Teachers Are Revealing The Rudest Things Parents Have Ever Said To Them
When teachers go into their profession, they do so with the expectation that they will have to deal with some student misbehavior. Whether students are 7 or 17, their brains are still developing and they’ll make poor choices sometimes — especially in front of their peers.
But when you speak with teachers about the behaviors that cause them the most distress, it’s not the students who are to blame, it’s their parents — some of whom seem to badly need a lesson in courtesy, respect and common sense.
We asked the teachers in our HuffPost Facebook community to share some of the shocking things that parents have said to them. Here are some of their responses.
“I got an IEP (Individualized Education Program) input form back from a parent today and the parent said that their kid learns best when they have full access to their teachers at any given time. Not necessarily rude, but it’s the audacity for me.” —Jill Basel
“I had one parent who told me my discipline (think typical 3rd grade classroom behavior systems) wouldn’t work, and that I should get some heavy cans and have his child stand in the front of the room while holding a can in each hand with his arms outstretched. The amount of time was supposed to correlate to how big the behavior issue was. Dad told me that this is how they did it at home.” — Kim DeAngelo
“I teach preschool. I once had a parent tell me, ‘I worked in daycare too, then I decided to get a career’ — knowing full well I have a degree and 17 years of experience.” — Tristen Kite
“I had a parent tell me that their child, who was academically performing below average, was a genius and I just wasn’t smart enough to comprehend that.” — Abigail E. Beets
“I had a parent tell me that they didn’t need to teach their child morals, as that is what school should be teaching them.” — Wendy Frost
“My son doesn’t have to respect you, but you have to respect him.” — Joy E Taylor Anderson
“I had a father, who was a physician, call to berate me for giving his son a D in art class (he really earned an F for not turning in assignments, but I was being kind). When I said I would not change his grade, he said that he didn’t understand why, because, ‘No one ever makes a living at art anyway, but my son is going to be a doctor.’” — Sue Davidson
“My very first year teaching, I sent home little gift bags for the holidays which included some art supplies. A mother called and yelled at me because her son had colored on their walls. She told me that I needed to come to her house and scrub her walls.” — Lisa Stephenson-Horne
“I’m a veteran special education teacher, specializing in autism and mental health issues. I had a parent ask if I was studying to be a ‘real teacher’ someday.” — Kimberly Roth Boston
“I once had a parent cuss me out when I called home about her son’s grades and behavior in class. I was then told that he was her problem when he was at home and my problem when he was at school, and not to call again.” — Teri Madewell
“During back to school night, a parent showed up drunk, got in my face, and said, ‘I know you’re the mean one. No one likes you.’ When I tried to talk to her, she put her hand in my face. Her son and I ended up having a great year together and he still stops by every day to say hello.” — Heather Miles
“The district attorney asked me to chain his child to his desk so he wouldn’t skip class.” — Nancy Letobar
“I had a parent tell me that she knew I gave her child a C in English this semester so that I could give her an A the next semester to make myself look good.” — Jill Fry Tomlinson
“At an open house event, a parent asked me ‘Are you going to get pregnant again this year, too? It really affected my son’s learning when you went on maternity leave and we want to make sure it won’t happen again.’ Another parent came to our parent-teacher conference and informed me that his son wouldn’t be at school for the entire next week, because he had to go help with the family business. The dad looked me dead in the face and said, ‘We are going to make $5,000 in just a couple of days. I bet you wish you weren’t a teacher now!’” — Angela Anthony
“I had a pre-k parent demand I make her child wear a jacket. She told me to ‘use force’ if necessary, saying, ‘He’s four years old for Christ sake.’” — Mandie Goody Sawyer
“A parent I had not seen or spoken to since Meet the Teacher told me, ‘You lack empathy and something is missing from your classroom.’ She had no concerns about her child (who was lovely and sweet) and scheduled a meeting out of the blue to say this.” — Cassie Bailey
“A parent told me, ‘No wonder my kid doesn’t like you. I don’t like you either,’ because I wouldn’t change the kid’s grade to an A.” — Emy Schroeder Stover
“At parent-teacher conferences a parent screamed at me because I had given her son a B+, and she said her son only got A’s. I tried to explain to her that some of his work was plagiarized, but she wouldn’t stop yelling. I just sat there until she got up and left. I had been teaching for quite a few years, so I knew it was best to stay quiet and let her burn herself out.” — Veronika Varga
“I had a parent email me at 10 PM on a Friday night requesting a letter of recommendation for their child … by 9 AM the next morning. I didn’t see the email until I returned to work on Monday morning. I emailed them back and said I could provide them a letter within a few days, if they still needed/wanted it. The parent then proceeded to call me ‘lazy’ and said I ‘ruined’ their child’s chance at college because I didn’t respond ‘on time.’ I wished them the best of luck in finding another person to write a letter of recommendation.” — Lily Fitzgerald
“‘I pay your salary, so you will listen to me yell at you for lying about what my daughter did and said in your class!’ I walked away and let her deal with administration — they get paid the bigger bucks.” — Diana Sophia
“Years ago, I had a parent yell at me because the student’s father had signed the report card, so she didn’t know that her son was not doing well in reading. The father and mother lived in the same house.” — Beth Gehm
“During Covid, while on a virtual google meet with kids, a parent messaged me over Dojo and called me an ‘ugly pimple-faced bitch.’ I saw the message while working with kids and I had to stay calm and not cry in front of them. It was my first year of teaching just a few months in. I will never forget it.” — Marissa Whited
“I had a parent who actually wanted me to remove a splinter from her foot. She wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t oblige.” — Patricia Leete
“A grandparent of a 5th-grader told her grandson she didn’t like me and he didn’t have to listen to me.” — Sharon C Landay
“I had a parent tell me it was my fault her 18-year-old senior was sleeping in class, and asked if I had considered ‘spicing up’ my lessons. That last lesson he was sleeping through? The Rwandan genocide.” — Sarah Rivas
“You’re older than I thought you would be.” — Amy Elizabeth
“I would never respect anyone that looked like you.” — Indian Ved
“‘Has he committed a felony? It would be easier if you let him do what he wants to do. If not, he will bother you. He knows that he doesn’t need a diploma. He will be in the family business.’” — Suzanne Branch
