Substitute gym teacher forces 11-year-old girl with -8 vision to take her glasses off during P.E. class, gets hurt while playing basketball

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Sep 24, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

What was his problem?

We all had that one teacher or coach who was randomly cruel to us for no reason. I will never forget my nefarious middle school P.E. teacher, Coach Wallace. For the first six weeks of the 2012-2013 school year, he seemed fine, but things took a turn for the worse when I ended up on the news during a school field trip. Our science class got to see real dinosaur bones near a local lake, and when a reporter interviewed me about the experience, I said, "We're the only kids in the whole country who get to do anything like this!" To me, then and now, this was a flawless soundbite, an incredibly advanced one for a 13-year-old. To Coach Wallace, this was something to make fun of for the rest of the school year. I can still hear his voice in my head saying, "We're the only kids in the whole country who get to run laps!" Maybe I was too sensitive, but in hindsight, I think that's the kind of ribbing that a coach can have with a student that they're close with. Not some random kid in PE who is too unathletic to play an actual sport.

Some teachers are plain mean to kids they don't respect, and that's doubly true for elective teachers. Theatre teachers are so mean to kids who can't act. Choir teachers are cruel to kids who are bad at singing. PE teachers have a certain disdain for nerdy kids who can't catch a ball, and I have a feeling that's the situation in this story. The substitute gym teacher insisted that this student take off her glasses during a game, even though she's functionally blind without them. She got injured while playing basketball, and her mom is understandably infuriated at the school.

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  • 01
    Little girl smiling with a basketball
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    An 11-year-old girl who was forced to play basketball without her glasses, causing an accident on the court. 

    Individual pictured is a model used for illustrative purposes.

  • 02

    Am I overreacting for being angry about my daughter being told to take her glasses off for PE?

    My 11 year old daughter is extremely nearsighted with a -8 prescription which means she is basically blind without her glasses relies on them to see at all times.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 03
    She has a substitute PE teacher at the moment. Earlier this week she said she had been told to take her glasses off for PE. I was quite concerned about this and put a note
    via u/mbreteche
  • 04
    in her communication book saying she needs to wear them as she has very limited vision without them.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 05
    But today I got notified that my daughter had collided with another student and has badly rolled her ankle. Then I found out that she was made to play basketball without her glasses.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 06
    I've sent an angry email to the school because this is exactly what I was worried about. The teacher's defence for making her take them off is that they're a safety risk as they could fall off while running, get knocked off or broken if she collides with another child, and
    via u/mbreteche
  • 07
    potentially injure her eyes or face. I find it extremely frustrating that the solution appears to have been to remove my daughter's ability to see rather than to find a safe and sensible way for her to participate.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 08
    So I've demanded a written explanation how this was considered a reasonable safety decision to ask a child who can barely see without her glasses to participate in PE without them, especially since I've already mentioned her needs specifically.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 09
    AIO and being a Karen about this? My partner seem to think so. I'm not normally like this but i find that the teacher and school isn't taking my daughter's visual impairment seriously.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 10
    MundaneAd8695 Not a Karen. Fight for your girl.
    via u/mbreteche
  • 11
    Prestigious-Tip-6819 Allowing someone to wear their glasses is a 'reasonable accommodation'. Use terms like this. Write a letter to the school. Have your daughter carry a similar letter in her backpack. It should say terms like "accommodation" and :request alternate activities".
    via u/mbreteche
  • 12
    wannabeomniglot Hon, I am a teacher at a -6.5 and it is HARD to navigate a bunch of kids when you can't see them. I have to change glasses during the day and it's a different world. I don't know about your girl, but depth perception is really tough for me and I would not under any circumstances play sports without my vision. I can barely get down the street without hitting anyone. I'm not a PE teacher, but I have never heard of a kid being told to take their glasses off. Your kid's assistive dev
    via u/mbreteche
  • 13
    thickhipstightlips How is it a "Karen" thing to be upset about a substitute teacher taking away a medically necessary item from your child? If anything, I'd cause even more of a fuss! Does the regular teacher make her take them off? NO ! So, if the regular teacher doesnt do that, then it really isn't a "safety" issue, now is it? It's a safety issue now, since she got physically hurt without having her glasses. NOR X100000. You're the only voice your child has, since apparently your partner doesn
    via u/mbreteche
  • 14
    DisneyBuckeye NOR I would involve the school principal in this discussion. I worked as a substitute teacher for a time after I had been laid off (strongly recommend against it - it was awful) and there are VERY strict rules about what subs can and cannot do. Instructing a student to not use a medical accommodation (glasses) is a big no-no. If you have an older set of glasses for her, maybe use those during PE, but my gut reaction is the child wears the glasses during PE or is exempt from the act
    via u/mbreteche
  • 15
    ryodark NOR. I've been unable to function without corrective lenses since age 7 (nearly at -13 in both eyes now as an adult), and my jaw hit the floor reading your post. Someone with a -8 vision DEFINITELY needs glasses to function. I would raise holy HL if I were in shoes. Lif your
    via u/mbreteche

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teacher Terrible Teacher gym class sports elementary school gym middle school glasses basketball physical education
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