OK so ... the educational system could use some work, but surely it's not to the point where teachers are outright lying to, gaslighting, or abusing their students, right?
One Reddit user asked:
What is the biggest lie a teacher has told you?
... and yeah... we should probably sit down and have a few conferences.
Them Snowballs
2nd grade. Writing assignment on how to build a snowman. One of my instructions I wrote said "now put the snowballs on top of one another, building a tower."
Teacher said "no, it's THEM snowballs. Change it now."
After arguing (and getting detention out of it) I changed it to say "now put them snowballs on top of one another blah blah" and we displayed our instructions out in the hall so the next PTA meeting could view them.
My mom later pointed out the grammatical error in my instructions. My teacher said "aren't kids just the darndest? How cute when they make mistakes"
F*ck you. I'm still angry about it 22 years later.
- MG_72
Honesty Always Pays Off
"You can tell me everything if you have any problem, I won't tell anyone".
I was being bullied all the time in my school. When I told him about this problem, he brought it up at the class meeting.
It resulted in severe escalation and my bullies basically forced me to tell him that the problem is solved now. He smiled at me and told me that honesty and being open always pays off.
No, a**hole. It doesn't.
Financial Aid Exists?!
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"If you can't afford to pay cash for college, you can't afford to go."
This was in the early 90's and no one in my family had ever been to college, so I didn't have anyone outside of that environment to talk to. I had a 2 year full ride scholarship, but I didn't think I could afford the rest.
They never once mentioned financial aid or student loans. I was poor military kid going to a wealthy high school, so I didn't know any better.
10 years in the military later, I found out about pell grants, student loans, and other ways to pay for school. My life would have been much different if I went straight to college.
Legally Obligated
After telling my guidance counselor about my abusive home situation, hoping that enough of a fuss could be made for the cops to actually do something, she just contacted my parents rather than the authorities.
She told them what I said, and then acted like we'd never spoken when I disappeared for a week and came back with several "ran into a doorknob" injuries.
That was pretty much my par experience for all the adults who repeatedly said they had open doors, always listened, would help, cared, etc.
Being legally obligated to do something doesn't mean people will do it.
My Naive Response
Can I post something I said to students? Back in January students asked me if the coronavirus would sweep through the U.S and shut us down.
I told them we would be okay because we've had scares like this with the swine flu and others and always came out okay. I am really eating my words now and regretting how naive my response was.
Then Why Do We Have Them?
Remember the book lists you'd get at the start of the school year for each class? Sometimes they'd have things like safety glasses for chemistry, a calculator for maths etc.
My computer class list specifically listed a particular brand and model of headphones, so we all got them. Then the teacher running the class denied ever putting them on there and questioned why we were using them.
"I didn't put those headphones on the stationery list at the start of the year, you can't use them."
Then why do thirty students have exactly the same f*cking set of janky budget headphones Marie? She was a miserable old cow.
- rawker86
Not Comparable
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Japanese internment camps during WW2
My history teacher spent so much time on the Holocaust but never even once mentioned that the US did this to Japanese people. I swear I was nearly 30 before I found out about this, and I'm still mad about it.
In 2025 Capitalism Will Save Us All
In high school I had to take an economics class to graduate. The whole class was just propaganda.
We were told how capitalism is a perfect system that will never fail. We had to write essays on how, by 2025, the "economic dips" would level out and everyone would have a fair chance at wealth and financial stability.
What bull.
- CillRed
P.E. Punishment
Teachers say that they'll listen to you, but that's a lie.
It was P.E. I was unable to participate for a week - I even had the doctors note.
The note stated I was free to continue on Friday. I was sitting in my spot and the teacher said "Allie get up and get on the bench now."
I reminded her my doctors note said I could continue Friday. She refused to listen or go double check it and said:
"Stop lying. You just want to have fun since today is playground day. If you were sick then, you're sick now."
She wouldn't let me participate and I had been excited waiting till I could.
Decadence
10th grade, Advanced English.
"Decadent/decadence," was a word we were learning, along with some others for vocabulary.
We were instructed to use them all in a short story or write-up, essentially to ensure we understood the concepts of the words. I only remember this one word from the vocab, but they were all themed similarly.
I wrote a story about decadence a la the late 1920/30s... lavish parties, flowing champagne, chocolate and pearls, etc... it was dumb but it was all I could come up with in the moment. Think a speakeasy meets The Great Gatsby but in a Hooverville.
She argued incessantly that decadence ONLY meant decay. I understood her logic, but argued back that decadence typically meant the decay of society or social norms (like over the top parties by the social elite during the Great Depression). I even argued that the concept was utilized as a marketing scheme in most commercials... chocolate, alcohol, lingerie, perfume, etc...
She refused my answer. No, it only means decay in regards to death or decline of a space. She then continued to belittle me until I stopped (I rarely spoke out in school, so I was wildly embarrassed) and essentially made an example out of me. The rest of my class was filled with the top level students of my grade. I was the outcast, because I was the smart kid from the poor neighborhood. Most of the class ignored me after that and were uncomfortable with the idea that I had argued with an authority figure.
The teacher was wrong (or well, her definition was correct, as was mine).
Here's the definition of decadence, per Merriam-Webster:
1: the process of becoming decadent : the quality or state of being decadent...
"the decadence of modern society escape the decadence that attends upon old age"— G. L. Dickinson
2: a period of decline
... I still seethe with resentment nearly 20 years later. Not because she told me I was wrong, but because she was so cruel about wanting to be correct. Thankfully, I was confident in my understanding of definitions and words. I knew she was wrong, and let it go, but I feel bad for the struggling kids she taught.
Sun Showers Are A Thing
First grade. She got mad at me for drawing a picture of a rainy Spring day, with the sun behind the clouds. Pretty much told me it was impossible for the sun to be out while it was raining.
Now, almost 16 years later, I still remember that incident whenever it rains at the same time the sun is shining.
- m-xxv
CCTV Stupidity
The big one I remember is the during a full school assembly one Friday the headteacher said that he'd fitted CCTV in an area where the smokers of the school would congregate. If they came to his office after assembly and admitted they'd been smoking there, they wouldn't be punished, but he was going to check the footage next week and anyone who didn't admit it would be suspended.
The following Friday the smug prick got up and laughed at the few people who had been stupid enough to believe him and came to his office, actually straight out calling them stupid.
These are the people who he's supposed to be educating.
Then Why Did He Sign The Declaration
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My 8th grade US HISTORY teacher told our class Benjamin Franklin was the best president ever. she was dead on serious. She argued with the class for a bit and told us
"If he wasn't a President, why did he sign the Declaration of Independence?"
the class simply told her to go look at the poster where the Presidents were listed.....
she apologized.
- kngyng
My Orientation Mug
I had a travel mug that I got from student orientation. I filled it with coffee and went to school.
I later forgot the cup in art while I went to lunch, so I decided to get it after lunch. I went back and couldn't find it.
A day later the teacher is drinking HER OWN coffee in MY cup. I tell her "I think you have my cup, Mrs. teacher"
She got defensive and told me she got the cup from a conference meeting. I watched her drink out of it through the whoooole year.
I know it was my cup because I wrote my initials on it in sharpie and I saw duct tape covering over where the Initials should be.
Tastebud Mapping
That certain parts of the tongue have different taste abilities. That is absolutely a myth.
I even almost failed a class because of it. My palette was very well developed, apparently, and I was certain I could taste everything the same on different parts of my tongue.
My teacher made me out to be a liar, scolded me in front of the whole class (was 12 at the time) and I got punished for arguing.
Look who's a jack@ss now mr Griffin!
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