“Parents who are in denial will waste your time and ruin your sanity.”
Weaskedmembers of theBuzzFeed Communitywho work as teachers to tell us about their worst encounters with parents.
Unsurprisingly, the stories were completely infuriating.
Here’s what people shared:
1.
“A student attempted to push me down the stairs.
I grabbed the railing and tweaked my wrist while preventing my fall.
I had to get an X-ray.
The student was suspended.
The parents ignored the suspension and sent the child (eighth grade) to school the next day.
They refused to come get him, so he spent the day in the office.
mellowshield58
2.
“Office staff here.
I had an angry parent call 911 on me because I would not let her into the building.
She then came to school threateningly, and I wouldn’t let her in the building.
They, of course, said, ‘Sorry, you’re not getting in.
The staff did the right thing by protecting themselves and the students.’
I was hoping they would cite her for unlawful use of 911, but they didn’t.”
Kathy B., Facebook
3.
“I teach high school math.
She expected me to get everything graded while teaching and planning all day.
She threatened to go talk to the principal about this.”
Anonymous
4.
“A student attempted to steal another student’s brand-new iPhone.
The sticky-fingered student took it from a locker and put it in her backpack; video footage supported this.
Her parent went ballistic afterward, not because her sticky-fingered daughter stole the phone.
According to mom, Sticky Fingers did not feel safe.
Her mom threatened to sue.
Nothing was done about the theft, and the aforementioned sticky-fingered student was allowed to return to the school.
I managed not to laugh in her face.”
shycaptain24
6.
“Preschool teacher here.
“First year teaching.
First day of parent conferences ever.
meganblair
8.
Obviously, the child had issues following basic instructions and rules.”
francesjoys
9.
“I worked in the special needs department of a high school.
My son comes through here, so I can, too.
I’ll be, like, three minutes, anyway.
I’m just picking him up.'
I want to clarify that the student being picked up was okay.
He was not leaving early because he was sick or anything.
We all told my boss to sue her or something for her doing that.
My boss feared causing drama because they went to the same church.”
“I’m a librarian at an elementary school, not a teacher.
I’ve had some REALLY annoying parent experiences, but this one takes the cake.
Two years ago, this mom tried to ban a quarter of the books in the library.
That’s not an exaggeration.
Almost all of those books were about POC and/or LGBTQ+ people.
moonlitrat
11.
“English teacher here.
‘So what did I do?’
‘You yelled at her!
‘No, I didn’t.
I was just asking her to pay attention and venture to answer!’
‘NOOO, my little girl would never lie to me!
You BULLIED my poor little girl!'”
But, this mother kept saying how I bullied her POOR LITTLE GIRL.
Poor, poor baby girl.
The girl was 15!!!!!”
mudda8139
12.
“I moved to a new state after six years as an elementary school principal.
I’m a big believer in contacting parents.
On the first day of the new job, I called the parent of a misbehaving child.
I had just introduced myself when the parent interrupted and said, ‘Mr.
Principal, let me stop you right there.
I have to put up with him for 15 hours a day.
When he’s there, he’s your problem.'”
We just rolled our eyes as she walked away.
wickedgoose82
15.
“As a high school drawing teacher, I believed a student had traced a picture.
But I knew how the game was played and gave her a low A.
My mistake was questioning the student.
I asked him what he wanted me to do.
Was I supposed to raise her grade?
No, he said, ‘I want you to believe that she didnt trace it.'”
cornygoat29
16.
“I taught high school math.
I had a student in the back of the classroom who was very distracting to others.
I moved her to the front for the remainder of that class period so everyone could pay attention better.
“Parents who are in denial will waste your time and ruin your sanity.
I have worked in special education.
Parents stress teachers tremendously because we cannot cure or fix their children.
Some principals and administrators think teachers can bridge all these gaps.
COVID brought more problems and changes.
Technology and 24-hour access have ruined education.
Parents think you should cater to their needs.
Sometimes, it has nothing to do with the children.
You are never rewarded for being an expert in your field.
Administrators just use you to meet their needs.
The only people who suffer are teachers and students.
It is getting worse.
Kids are probably less educated and morally blocked.”
janenecampbell1
18.
I had a conference about the incident with the student’s father, the principal, and the student.
The student told us that he found the stick and was showing it to other students.
His father turned to me and said, ‘See?
He was doing you a favor and should be commended for it.’
“I teach high school math.
During a parent-teacher conference, a mother came in heated.
She said she was mad I didn’t respond to her email about her son.
I apologized and replied that I didn’t remember seeing the email come through.
She whipped her phone out to prove me wrong.
When she found the email, she started yelling at her son.
He had told her a different teacher’s name, so I did not receive the email.
They left without an apology.”
“I had a fourth-grade student constantly getting in verbal fights with other students.
I had spoken to the mom about it multiple times with little success.
One day, a fight turned physical (we broke it up).
You expect me to talk to them about it, and it’s ruining my relationship with them.’
LADY, IT’S YOUR CHILD.
Policy is that I have to tell you, and you should want to know.
This was one of the incidents that pushed me to leave the job.
PS: Pay teachers more, hey.”
I had a student copy another’s design almost completely.
When the copied piece was turned in, I gave it a 0 for plagiarism.
So disappointing the example these parents set for their child.”
One day, I overheard the kid tell his friend that his mom did all his homework.”
A student’s father called asking if it was true and asking if it was mandatory.
I said yes, all assemblies were mandatory at our middle school.
I told him he was being inappropriate and said he should talk to the principal.
I left teaching about 18 months after that happened.
Parents are the worst part about teaching.”
notjoshselig
26.
“I taught preschool.
I had a parent email me saying I was deliberately excluding their child from activities outside of school.
“My director wrote back, admitting it was her fault.
The parent just said, ‘Oh, okay,’ and that was the end of it.
dmcrowe12
27.
When I taught sixth grade, a student constantly lied to adults about her actions.
The boy had bruises all over his back from her.
This mother didn’t even care when I explained what happened.
It was a very difficult battle all year.
packofdogs
28.
Turns out she had been attending daily dance practice for the entire month.”
Her daughter had a 20% attendance rate.
I was like,’ ‘Madam, how will she know?'”
“I caught a student with an 8.5x11 typed ‘cheat sheet’ during a test.
So, therefore, he didn’t.”
I had a parent a couple of weeks ago throw a giant tantrum over something small.
Then she came in and was rude to me in front of my class.
The owner immediately emailed her an official letter of childcare termination."
sarah9488
33.
“I had a parent file a false police report claiming I physically assaulted her child.
34.And: “I used to be a preschool teacher.
The moment I knew I was done was during a parent-teacher conference.
Both the mom and dad came, which I always appreciate.
Their child was a mediocre student who needed a bit of extra stimulation in preschool math.
I had prepared some homework for them to help their child.
Their attitude changed when I explained what their son needed to prepare for the tests.
The mom looked at the dad.
You’re a teacher.
So, like DO NOT tell us what to do with OUR CHILD!’
I have never felt so humiliated.”
warriorinthegarden_
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
