Teachers Share Things They Wish They Could Say to Parents

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Jul 8, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

Teachers get a lot of blame for kids' bad behavior. Parents go to parent-teacher conferences and belligerently demand that the teacher explain why their child is not doing well in class. Teachers are expected to kindly explain to parents what the issue is, even when the parents are being rude and demanding. The truth is, it's usually not the teacher's fault that a kid is failing to thrive in the classroom, and yet they have to shoulder so much of the blame. It's demonstrably unfair.

In a perfect world, teachers could be completely honest with parents about their kids, but unfortunately, our world is far from perfect. Teachers can't bluntly tell parents about their kid's shortcomings because they will likely get in trouble or deeply hurt the parent's feelings. One teacher went to r/Teachers to ask her fellow educators what they wish they could say to parents; their answers are hilarious and honest.