Teacher Fails Middle School Student for Being 'Really Poor': 'I thought I did actually pretty good... But then I get my grade afterwards. I failed.'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 7, 2026 11:15 AM EDT

Should this student be penalized for not being able to complete an assignment as directed? 

When it comes to job interviews, most of the rules are standardized across industries. Whether you're interviewing to be an office worker or you're stepping into a retail role, you need to dress nicely for that interview. 

Sure, it's a bit old fashioned. But in theory, it allows the interviewer to focus on the candidate, instead of being distracted by a person's clothing choices. 

You could argue that it actually protects candidates in some ways, because it prevents a potential employer from judging them based off the clothes they wear. Like maybe you have a punk rock look outside the office, or you dress in very bright and fashionable clothes all the time. Your employer might not appreciate that. But they don't need to know about that until they've already signed you on to be their employee. 

This middle schooler had a practice interview, and she believes that her choice of outfit is the reason why she didn't do well. 

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  • 01
    Teacher helps her middle school student with an assignment, in a depiction by models.
    via Getty Images

    Teacher helps her middle school student with an assignment, in a depiction by models.

  • 02
    So this happened a while ago but it still gets me. In middle school, we had this big project we were working towards that was basically part of a "career preparedness" thing, and at the end, we would have to do a mock job interview. This was all
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 03
    graded, and the interview part would be a huge percentage of the grade. I grew up really poor, I didn't have clothes for the mock interview, and my parents couldn't afford to get me anything for it either. But my mom
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 04
    still tried her best to help make it as good as possible. I had a pair of tattered sneakers I wore everyday, and she cleaned them the best she could the night before. My dad let me borrow one of his button down shirts since none of
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 05
    Middle school teacher and her students work together on a lesson, as depicted by models.
    via Getty Images

    Middle school teacher and her students work together on a lesson, as depicted by models.

  • 06
    my mom's shirts fit (for reference, I am a girl, so even still his shirt was too big for me, but was better than my ugly t-shirts lol). And I ironed my best pair of jeans to make them look as nice as possible.
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 07
    The morning of, my mom also did my hair really nice to look as professional as I could. I go to the mock interview, and I thought I did actually pretty good, considering I was really nervous.
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 08
    But then I get my grade afterwards. I failed the mock interview part. In the comments, the teacher doing the interview said I answered questions fine and had a good demeanor, but I didn't dress professionally
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 09
    Middle school friends talk about their assignments, in a representation by models.
    via Getty Images

    Middle school friends talk about their assignments, in a representation by models.

  • 10
    I never told my parents that I failed it because of that, I felt too bad after they tried to help me look as good as they could.
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam
  • 11
    Looking back I wonder if I had, and my parents had contacted the teacher to explain we just couldn't afford new clothes at the moment, if it would've helped. Maybe she just
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  • 12
    Middle school teacher smiles at her class, which is represented by models.
    via Getty Images

    Middle school teacher smiles at her class, which is represented by models.

  • 13
    didn't realize that was just the best I could do at the moment. But it still me off remembering it
    via RaeFullyPoweredBeam

  • What do we all think about this? 

    I’d be curious how long this girl had to prepare for her interview, because she did have a few choices besides asking Mom and Dad. If she had, say, a week to prepare, maybe she could’ve asked a friend who was around the same size as her if they could either share interview clothes, or if she could borrow and outfit for the day. Maybe she could’ve reached out to a relative who was in a better financial position, and asked if they could lend her something. Even if the relative didn’t have anything to give her, perhaps they would’ve offered a spontaneous shopping spree to help their family member out. 

    And finally, I know this person said she was tight on cash, and as a teen, that’s totally understandable. But even teens can offer to mow a neighbors’ lawn or rake some leaves, and earn maybe $20 in a day. That would’ve been enough money to pop over to the local Goodwill and find a pair of pants to wear. Then, she could’ve resold the pants afterwards, making back a portion of her money. 

    But, with that said, I know I was not that resourceful as a teen, and I might’ve been wildly embarrassed to ask anyone for help. Thanks to commenters, she has a few ideas for if something like this comes up again! 

    More importantly, though, is that the teacher judged her clothing rather than her performance. The way you dress is incredibly important to an interview, but the teacher could’ve said that separately. The teacher didn’t know this student’s circumstances, and probably just assumed that the student didn’t know or didn’t care. Why would the teacher have failed her when this could’ve been a learning opportunity?

  • 14

    Apparently this is a semi-common occurance.

    Mountain-Practice-43 I once got a poor grade on a "wax figure" type of presentation in 6th grade simply because my skirt layering was the wrong century. We lived in a tent. Granted, my parents couldn't care less, but school teachers should know better.
    via Mountain-Practice-43
  • 15

    This kid knew her parents would be upset if they knew, as this person pointed out

    Ok-Lawfulness5601 the fact that you never told your parents is the part that gets me. they did everything they could and you took the hit quietly to protect them from feeling like it wasn't enough. that's more maturity than that teacher showed
    via Ok-Lawfulness5601
  • 16

    Do we think this is worth a complaint? Is the teacher even still there?

    Ok_Department_7563 I would honestly complain. about that now even if it happened a while ago.
    via Ok_Department_7563
  • 17
    xJaneDoe This breaks my heart. And I feel so bad that you felt like you had to hide this from your parents and hold on to this for so long. That's why I hated when we had to do interviews too in civics and careers class. It didn't feel fair to be graded on how we were dressed when some of us couldn't afford fancy clothes
    via xJaneDoe
  • 18

    I've never done an assignment like this, but it seems to be common in some places

    WrittenInTheStars oh I'm mad on your behalf. for my senior project in high school, we had to dress professionally to give presentations, but we weren't graded specifically on that. The attire was either marked "acceptable" or
    via WrittenInTheStars
  • 19
    "unacceptable" because those teachers knew there were kids who couldn't afford to buy new clothes. just for that day. THAT'S how it should be. I'm sorry this happened, OP.
    via WrittenInTheStars
  • 20
    kjohappyclass Mine was a problem with my uniform - too short of shorts. And really, they weren't ridiculously short; I didn't roll or hike them up. I didn't have cheeks sticking out. There wasn't anything crazy; it was just that my finger tips didn't touch the hem. It just so happened that uniforms were expensive and I hit a growth
    via kjohappyclass
  • 21
    spurt. It was challenging for my parents to get me those uniforms (especially on top of the private schooling itself). I'll never forget getting in trouble and the total shaming I went through by my teachers, all because the shorts my family sent me to school in were too short. I was a 5th grader. I wasn't picking out my own. clothes.
    via kjohappyclass

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