By the time students get to high school, we think we understand our teachers pretty well. They all think their subject is the most important, they don’t care about our personal lives, and they think school work is law.
However, this is not completely true. Teachers have their own mischievous streak. They have their own methods to battle boredom. They have their own opinions on what kind of punishments to hand out to which student based on the student’s personality. And they don’t always agree with the school system.
While she would’ve never said it to her students, my health teacher wanted us to know it was stupid to wait until senior year to teach us sex education since most of us could’ve used that knowledge earlier in life.
There are a lot of things teachers wish their students knew, but can’t ever tell them in person.
Curious to know what these things are, Redditor 2minutestosundown asked:
“High School teachers of Reddit, what is the one thing that you want your students to know that you’d never tell them in person?”
As usual, Reddit delivered.
Only My Subject Matters
"I think what you learn in the other classes is mostly useless rubbish, the things you're supposed to do to learn it is boring and ineffective, and the way our schools are organised is archaic and not fit for humans, much less kids."
– smorgasfjord
""…but my lessons are the most important! And you can't possibly have homework in other classes!"
…would explain a lot in some school years."
– FabianRo
Students Are Rarely The Problem
"Your parents are literally the worst part of my job."
– catniss32
"I tell my mom not to email my teachers because she could make their job miserable."
– Super-horse-person
"Special Ed teacher here. Probably a lot different if this is a Gen Ed teacher but it's the same stuff."
"There's only so much you can do as a teacher to try and get a kid to their full potential. The rest of that responsibility goes to the family ie. the parents and the kid. I can teach your kid all the skills they will ever need, but if the parents don't make them use the skills, or don't make sure they do their homework, or F**KING TELL THEIR KIDS NOT TO LISTEN TO ME (this happens a lot more than you'd think), then why am I even bothering to teach. I'd rather be spending my time with the kids who want to be there and have the support they need to succeed than Little Timmy Tantrum who throws a sh*t fit every time I ask him to do anything."
– lostaoldier481
We Facilitate Relationships
"Yes, I put you in a group with the kid you have a crush on intentionally. I'm stuck here with you 180 days a year, I want to see some drama."
– grumpybatman
"Yes, we have a new seating chart... and yes, I sat you next to her because I can tell you have a crush on her. I noticed you try harder on your work when she is around, and to be honest... you two would make a cute couple :)"
– Deleted User
"I can see who you have a crush on in the classroom."
– sebastian94-
I Choose When To Intervene
"I’m not saying I liked fights in my classroom. I’m just saying I might have taken a little longer to react when the jerk student / bully was finally getting what was long overdue."
"Also, thank you to my students who would have my back when they’d kindly remind the class that I exist. "HEY, YA’LL MOTHA F*CKAS SHUT THE F*CK UP. MR. ____ IS TRYNA TEACH!" I had to look a little disappointed, but I appreciate you and I thank you for being my voice."
– entredeuxeaux
I Treat You How You Treat Others
"I’d let you get away with so much more if you were actually a decent person who treated others with kindness and respect. A-holes rarely get the benefit of doubt or indifference."
– ExistentialistJesus
"Absolutely this. Kids would be surprised by how much freedom they could get if they all tried to be nice to each other."
– thisisbutaname
Not All Words Get A Reaction
"Yelling “fu**!” in the hallways doesn’t make you a badass. Teachers are yelling f**k in their heads all day long."
– lynnmarie31583
"Amen"
– Dee_is_a_bird_01
"Ok, that's very valid. But yelling "crotch gobbler!" in a ridiculously silly voice through a vent beside a dead silent joke of a geometry class has to have some redeeming quality, right?"
"No one is yelling crotch gobbler in their head all day"
– Account2toss_afar
We Can Hear...
"That we have much better hearing than you assume. We just choose our battles as it pertains to inappropriate comments. And sometimes I pretend not to see that thing you did just because I too found it humorous, and speaking to you about it would only result in me cracking up."
– moonwalkersb
"It's so funny when they think they're getting away with something but no, it's just near the end of the day and you're too tired to deal with it"
– Deleted User
...And Smell
"The weed smell doesn't magically disappear between the parking lot and my classroom."
– FunkyChromeMedina
"We can smell the weed. Seriously, at least wait until after school."
– CurvingClown
"It's called high school for a reason, right?"
– The_Petalesharo
You Will Use Some Of This Knowledge
"The odds of you using any specific piece of knowledge you learn in high school is slim. The odds of you using some piece of knowledge from high school is near absolute and you have no idea what it's going to be or when it will happen, so you may as well try at all of it. The biggest thing you're going to learn is how to learn."
– hey_mr_ess
We Do Understand You
"My favorite high school teacher (he taught history) confessed on the last day of my senior year that he always started class by talking about something completely random because he knew none of us were ready to pay attention right when class was supposed to start. Had no idea. It was a really good strategy that made the transition into the lesson a lot less jarring."
–SuperNerdAF
"If your parents email a teacher and argue with them, the whole staff knows. (At least at my school)"
callmedoglady
"Yes, and when there is a parent who is particularly awful to a teacher, that teacher will warn all of the kid's future teachers before they even sit in their assigned seat on the first day of school."
GoAwayWay
I wonder if that’s why my calculus teacher always started the day by telling us what trouble her kids caused that morning. Smart!
Okay teachers, what would you add to this list? Let us know in comments below.