15 Shocking School Stories That Show Some People Aren’t Meant to Be Teachers

Most of us tend to remember a teacher, or more, from our school and college days. Some we remember with joy, because they helped us when we needed it the most. But not every person is meant to be, or even can be, a teacher, as these Redditors clearly show with some memorable encounters. These bad teachers can even put Cameron Diaz to shame!

• I had a home room teacher, that out of frustration one day, ranted about how easy school was.
  He said, “We literally give you a book or the text, tell you to read it, then ask you to answer questions. The answers to which are found in the book we gave you. It doesn’t get any easier than that. Read the darn books, answer the darn questions, that’s all school is.” © Navaro27 / Reddit
• My art teacher told me I couldn’t draw. Fast-forward 15 years, and I’ve graduated from university with a fine art degree.
  Today, I have my own small illustration business as a side gig. It’s not a huge thing, but I’ve had over 150 sales now and have, like, actual fans! So, proved you wrong, Miss H! © Unknown author / Reddit
• First grade. We were doing a math lesson. The lesson was something about drawing a circle around groups of 5 or 10 things in a picture. I figured out pretty quickly that counting the things one by one took too much time, so I counted by 10s (which were already circled) then counted the leftovers and put up my hand. I was done way before anyone else.
  The teacher looked at me and said something like, “There is no way you could have counted them all.” A few minutes later, she complimented another kid who had counted quickly and said that he was probably counting “by fives” and demonstrated how to do that.
  I was so angry and thought it was stupid to count by fives when it’s easier to count by 10s, so why not just do that. The thing is, this woman was usually a pretty good teacher. I don’t know if she just didn’t like me or was having a rough day or what. But I learned that day that teachers don’t know everything, and sometimes they’re just mean. © gt0163c / Reddit

• “You’ll never make it into university and get a good job.” 15 years later, I’m a teacher. I’m not going to say that kind of trash to students. © Matt872000 / Reddit
• My eighth grade teacher told me I was terribly unphotogenic. I’m 34 years old, and I avoid the camera to this day. © justhereforthecmnts / Reddit
• I’ll never forget this for some reason: Mr. Baggs, Geography, grade 7. “You’re an outstanding student...out standing in the hall. Go.” We were such naughty kids. Lol. © reddit_mau5 / Reddit
• I’m a 6-foot tall girl, at school I was very self-conscious that I was bigger than other people in my year.
  I decided psychology would be interesting. The teacher gave us all magazines and asked us to pick someone we found attractive. In my magazine was a picture of Johnny Depp, so obviously as a teenage girl I picked him.
  The teacher went round the class telling us why we had picked certain people and what it said about us. When he got to me, he laughed and said, “You picked someone older because you are a tall girl and that makes you feel more secure.”
  Being called a tall girl might not seem that bad, and I’m sure he didn’t mean it in a bad way, but it was crushing. Even now 15 years later I still feel like I’m too tall, I’m in the way, that I’m not beautiful because of my height. One stupid comment really can make a difference. © Laelegs / Reddit

• The father of a classmate died in a motorcycle accident, he went into a corner too fast and crashed into a tree. A couple of days after the accident (which was the first day my classmate went to school again), our physics teacher decided that it is a good moment to teach the “speed doesn’t kill you, acceleration does” lesson. With the example of a motorcycle driving into a tree. © Tschaix / Reddit
• “You’re too young, you’ll hold back the class.” Later — “You haven’t even mastered the basics, I don’t want you to take the next course.” My high-school computer science teacher, attempting to discourage me from taking programming as a freshman. After I topped the class, he tried again to keep me from taking the next level course.
  He was so persistent in his discouragement, often mocking me in class. Most kids and parents would have given up after such an onslaught, but I’m glad my mother was persistent and supportive. Many years later and now a successful adult, I see that teacher for what he is:
  a jealous and sad man. © littlered1984 / Reddit
• My sister once had a teacher tell the class that they had to write a paper on a “famous Egyptian. You know, like Socrates.” My sister was given in school suspension for disrupting class with her laughter.
  She appealed it, and in the appeal meeting with our mom and the principal, the teacher insisted that Socrates was Egyptian. The suspension was canceled, my sister didn’t have to write the paper, and that teacher is still working at the same school. © notthatguytheother1 / Reddit

• “My two-year-old whines less than you.” Instantly and permanently lost all use and respect for her from that moment on. © Cherusyn / Reddit
• I had a philosophy teacher when I was like a sophomore, and he was a misogynist. If I tried to argue with him during discussions in class, he would put chocolate on my desk with the implication that I was menstruating and that’s why I was so uppity. At the time, I would anxious laugh, which of course only encouraged him. Sometimes I wish 26-year-old me could go back in time and give him a piece of my mind. © KitchenSwillForPigs / Reddit
• One day in 7th grade, our principal came into the homeroom class and wrote on the board “$19.32” in big numbers.
  He got our attention and announced to the class: “This (pointing at the number) is what you are worth. Every day you come to class, the school gets $19.32 from the state for each of you. So if you are sick, you should still come to class, go to the nurse, and get sent home. That way, the school will still get its $19.32.”
  That was the day I stopped caring about school. I’m pretty sure he was trying to increase attendance and believed what he said was positive. But when a person you’re supposed to respect tells you’re worth less than a 20 dollar bill... © Starlight_OW / Reddit

• When I was 13, I lost my father in a horrific accident. Obviously, I was traumatized. I returned to school a few days later. After attendance, the teacher turned to me.
  Instead of saying something empathetic, she told me, in front of the entire class, “We got together and sent flowers to your father’s funeral. Tomorrow, I need you to bring in $5, because I paid your share.” She then went on with the lessons.
• We had a science professor who was not only a bad teacher, but also had a limited understanding of English. One day, he gave us a massive assignment. Obviously, none of us did it, because it was too big for a day’s work.
  When he saw this, he got angry, but then told us to complete it at home, saying, “Bring it to me. Bring it to daddy.” Then he got even angrier when he saw us all giggling. He often used inappropriate slangs without even realizing it, but after a point it wasn’t funny, because his teaching style was so bad.

These students ended up having the weirdest encounters with teachers. Just like these bizarre conversations people had with colleagues and co-workers that live in their mind, rent-free.