Teachers hold a lot of influence in the lives of their students. They’re authority figures who mold younger generations in their image. And though the world is chock full of wonderful educators who want to make the world and their classroom a better place and have a good sense of humor, you’d be naive to think that everyone’s an everyday superhero. There are plenty of villains and bad apples mixed into the bunch.
Case in point, redditors from all over the net shared some of their worst experiences dealing with teachers and educators. They shared why they still hold a grudge against them to this very day in a thread on r/AskReddit.
Read on for their stories, dear Pandas. But beware, they’re so unfair, they’re bound to infuriate you. What’s the worst thing a teacher has ever done to you? Are you still bitter about what happened? If you’re feeling up to it, share what happened to you in the comments.
#1
Had AP Calculus teacher in HS intentionally try to fail me because I was good at math. When his lies were uncovered, the reason he gave (in the principal’s office) was *women don’t belong in the sciences.*. This was in front of me, my parents, my counselor, the VP, and principal.
My counselor was so aghast at what happened, he spoke up and said if my parents were willing to transport me, he would sign me up himself at the local community college for the same class. Then I would get college credit in just a semester without having to take the AP test. I did it.
I then went on to get my BS in Mathematics.
F**K YOU CANTRELL
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295points
#2
My English teacher... I'm dyslexic, which he said was not a real thing and i was lazy and stupid. He spent three years destroying any confidence in myself, ridiculing me on an almost daily basis and encouraging the other kids to bully me.
Twenty year later, I left my first published book on his grave..and took a p**s.
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266points
#3
My English teacher gave me a 99 on a paper. I flipped through, curious where my error was.
She had marked "egomaniacal" for word choice with the note "not a word".
I asked about it, she insisted it was not a word, I insisted it was, and then I got detention for being insubordinate.
"How do you know 'insubordinate' but not 'egomaniacal'?" I asked.
Then I got more detention.
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252points
It’s important to fight for what’s right and to stand up against injustice. However, the reality is that it’s often difficult to put that into practice. You’re standing up to (usually) trusted and well-respected authority figures who are throwing their weight around.
Though some educators make genuine mistakes (hey, nobody’s perfect!), others enjoy flexing their power and putting others down. Usually, it’s a sign that they’re insecure about something in their lives, so they try to make up for it by trying to control other people.
#4
6th grade, end of November in SE Minnesota. Home ec teacher gave me detention for something I did (or more likely just got accused of, that happened a lot) and didn't let me leave for home until after 7:30. It's snowing, cold af outside and this c**t refuses to let me call my mom so I had to walk home. 3 1/2 miles in the snow and the cold.
F**k you Ms. Hanson. Glad you lost your job for that s**t.
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237points
#5
Oh ya,
I had an English teacher in 9th grade. Our task was to come up with a scary story. The whole school had to do it. It was a contest and whoever was voted the best scary story was going to have it published and they were going to get an award.
The only requirements of the scary story was that it be scary and tell a story.
So I didn’t do the project until the morning of. But in that morning, I had an epiphany and wrote probably the coolest poem I had ever written.
Well Everyone had this long winded 6 page paper and they were reading it. It was my turn and I went up and read my 1 sheet poem and everyone loved it. Teachers I had never even talked to were stopping me and complimenting me on the story. Everyone said my poem was the most creative and sure to win.
Well flash forward a week and I was pulled into the teachers office. She told me that she knew that I cheated and plagerizef this poem but she couldn’t prove it so I was disqualified. I tried getting my home room teacher to back me up that he watched me do it and actually helped a little bit. But he wouldn’t back me up, saying I was on my own.
Frankly that entire school had a grudge against me for being brown. And I was ok with it. But that one incident stung especially.
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192points
#6
Ha. I was in 4th grade and was enduring a lot of abuse at home. I wasn’t the most hygienic so my hair was frizzy, and I didn’t wear underwear because if my parts weren’t hanging out, I just didn’t see a need. It was tight and uncomfortable. My teacher and her assistant were behind me one day during a test and started talking bad about me and giggling, making sure they were the perfect distance away for me to very audibly hear them. Saying I never brushed my hair or showered, and I was dirty. As someone already being psychologically abused by my parents at the time, it definitely took a major toll on me. As an adult, I cannot imagine how anyone could act like that with a child. I cannot imagine the depths of sadness and insecurity for an adult in her 40’s could belittle a child who had little control over what was going on with her life. It’s disgusting.
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173points
What makes us angry depends a lot on who we are as individuals. However, broadly speaking, anger is a reaction to some form of injustice. If you feel slighted, insulted, or treated unfairly, you’re likely to hold a grudge. At least, for a little while.
Unfortunately, some people hold on to that anger for years and even decades. It’s like a thorn in their minds. And whenever they think about their schooldays, they remember that particular teacher that made their lives hell.
#7
My idiot seventh grade science teacher, and I remember this because it was so ridiculous.
We had to watch a video on wildlife or something and then write a short paper afterward about what we watched. I was in advanced reading classes when I was younger and read my thesaurus and encyclopedias for funsies, so I had a slightly better grasp of English than my classmates. I'm not trying to brag, but this is relevant information.
This asshat teacher knocked twenty points off my paper because I "did not use grade-appropriate language." I got a lower mark because I was using words she felt were beyond my grade level. I'm still salty about it 25+ years later.
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170points
#8
I was in a digital illustration class and we had a project to illustrate a monster. I decided to draw the parasites from the movie cloverfield. We posted all of our pictures up in class and he went 1 by 1 giving detailed critiques. When he got to mine he just looked at it and said "that's a creature not a monster" and moved on to the next one. I got a C on that assignment.
This was the same teacher that accidentally pulled out the plug on the back of my computer after 5 hours of work on my final and refused to give me any extra time to complete it.
F**k you Gordon
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169points
#9
We were about 6 years old and the teacher told us to make Father’s Day cards. I went up to the teacher to tell her my dad was dead. She snapped at me “do it anyway.” So I was made to sit in class making fathers day cards to my dead father.
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152points
Now, we’re not saying everyone should blindly forgive and forget, but you should think about what’s best for you in the long term. If that horrid teacher is living in your brain, rent-free, constantly making you flare up with rage, something’s gotta change.
Think about what would make your life more peaceful. Perhaps you need an honest discussion with your teacher, face to face. Or, barring that, you might need to let go and move on. They win if you’re constantly mad.
#10
Wouldn't let me go to the bathroom on my period. I was 14 and really heavy and still navigating having a period in the first place. Told her that I was on and I had leaked she didnt care. Cried to her, didn't matter. Other classmates told her to let me go and she wouldn't. Got home and I was an absolute mess, my mum went bonkers.
Frustratingly now I'm an adult I'd never let that happen, I'd just go to the toilet. But at 14 I was so scared of getting in trouble at school I just stayed put.
Frustratingly now I'm an adult I'd never let that happen, I'd just go to the toilet. But at 14 I was so scared of getting in trouble at school I just stayed put.
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151points
#11
This one English lit teacher made it clear she didn’t like me. I think it was because I’m not white. She gave me Cs and Ds on all my work. In years past I had gotten As and been invited on special field trips for English classes. I won poetry and fiction awards. I tutored other kids. I got special assignments because I was always 2-3 years ahead reading level wise. And it was the only academic I was good at. My GPA was hovering below 3.0, English and art were the only subjects preventing me from being even lower. Science and math were Cs and Ds I deserved. I accepted that. But this?
To do a test of my theory my friend who is white and I handed in the same exact assignment, a book report or something. Virtually the same wording, same thesis, everything. We switched our names on the reports. I got a C and he got an A. She was just grading me lower because she didn’t like me.
Turmoil at home and a general teenage apathy prevented me from trying to do anything about this. I just kept my head down and took my Cs. I stopped trying, I’d hand in stuff cut and pasted from Encarta and I’d get a C. I’d include hip hop and punk lyrics and I’d get a C. I even did 5 pages of the same paragraph. C. She wasn’t even reading what I did.
She prevented me from getting into AP English my senior year, as you needed an A- in the prerequisite class. I was furious. It was my only hope for any AP class.
But it turned out my senior year English teacher was awesome though, she was a genuine hipster and let me design my own projects since I had read most of the books on the curriculum already. She would burn me cool CDs. She got me into My Bloody Valentine and The Vaselines and The Pastels and the like. She gave me her copies of Naked Lunch and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues and let me just read them and discuss them with her.
But. Still f*****g hate the s**t junior English teacher though. She was morbidly obese and ugly as absolute f**k all, she probably died a gnarly death years ago. F**k you Mrs. S. You were a steaming pile of rancid dog s**t and everyone hated you.
140points
#12
A teacher in university accused me of plagiarism and said she spent the whole night trying to find out what I plagiarized but because she couldn’t prove it she wasn’t gonna report it to the school. I wrote it myself.
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129points
Living in constant anger is extremely harmful to your body and mind. We’ve covered on Bored Panda before how this can lead to cardiovascular problems, metabolic diseases, and even digestive issues.
Righteous anger can lead to change. However, the world often isn’t that straightforward. Usually, you’re forced to compromise with the other side and find more diplomatic solutions to deep-rooted issues. Shouting and talking about unfairness will only get you so far. However, there are other tools in your arsenal if you want to make an actual difference. And holding grudges for their own sake really isn’t healthy.
#13
Had a super s****y drama teacher in 8th grade. He was a recovering alcoholic/born again Christian and he would lecture us about it every day. He also targeted me to bully, and would ask me things in front of the whole class like, when was the last time I washed my hair, etc. I was 13. My hair was greasy regardless. He also gave other students extra points for imitating me in a negative way. Then on the last day of class, he pompously said that he thought the class was 'a little hard on me', as if he hadn't been encouraging them every step of the way.
Ran into him at the grocery store with his kids about fifteen years later. He said hello, and I just kind of grunted at him. His daughter said 'why didn't she say hi, daddy?' and he answered 'I don't think she likes me very much'. Yeah, you got that right, a*****e.
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122points
#14
My grade one teacher told me I was "fired" because I didn't do my homework. She also took my birthday toy that I brought to class after Christmas break and said "Nice, now I have a toy for my grandson". F**k you Ms. Chrichelo, I hope you're burning in hell.
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112points
#15
I think I posted this once before on a similar question... but here you go. Clearly I still hold a grudge:
I had a teacher for Kindergarten (in 1980) that I absolutely loved! I certainly can't remember all the details on why I thought she was so great... I just very much remember that even going into the next couple years, I always compared my teachers to her and she always stayed my favorite.
Also... I LOVED space... from that kindergarten year onward, I made no secret that I wanted to be an astronaut. When we studied the planets I was enraptured... when we covered anything having to do with space, stars, galaxies... I was in my happy place. We had coloring sheets for the surface of each planet, and I remember coloring them, then asking for more copies, and coloring them again. I remember when the first Space Shuttle took off, and from that day on, that's what I drew... all the time... non-stop... the Space Shuttle. For school work... for fun... I was gong to ride in that thing some day... so I drew the thing I loved!
In 4th grade, 2 of the most amazing things happened... my absolute favorite teacher, moved up from kindergarten and I got her again for 4th grade, and [NASA announced the Young Astronauts Program](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-white-house-ceremony-launching-young-astronaut-program)! Not only that, but MY teacher was going to be starting the first ever Young Astronauts Program at our school! The day she handed out the applications, I was in heaven. It was a scene straight out of a Christmas Story, where I sat writing out my "theme" on why I wanted to join the Young Astronauts. I wrote and I wrote, and I remember going over onto the back of the page because I had more to say than would fit. How could they give us such few lines to write on?! This was about space and being an astronaut!!!
The following week came and the day finally arrived when they were announcing who made it. I'll be honest, it never once even crossed my mind that I wouldn't get accepted. But, MY teacher... the one who was my favorite... the one who knew me for 5 years, knew my love of space, praised my drawings of the space shuttle, encouraged me in science and math... that... person... accepted just about every single other kid in that school that applied, except for me.
People use the word devastated a lot to describe how they feel after something bad happens... but I cannot imagine there was a better word to describe my 10yr old self on that day. Watching my best friend... my first crush... and the kid I hated most in class... all make it into the group I wanted to be a part of more than anything else. And the part that made her the a*s in my story, was that she absolutely refused to say why. I asked... I begged... to know what I did wrong. I know I asked her why I wasn't good enough? And I never got an answer... no reassurance of any kind that I can remember. I don't think I ever drew another pic of the Shuttle after that. Actually, I did draw one more. 2 years after this, The Challenger exploded. I remember drawing one more shuttle for them...
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109points
#16
I had a 4th grade teacher tell me "I would have more friends if I wasn't so weird"
I have carried that phrase my entire life and it still affects the way I act around people to this day.
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100points
#17
My high school Lit teacher was OBSESSED with Planet of the Apes. Like if you had a class with him, guaranteed, you'd watch it at least once during the year, and he would frequently compare the books he assigned in class to the film. He was also VERY against students using state-of-being verbs (is, are, was, and were) to the point where you couldn't use any of them in any of the assignments you did for him and if you did you would lose points for each instance of them. Many students struggled with this restriction, myself included because he didn't give us any real tips or direction on how to write effectively without them leading to some literary gymnastics to avoid using them instead of actual better writing. He also just generally didn't seem to like me.
So when I wanted to take AP Literature my senior year of high school, it required a minimum of 90 in all your English classes to get in. I'd gotten 99 or 100 in all of my classes the previous three years EXCEPT for his class, in which I'd gotten an 89. As a result, I was required to take an online AP Lit Prep class over the summer, and as long as I got an 85 in that class I could take AP Lit. Of course, he taught both AP Lit and the Prep class, so I was worried about whether whatever issue he had with me would manifest, but I worked hard on the essays for the class.
Somehow, in a nearly statistically impossible outcome, he gave me an 83 on 5 essays in a row, meaning I didn't qualify for AP Lit because the minimum grade to get in was an 85. Even more insulting, I tried to appeal to his love of cult films in one of my essays by comparing the auditory hallucinations of the main character in one of the books we were reading, Camus' The Fall, to a scene in one of my favorite films, Carrie. He wrote in the notes how I should be ashamed that I compared "the literary genius of Albert Camus to a B-movie based on an airport novel." If that wasn't bad enough, two sentences later in his notes on my paper he drew a comparison to Planet of the Apes.
Luckily my mom pointed out how absurd it was and how it was a pretty transparent attempt to keep me out of the class so I got to take it anyway.
F**k you and your guacamole, Mr. G.
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97points
#18
Didn't happen directly to me, but to a classmate in high school, not the most popular kid, but he was super intelligent and had a great capacity for memorizing facts, details and the like.
During a class test, this classmate included a lengthy quote as part of one answer. Some of us included bits of it, but no-one else but him could recall the whole spiel...
Teacher didn't just award him no points, but docked him points for cheating, cos no-one could possibly remember that whole quote, he must have had it written down somewhere on him. There were protestations all round. Poor lad threw his arms up - what's the point in putting in the effort to learn and retain info.
Was only an inconsequential class test, not a graded exam, but I still remember the injustice of it many years later.
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93points
#19
During the 8th grade. I had this english teacher who was around the age of 30 and was one of “those” teachers characterized as cool by my classmates and other members of the faculty alike. He told me to “shut up” for correcting him on something he misinformed my class about infront of everybody. Laughed at one of my then friends intrests and also embarrassed them infront of the class. Made fun of how I walked one time out of nowhere and said it was fine because we were “friends” and that all of this behaviour was appropriate because he was our teacher. A literal 33 year old man bullying a then 13 girl, despicable.
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88points
#20
In 6th grade I had a science teacher who didn't like me and would give me detention almost daily. I don't know why, I was a good student, did my homework, was on the honor roll, rarely got into any kind of trouble. But she would find a reason to give me detention, this was over 20 years ago at this point, but the two reasons I remember most vividly were:
Accusing me of having a girl do my homework for me (I have good penmanship for a guy and she knew this from having seen my homework and tests for months at this point.)
Calling me out in front of the entire class for talking, when we were doing a group project.
After weeks of my dad getting pissed about having to make 2 trips up to the school for my brother and then myself he demanded to know why I was getting in so much trouble. I couldn't give him an answer because I didn't know why she had such an issue with me, my dad called the school. As it turned out, apparently she couldn't give much of an explanation as to why I was receiving detention either. My dad proceeded to cuss her out (her words) and I never received detention from her again.
I think she just liked having some sort of control over me and having me sit in her empty classroom as she would leave the room and just check on me every 10 minutes or so was just for kicks.
80points