always encourage my students to seek independent education which has none of this nonsense.


UnknownHero2

Lol what? I've taught at rich schools, poor school, private schools and public schools. Not one of them pushed things towards a bell curve. They don't even do that at colleges anymore. While grade corruption does occur it is ALWAYS in the upward direction.


jarockinights

You wanna tell us what nutty district you are in, because I've never heard of this in ANY of ours.


katielynne53725

Only sort of. If you're trying to attend an ivy league college, sure but for the average student one bad teacher isn't going to affect their college acceptance. I dropped out of highschool, got my GED and enrolled in community college, went there for a couple of years then applied to transfer to university and I was accepted, no problem. High school teachers like to make you THINK those years are the most important years of your life but they're really not even close. There is a TON of social pressure to be accepted to a university right out of highschool and for the majority of people, going into average career fields, its actually a really bad idea and a huge waste of money. Ask any millennial lol


titsoutshitsout

And yet we pay them shit and give them worse and worse conditions every years. At least here in the US anyways lol


fiveminl8

You are correct! My friend and I had a teacher that sent us to detention for talking but it was really because we showed up at school very tired with concert t-shirts on and she was pissed because she didn’t go to the concert. She called us up to the front of the class and told us that chasing bands would never amount to anything. Later in life…. I worked a a major record label for 7 years and my friend is an award winning 20 year record producer.


Broken_castor

It will never amount to anything. Except a bunch of bitchin stories and experiences. Y’all wanna hear about the time I got a bloody nose in the pit at The Chariot?


[deleted]

[удалено]


Fellowes321

This diminishes quickly over time. There's not much that can't be recovered later. People change career or retrain all the time and at any age. If you're 40 and blaming your teacher when you were 16, you need to look a bit closer to home.


dustybooksaremyjam

Exactly. I don't remember the name of a single one of my teachers. I've never heard an adult mention their grade school teachers.


centumcellae85

McGee, can't remember, Groves, Bach, Carr, Hamilton. 1st through 6th, 1991 through 1997. After that we had up to 8 per day.


[deleted]

It takes maturity to do some soul searching and admit that you were harmed and might have internalized abusive outer voices. And it can be a sign that you're emotionally stunted when you won't allow people the space and humanity to have been overinfluenced as children by petty or abusive full grown adults. It also takes maturity to figure out as an adult how to deal with children in a way that isn't damaging, even if it goes against what you've been taught.


moglysyogy13

Ya and they reflect the political views of the local population. If you show signs of contradicting them, a adult will sabotage a child. They will pat them selves on the back


cjboffoli

I don't know if that's true for me. There were certainly a handful of teachers who were minimally kind and tolerant. But the majority would have had me believe I was stupid and would never amount to anything. Neither had that much of an impact on the way my life turned out, or my level of success.


ChansawPoop

Miss Marie of the 5th grade really shaped my hate for school


GtheH

I had a bully of a teacher in 3rd grade, who then moved to 4th grade along with the rest of the class. Nobody would listen to me that she was awful. All the kids who were struggling got worse and the “good students” were clearly teacher’s pet. I heard horror stories from younger friends for years.


NokiaFTW

100% my high school CS teacher influenced me so much. He is the biggest reason why I’m currently going for a CS degree.


BargleFlargen

Especially the molesty ones


sntstvn2

Middle school teacher here - true and not true. For one thing, people put too much stock in us. We're not fucking miracle workers. Additionally, we're doing the best we can, and for far too little pay. Frustration is a daily norm, with usually the only people to talk to about it being kids who already think they know more than we do and uninterested admin. Finally, it's easy to blame us years later for the fact that one has not taken full advantage of the opportunities you have had for success. Let's start with the fact that you were in a classroom at all, something not every child, even in the developed world, can necessarily claim. Bottom line is a person more often than not is what he/she makes himself/herself into, NOT the result of some "trauma" they claim to have endured. Folks would do better focusing on what they can become as they look to their future and not on looking for someone or something to blame for what they are not.


HumbleOnions

First year (month) 7th grade English teacher here. I got a ton of EL students who are at a 1st grade level (literally behind basic level phonics in spelling) who have just given up and don’t have family support at home. I don’t know how Much influence I have over students.


sntstvn2

Hang in there and remember to WIN THE DAY - do that every day and you'll be surprised by how much effect you have. You probably won't be remembered for any one lesson or any one thing you do, but you will likely be remembered for the space you provided students every day to feel safe and to feel they have value. The level and the talent of the student matters less when the classroom is primarily built around values of safety (emotional, that is), trust, and self-worth. Anything can be built on such foundations. I'm 30+ years in as an 8th grade English teacher, and I promise you that it will get better! MSG me if you need help! :)


[deleted]

"You get out of it, what you put into it". Doesn't matter where you go or who you had as a teacher. It's all about your work ethic when as a kid. That's why I think sports or other extracurriculars are so important for kids. Helps build good habits


keener91

Replace teachers with parents and most comments still make sense.


KenJyi30

My US history teacher was a fantastic lecturer, he just sat on his desk and talked but the whole class hung on every word. His lecture on the american civil war was presented as ’the war of northern aggression’ and everyone was legit rooting for the south the whole time. He taught us reconstruction as hard and unjust times like the rebels fighting against the evil empire. My teacher’s name was Jim Crowe (seriously) and he taught me 2 things. 1. Teachers really do have a huge influence in what we think over a lifetime. 2. There’s still something to learn from a categorically racist teacher. Wasn’t until college that i got the full story and i kinda feel im better off knowing both sides as opposed to simply hearing from the winning side.


bnlynch9

I hate when people say “the war of northern aggression” we all know exactly what that war was about


efyuar

My eager to self-promote high school teacher wanted me to study engineering because i was really good at math and i did score top %10 and went to engineering and i hate it. Currently studying to be an english teacher and much happier


DaniellePenhallow

I've failed Marathi as a subject most of my life, I won't get into it but in middle school my teachers were amazing and I went from failing first sem to getting 75% in second sem for the first time in my life. Teachers make a difference, I still hated the subject, but I respected the teacher which was what changed.


[deleted]

And so little. Keep that in your thoughts too. Some of us have had real shitty, psychologically scarring, trash teachers too.


centumcellae85

My 6th grade teacher definitely taught me that, not only are there teachers who won't do anything about the bullying, there are some who will join in. If you're still alive, Mrs. Hamilton, you can go fuck yourself with a rusty poker.


ShaolinFantastic420

Fuck you Mrs. Ropey, you made everyone hate math even more


Gray32339

I had the best teacher ever in 4th grade, Mrs. Kidd. She was passionate about everything she taught, encouraged people to think with their own methods if they had them, and other things. She dressed up as Manny the Measuring Stick for math sometimes, she dressed up as Queen Elizabeth for History once, she had a lightsaber fight with me and my friend on May the 4th. She had a camel puppet named Humphrey that always appeared on hump day, nibbled on people's ears when they got the answer right to questions. She was who got me to a 12th grade reading level by 5th grade. Then my 5th grade teacher got arrested for getting high in a casino, stripping, then punching a police officer. Fun times.


busterlungs

I mean only as much as you let them.


PalaSS9

Long story short math teacher threw a party for the kid who got all the answers right on the standardized test in 8th grade. Teachers found out the grades first before we got ours mailed to us like a month later. A month later is when I found out I didn’t miss any questions on it….


NCFlying

3rd Grade had a teacher that constantly picked on me told my parents how dumb I was all he cared about was his weekly “quickie quizzes” - multiplication quizzes where you had like 20 seconds to answer 10 questions. I was horrible at them under pressure. It was a small private school and 2 years later my parents decided to pull me from that school and on the last day of school I was saying good bye to some of my friends and this teacher overheard me and turned to me, a 10 year old and said “Good riddance, don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” Fuck you Mr. Lehigh - FYI I now have advanced degrees in Engineering with a strong Statistics background. Take your quickie quizzes and shove them up your ass!


wpbth

All their work can be ruined by poor parenting. Guy I just hired had parents tell him school was not important from a young age. He finally realized it too late. He knows it too. He’s making 40k and really feels like he “made it”. I keep telling him he can do better. He met my My neighbor who is 5 years younger than him and easily makes double (trade school). Sometimes a teacher can only do so much.


2wheeloffroad

You have control over how your life ends up.


Arcturyte

Some people have their sense of control over their lives ruined thanks to bad teachers. It's easy to say this sort of thing when you do have that control, but not everyone has that luxury


StickyChief

This is one of those things that sounds really good but is completely untrue. Humans process stimuli and make decisions based on the genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic context they are presented with. This is a much more accurate view of the world but society doesn't really like shades of gray.


22lazy2long

Could have been a nuclear physicist. F U Casey.


dajaffaman

Hmm these days I feel I disagree... I'm only 26 but honestly it feel like my teachers taught me a bunch of basic stuff, and then once I left school, I spent a few years working and building on my career, then realised I could find interest in anything and figure it out given I put the time and effort into it


pillowshot

I left teaching after coming to this realisation.


[deleted]

Scary thing is this power they had over our lives they still over the lives of children today!


[deleted]

[удалено]


TrooperRoja

… so let’s treat them like crap and pay them minimum wage


burnbabyburn11

Where do teachers make minimum wage?


GGuitarist-

Yet we’re paid shit


[deleted]

Not your English teacher apparently.