'[She] tried to force me to write with my right hand': 20+ terrible teacher stories as told by their former students

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 28, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

No matter how you feel about your childhood school days, chances are you had one teacher at some point whose impact was long-lasting and not in a good way. Sure, there are excellent teachers out there, ones who recognize good potential and understand how to motivate and encourage students from all walks of life. Those are the kinds of teachers you never forget in a good way. But at some point, you probably also had to deal with the opposite kind of educator, the kind who made your life difficult for no good reason.

 

These fully grown adults, who shared their stories via this r/AskReddit thread, still remember those scarring experiences to this day. It could have been an unfair failing grade. It could have been detention for a silly reason like chewing gum. It might even have been a cruel comment or joke at the expense of a student that crushed their spirits and left a lasting impact. Long story short: As back-to-school season looms, let's all remember that teachers can impact their students in all kinds of ways, so the best course of action is to be careful, kind, and generous. Otherwise, you might end up on an Ask Reddit thread!

 

Keep scrolling below for this collection of anecdotes. When you're finished, check out this collection of teacher pranks and fails. 

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  • 01
    Rectangle - PEREE "I had a teacher accuse me and a classmate of cheating [...] because we had the same answer. It was a multiple choice test." 26-
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  • 02
    Font - r/AskReddit . Posted by u/SparkelsTR 1 day ago What is something your teacher did in school that you're still salty about?
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  • 03
    Font - maiadale 1 day ago My third grade teacher gave me marks down for spelling 'a lot' which her dumb "corrected" as 'alot.' I will probably spend the rest of my life still annoyed with her and I'm 36. 14.4k Reply Share
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  • 04
    Font - JTGrings1776. 1 day ago I had a teach accuse me and a classmate of cheating on an exam because we had the same answer. It was a multiple choice test and she was upset we both had it correct. 11.5k Reply Share
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  • 05
    Font - Ohhmegawd 1 day ago At the end of my first week at a new school, the teacher handed out slips of paper with our current grade. I had a solid A at my old school, but the teacher said I had an F. I asked her why. She said I didn't hand in the quarter project. I reminded her I had just moved to the school. She said we would give me the weekend to do it. The project was to interview a longtime local resident and write a paper about their experiences. The articles were being collected for a bo
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  • 06
    Font - . DigitalStefan 1 day ago My English teacher admitted to marking down all my work by a grade because "I think you could do better". I, I was doing better and you made it look like I wasn't. Caused me to stop even trying. 6.8k Reply Share
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  • 07
    Font - ComaRedxbl 1 day ago I had left my calculator on my desk in physics class and the teacher took it. I had engraved my initials on it so it was unmistakable. My problem with this was that he always asked me during class if I had my calculator and I told him I still couldn't find it. The end of school year comes around and another student was snooping through his desk and found my calculator. All year that hole was giving me a 0 for the day since I didn't have it. ↑ 6.0k Reply Share
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  • 08
    Font - wyntereign 1 day ago . Never gave my art a higher grade than a B+. Even though she asked me every year if she could hold my art back, to show everyone how to correctly apply a technique or what she wanted from everyone else that next year. Not good enough for an A, but this is perfect and it's what I want everyone to do. Which is it then? 4.4k Reply Share
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  • 09
    Font - Lumberjack_Larry. 1 day ago 20 years ago, we had to make a diorama. We all had them sitting on tables in the classroom and one day some other kid was messing around, fell into the table and smashed mine. I failed the assignment for having a smashed diorama. 4.1k ↓ Reply Share
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  • 10
    Font - floralCAT 1 day ago In grade 4 my teacher kept making me redo my printing sheets because my handwriting wasn't neat. Eventually I asked him why he didn't make any of the boys redo their sheets because they had messy handwriting too. I still remember the look of shock on his face but didn't understand the significance at the time because I was just genuinely asking. I don't remember what he said afterwards other than the fact that I didn't find his answer satisfying. 3.0k Reply Share
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  • 11
    Font - Chrome_Armadillo. 1 day ago In middle school I did a display with real fossils that my parents had let me borrow. The teacher was insistent that I sell the fossils to him. But I refused. So the teacher gave me an F on the display. 2.8k Reply Share
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  • 12
    Font - -Punjabi- 1 day ago She gave me detention for chewing gum. I didn't even enter the classroom when she did this. She smelled mint from my mouth when I said good morning back to her 2.8k Reply Share
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  • 13
    Font - Crembels 1 day ago . A commonly relatable reddit scenario; typed out an essay in class while we were in the computer lab, yet upon printing and handing it in I was accused of plagarising it. Don't even remember the teachers name as she was one of the other staff teachers substituting for the regular one, just the shrill accusatory tone of her going "YOU DIDNT WRITE THIS!?". k you Miss whoever you were. I worked diligently on that bulls 2.0k Reply Share
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  • 14
    Font - Gm Sorripto 1 day ago . One of my high school art classes was called 3D design, which was basically clay, sculpting, and various 3 dimensional art work. On the first day of class my teacher pulled me aside and told me she looked at my schedule which was mostly honors and advanced level classes. She said that because I was clearly such a good student she would grade me on a much harsher scale, and would hear none of my objections that being book smart doesn't translate to artistic abilitie
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  • 15
    Font - 4900 shelblikadoo 1 day ago She told me to get the out of her classroom because I forgot to get something signed by my mom. She then marked me as truant and played dumb when the principal got involved. 1.5k Reply Share
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  • 16
    Rectangle - ckptchickie 1 day ago Tried to force me to write with my right hand... 1.4k Reply Share
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  • 17
    Font - Jncocontrol 1 day ago . I'm half deaf, I was in social studies class, my teacher asked me a question, didn't hear her I said " what", she yelled at the top of her lungs will you t listen!" After that day I told her, once she dies I plan on on her grave, I still plan on doing that ↑ 1.3k ↓ Reply Share
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  • 18
    Font - KZMountain Rider 1 day ago Math teacher asked the class a question, I confidently put my hand up and gave what I thought was the correct answer. Teacher looks at me and says "Not everything has to be a joke Mark". That truly crushed my spirit and I never put my hand up to answer another question all year. 691 Reply Share
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  • 19
    Font - Jazz6701 1 day ago The teacher wouldn't let me go to the med bay when I was having the worst headache of my life. "What are they gonna do" I don't know, maybe treat me, it's their job. (The nurses were actually good at their job.) 628 Reply Share
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  • 20
    Font - 040 LolaNori 1 day ago when i was in 7th grade my history teacher sent me to the headmaster's room because i was DRAWING. (he never sent people out of the classroom even if they were in their cellphones + another kid was drawing RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, he saw it and didn't do anything) 429 Reply Share
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  • 21
    Font - Bobmiser2000 - 1 day ago Middleschool gym teacher. For the presidential fitness test, i decided i was going to do as many situps as i could without stopping. Made it to 200 before he said "you know i can only mark up to 50, right?" Couldnt have said something sooner? 415 Reply Share
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  • 22
    Font - bangersnmash13 - 1 day ago There were a few from this one teacher but two things stand the most. 1. Gave me a 0 on a test because my pencil broke. She wouldn't let me sharpen it, or use another pencil. "You should have been prepared" was her reasoning.
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  • 23
    Font - 2. Would make fun of me for getting an answer wrong. Other students would get a simple "no" if they answered wrong, while I would get scolded and 'talked to' for 5 minutes about how I'm so dumb. 306 Reply Share
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  • 24
    Font - FLE LiveLaughTosterBath. 1 day ago I had my highschool guidance counselor failed to send out my transcripts to the colleges I attended to. Caused me to get wait listed on the good schools. 308 Reply Share
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FAILS school students askreddit teacher School of FAIL reddit thread Reddit Terrible Teacher
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