No human is perfect. In the heat of the moment, when emotion is running high or you're running on nerves and anxiety, often certain "words" can be exchanged. Words, that when you reflect in hindsight, you know were a poor choice in the moment. It happens, we aren't always going to be articulate and on point. But acknowledging and sharing remorse is appreciated.
Redditor u/Shaymew1 wanted teachers to share some moments they wish they could take back by asking.... Teachers of Reddit, what is something you've said to a student that you deeply regret?
Full of Regret.
As a substitute, I was having trouble with one class in particular. In anger, because the kids weren't respecting me and they were out of control I kicked a kid out of class. Just told him to go to the principal, because instead of staying in class he decided to wander around the hall. I told him when he got back to go to the principal. Didn't really think that one through.
Come to find out? He was on the spectrum and he was upset that he had a substitute and his routine changed. I saw him after class while I was walking back to the main building one day and apologized for my behavior and I deeply regretted my behavior. thestonedkoala
A Tirade.
Substitute teacher here, was doing a long-term assignment at public middle school for the chorus teacher. The teacher only left 1 week of stuff for the classes to do so I had to improvise the last 5 weeks, which was stressful enough.
But this school refused to send kids with behavioral issues to the learning center where they are supposed to go. As a result there were 2 or 3 kids in every class that made each day a test of my patience, to put it mildly. For example, the very big 6th grade boy who punched a small 6th grade girl in the face, the one who called me an a**hole during class, the one who thought I was being racist for calling him out for follow exactly zero of my directions, and the one who would look me in the eye and just say NO whenever I gave the class something to do.
Anyway, towards the end I had one of those days simply put, I lost it. I started screaming at the top of my lungs for a good 5 minutes, red in the face, spit flying, totally unhinged. I don't remember a word of what I said. There wasn't any profanity, but I doubt anything I said many any sense whatsoever. It wasn't directed at any one kid, just the whole class.
I regretted it as soon as I finished the tirade. It was embarrassing and totally unprofessional. The next day I apologized to the kids and we just carried on. But I know that for years those kids will be like, yo. You remember when that sub totally lost his s**t? Yeah. That was crazy. EdwardLewisVIII
Nobody Likes You.
I once let a student know that he was annoying his classmates in an attempt to be cool and witty. He really was, and I told him that his classmates didn't like the persona he put on. To rephrase in an extremely brutal way, I said "Hey kiddo, I know you think you are being cool, but guess what, your classmates don't like you." I didn't say it like that, of course, but that was basically the message. It came as a shock to him, I know. His face said it all.
In hindsight I know I just crushed the confidence of someone who desperately needed more confidence, and some gentle guidance on social skills, not a stone cold reality check. This was back when I was still a very inexperienced teacher. I have found better ways to deal with similar issues since. Reddit
You Scared?
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One of my students wrote a nasty anonymous note to a classmate and I found out who it was. Without letting him know I knew who it was, I called him a coward in front of the class and said that "real" men don't rely on nasty, anonymous notes to handle their business. I still believe he was a coward for his actions, but I regret labeling a student and for humiliating him in front of his peers. MrIPitytheFool
Lead Heathens.
It was my first year as a teacher and I was teaching an infant class (6-7 year olds). While I was having a discussion with my teaching assistant about who she should support a pencil hit me in the temple.
I turned round fully prepared to make an example of someone due to the dangers of throwing pencils and to be honest I was fuming it had nearly hit me in the eye/ the disrespect.
Went over to the table I thought it came from. One child was making no eye contact and another child pointed to them. I made the child who was pointed at stand up and (regrettably for more than one reason) shouted at him pretty intensely. I could see he was trying to say something but I wasn't letting him speak and continued the barrage for a good few minutes. Everyone else in the room sitting in dead silence.
When I finally stopped for breath the kid, in tears, said it wasn't him but the kid that pointed to him! The rest of the children confirmed the story. I felt awful because obviously it wasn't this kids fault and also I shouldn't have lost my temper. I apologized a lot to the first kid and spoke to the kids parents and explained the situation.
By the time it came to tell off the kid that actually did it I was still taken aback by how poorly I had reacted minutes before I just took him outside and gave him a quiet lecture. Turns out they were karate chopping the edge of the pencils not intentionally throwing them and one just happened to hit me. Feel like I learned a lot about how to manage behavior from that incident but still regret the whole situation. Dome_of_a_Tonne
Too Soon!
A very popular student in our class died by suicide by hanging himself. The next day we were in class and the teacher knew we weren't able for any work, so she decided to let us play a game for the class. She said "Let's play Hangman."
She was nearly finished drawing the hanged man before someone in the class spoke up and told her it wasn't an appropriate game right now. She realized her mistake and just sat at her desk with her head in her hands and cried. She'd just been trying to distract us, we felt so sorry for her. isaywekeepit
Excused.
Recently had a student sleeping at his desk during exam prep. So I asked him to answer the question that was on the board. He didn't really seem to want to but I made him answer it, he got the right answer. However as it turns out he had excused himself from final exams on account of severe depression. I felt really bad about that even though I had no way of knowing it before that lesson. goudentientjeThrough the Roof.
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I was a teacher aide in a wood shop class. Some kids were up in the attic above the shop. They were strictly not allowed up there, but I said, "I don't care if you guys are up here as long as you are careful." One of them fell through the ceiling and broke his spine and arm. i-am-unimportant
Not Okay Dude.
My gym teacher in 6th grade was an a**hole, constantly swearing at us and sometimes hitting us. Once, after he threatened me he said "If I ever see you walking down the road and talking crap, I'll make sure you never step on this place again." My reply as a quiet kid "okay."
2 days later that guy was never allowed to teach and spent time in jail. captainpatakis
You want the truth?
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When I was a first year teacher A mother once asked me if her 13 year old son had potential. I said no and it still haunts me to this day. mettadown
There are a ton of jobs or favors that don't require much skill, experience, or labor, and people who are fortunate enough to get hired walk away with a king's ransom.
Looking for those kinds of "jobs," however, is like finding a teardrop in the ocean.
Few who struck gold, at least temporarily, shared their experiences when Redditor NikTheNerdBoy asked:
"What's the dumbest thing you were paid to do and how much were you paid?"
Good luck finding these well-paying tasks.
Running Errands
"Had a WFH gig working sort of as a personal assistant for a rich guy on the opposite coast from me. I did all kinds of wacky sh*t for him. For example, one time I had to break up with my boss's girlfriend because he was too wimpy to do it himself. That was literally my job."
"One day, I bought him a new pickup truck. Meaning, I negotiated the deal and paid for the truck with his credit card. All in all, I'd say the process probably took about two weeks, for which I was paid my usual wage at six hours per day. No big deal."
"Somehow, his dad found out about the new truck and he decided he wanted a new pickup truck too. He called me about a week after I bought the truck for my boss and said he'd pay me $2,000 to buy a truck for him. I called the same dealership back, spoke to the same salesman, told him what was up and basically said give me another truck, same price as before. The salesman was only too happy to comply."
"It took ten minutes to make the phone call and then a day or two to get the title and other paperwork sorted out. So, depending on how you look at it, I made $2,000 for just ten minutes worth of 'work.'"
"Somehow, my boss's rich friend found out about all this. He decided he wanted a new SUV. 'OhYeahThrowItAway, you have to buy it for me!' I told him the last time I bought someone a vehicle, I got paid $2,000. The friend was basically like F'k it, I'll pay you $3,000, just get it for me' and then he emailed me his wish list."
"That deal took a little longer, maybe two weeks."
"I made $5k extra in just two months buying vehicles for lazy (or dumb) rich people."
Staying Out Of The Picture
"I was paid $300 to move my car for a movie that was filming by my apartment."
Pack It Up
"Got paid 10k to leave an apartment because it was sold and new owner wanted to move in. I was tenant (renter) under previous owner. I had 4 months left in my rental contract. This was in Spain (Barcelona)."
European Vacation
"I was flown to Paris to do a compliance audit, the systems weren't set up for the audit, couldn't get access so spent the week being taken to restaurants and shopping. On 1 of the days and at the last minute the company decided to send me to London for a meeting, literally just to meet people. I missed the Eurostar because I forgot my passport (totally blanked that I was entering another country), they had to rebook the Eurostar. Nothing was achieved out of this trip. No audit was completed. Nothing came of the meeting. The cost to the company 25k+ for me to do nothing for a week. Corporate money is ridiculous money."
Not much labor was required for these so-called "jobs."
Ten-Minutes Of "Work"
"I used to work for a PR agency. Every month one of our clients wanted a handful of photos re-sized for their website; nothing fancy, just setting the width to 500px in Windows Photo Manager."
"It was maybe ten minutes of work every month, but the contract said the minimum amount of time we would charge them for was one day - and this was for the full team too, not just me. It must have cost them several hundred pounds every month."
"I showed the client how to do it several times, and explained that they could save a lot of money doing it themselves. They didn't seem to mind."
"In the end I made sure I got it in writing that I'd informed them of their options and let them get on with it."
Thank You, Goodbye
"$175 to do some kind of user study at Netflix, I show up in the lobby and then they go, 'actually we got the data we needed from the studies earlier today, you're free to go!'. Still got paid!"
– Lycid
Hush Money
"I did an event for a national association for deaf people at which they did every presentation in ASL. I am an audio engineer, who specializes in live sound and concerts. I did nothing for 5 days of show, $450 a day."
– murter95
Paid To Play
"I got asked to do 2 hours of barrier watch (Guarding a barrier ribbon while a crew did x rays inside a power plant). This was asked last minute after a 12 hour shift so the bonuses of staying happening to be a Sunday, etc I was being paid $110 to stand and play on my phone and make sure sure nobody tried to pass all the DO NOT ENTER DANGER DANGER signs during a time of day with minimal personnel."
– Hotel29
Movie Scene Dance GIF by FandorGiphyGotta Have Wendy's
"I was driving for uber. Picked up a bunch of drunks at like 2 AM. They were like 'Yo we gotta grab some Wendy' I go 'I'm sorry this is my busy period' they go 'Can we bribe you?' I go 'Absolutely you can bribe me.'"
"One the guys said I'll give you $100...I was shocked it was that high, another guy said '$150' and finally his wife said 'F'k it I want Wendy $200 and we buy you Wendy too.'"
"I finally said yes, FYI I hadn't said yes yet because the reality is $20-$40 would have gotten me to stop at Wendy."
"So there I sat at Wendy as those 3 drunks bought me wendy and paid me $200."
Substitute Chef
"One time I was at this super fancy dinner party. I'm talking servers and everything, I was in a freaking tux! It was outside and catered by a professional bbq company. I mean these guys had won international competitions. Well get this, they were double booked and didn't show. The other servers didn't know how to grill, and this totally smokin server in her 30s is just staring at the grill like a deer in the headlights. Well I don't want to be a hero but I ask if I can help. The entire staff spend the rest of the night bringing me drinks as I make this bbq and NOBODY realizes the award winning chefs didn't show up!"
Where Do We Apply?
"Ok this wasn't a job or anything.... But I got 10$ to eat half a watermelon."
Some opportunities present themselves.
When I was a kid, I hung out at a Japanese summer festival booth where you roll a bowling ball on a track that had two hills. The objective was to push the ball hard enough to get it over the first hill but not too hard to get it over the second hill.
I was fascinated with the challenge and stayed there for a long time as my parents were over by the food booths with their friends.
It was a slow day, and the dude working the booth wanted to peace out for a bit, so he offered to pay me $50 to "hang out" in his stead.
Of course, I said "sure."
No one ever came, and I earned fifty bucks rolling bowling balls for an hour. Was it the dumbest thing I ever did for money? Maybe, but I laughed all the way to the piggy bank that day.
That guy really must have despised his post enough to give a twelve-year-old kid $50.
Food is for survival. That was the plan. But over the years it has become somewhat of a way of life. Some of the most annoying people are foodies. They get so uppity about the preferences of others. Like, let me just enjoy what I enjoy.
Mom No!
Mom Smile GIFGiphy"I don't like my mom's cooking."
"Livestock have refused to eat my mother's cooking. She's a terror in the kitchen."
Take them OUT!!
"I hate walnuts in baked goods. It tastes like wood shavings and completely ruins the flavor."
"I love walnuts but I feel this way about raisins in baked goods, raisins are fine by themselves but not in sweets, I once ordered cinnamon rolls at Hardee's and bit into it and found out there were raisins in it, and I was grossed out and didn't want to eat it. At least freakin' McDonald's serves real cinnamon rolls without freakn' raisins!"
The Fart Ingredient
"I don't like kidney beans except in chili."
"I don't even really like them in chili. I'd rather have pintos in everything."
Oh thew Crunch...
"Pickles and onion make the best sandwich. I make most of my own pickles from stuff I grow or get from local farms in the fall, but I responded to another comment with two different heinous concoctions I enjoy. Crunchy, salty, sour. I really like pickles and onions to begin with."
"I use more than pickled cucumber though. Like the last one I made, I used garlic naan, mayo, red onion, scallions, pickled garlic, green olives, Kalamata olives, garlic dill cucumber, and green beans. Shallot, sour pickled onion, sweet pickled cucumbers, and sushi ginger on sprouted 14 grain bread is also also a favorite of mine."
No Sizzle
bacon GIFGiphy"I do not like bacon."
"I've been learning this over the years. If I'm gonna do bacon I much prefer the maple bacon since it's sweeter and doesn't overpower with saltiness."
- truije15
Who doesn't like bacon? That seems like a sacrilege. Right? But to each their own. Though I will never understand not loving walnuts in comfort food. Y'all need more self love.
Love the Big M
"Fast food tastes amazing, yeah its unhealthy as hell but don't you sit there and lie and say it tastes bad."
"Pisses me off when people act like they're better then McDonald's. What the hell? McDonald's is incredible and billions of people buy their food still. The same can't be said for other restaurants."
Blasphemy!
golden girls flirting GIF by HULUGiphy"Cheesecake is disgusting."
"I don't find cheese cake disgusting. It looks good. Smell delicious. Has ingredients in it that I love. But i can not eat more than one bite. It is too rich. One bite and i feel sick."
Too Many Legs
"Lobsters and crabs are giant insects."
"I don't really think that's that controversial, in my area of the world we even call this creature a 'Moreton Bay Bug' even though some fisheries try to give it the more appealing name of 'flathead lobster'."
bad bones
"Boneless wings are vastly superior to bone-in wings. I think bone-in wings are a ripoff because when you get half a pound of them, part of that half-pound is inedible. It's like if you ordered a quarter-pound cheeseburger, but the restaurant considers the weight of the plate to be part of that quarter-pound and you end up with just a slider. Just give me some damn meat."
The Slime
man oyster GIFGiphy"Oysters are truly disgusting and absurdly overpriced for quarter sized pieces of snot that tastes like salt water and hot sauce."
- C_23_s
Ok, I'm trying to stay calm. I don't want to judge. But some of these opinions... are leaving me shook. Except the oysters. That is that work of the devil. Look away...
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