15 Shocking Stories That Prove Not Every Teacher Is a Good One

Almost all of us carry the memory of a teacher—or perhaps several—from our school or college days. Some remain in our minds like warm lights, guiding us through difficult times with kindness and wisdom. Others are more a painful memory, because teaching is not a path meant for everyone. Not all who stand at the front of a classroom are truly meant to be there. As these Redditors reveal through their unforgettable encounters, some lessons are remembered not for what they taught... but for how unsettling they were.

• 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.
• My art teacher told me I couldn’t draw. Fast-forward 15 years, and I’ve graduated from university with a fine arts 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
• My 10th grade geometry teacher openly admitted to the class that she hated teaching math. She’d gone to college and gotten a degree in English but was stuck with teaching math instead, etc. 1 person in that class got an A, 2 people got Bs, a few got Cs, and everyone else either barely passed or failed.
  She’d also mark your test answers wrong if you misspelled a word, even if you got the actual problem right. I had to go to summer school, where the guy who was normally our PE teacher taught geometry, and I aced it. I couldn’t believe how easily it made sense to me when he taught it to me. © kgkglunasol / Reddit

• My sister had a sixth grade teacher who was the mother of one of my sister’s classmates; this girl was somewhat popular. So anyway, for my sister’s birthday, she was having a girls-only party on a Friday. She gave out the invites, and she was very excited.
  Friday rolls around and nobody shows up. On Monday morning my sister has to go to school and face everyone, which is pretty traumatic in and of itself, so my sister was feeling really awful. During the morning lineup, this teacher comes up to my sister and tells her, in front of everyone, “You know why nobody went to your party? Because I threw my daughter a party on the same day, and I made sure nobody told you about it.” © meeliga / Reddit
• A geology teacher in primary school. Still have various forms of nightmares today and angry, writing this. Never shared with anyone. I still don’t know the reason she threw away my homework right in front of the whole class.
  For context, she is checking homework at her desk and calling one student after another. I brought my homework to her when it was my turn. She took it and flung it across the classroom to the door. Not knowing what happened and perhaps naive and confused, I picked it up and handed it to her again. She threw it away again and yelled at me not to pick it up. I cried for the entire day.
  © LordSynister / 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 around 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 was 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
• My 4th grade math teacher, hands down. She hated me from day one, and I still don’t understand why. Over the course of the school year, she made me feel like I was too stupid to learn math. One memorable incident: We had all taken a standardized test, and she wanted us to know our grades immediately, so she had us copy our answers onto a scantron form (the “real” test was to be sent off-campus for grading and would take a few days).
  My grade came back really low. She then divided the room in half and had the kids who made good grades sit on one side and the rest of us sit on the other side. She gave the “good” kids cookies and sodas and let them goof off while the rest of us had to do worksheets. When we got the real grades back, mine was one of the highest in the class. I felt cheated. © lost40s / 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 an 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

• I was a good kid. Average student, but well-behaved and a rule follower. Going on a field trip, the teacher, Mr. MacDonald, was adamant that no glass was allowed onboard the bus. I told my parents, and they went and bought me a plastic thermos to pack in my lunch. We stopped at a deli and I got bologna and cheese with mustard. Packed everything into a paper bag and went to school. I was in 5th grade.
  Time comes to depart for the trip and we head out. My paper bag rips and my thermos hit the floor with a glass-shattering sound. MacDonald was on me, absolutely screaming at me. I had never been dressed down like that before, not before and not since. I had the broken pieces of the thermos in my hand to show him that it wasn’t glass and that it was just plastic. He wouldn’t let me talk and just kept screaming at me about not knowing how to follow the rules. I was crying out of embarrassment and ran to the office to call Mom to come get me. Missed the field trip that I was actually looking forward to. © Guns_Donuts / Reddit
• “You should drop down to a regular class if this Honors class is too much for you to handle.” As I emailed her to tell her about the death of one of my best friends. © kaizlyn / 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

• 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 laughing. He often used inappropriate slang without even realizing it, but after a point it wasn’t funny, because his teaching style was so bad.
• My 4th grade teacher threw my little crafts and drawings in the trash. She said that stuff was for kindergarteners. She also tried to suspend me for making paper claws. Then, she had the audacity to question my mom as to why I was so depressed in her class. © Unknown author / Reddit
• The class was to get an ice cream party if everyone got good grades. Three of us didn’t, but our teacher didn’t bring it up. The plans were made, and I brought toppings. Just before the party, she announced that if the three students who didn’t score well attended the party, it would be cancelled.
  As we stood there, shocked, she demanded we hand over the goodies we had brought so that other “hard-working students” could enjoy. We sat in one corner, crying, as the rest of the kids had a great time with the teacher. I can never eat ice cream without having a bitter taste in my mouth.

From teacher who aren’t the best of people, to ignorant ones, this list has them all. Then again, ignorance isn’t just limited to bad teachers, as this article proves.