Listen, we love teachers. I LOVE my teachers. They shaped who I am today, and I still keep in touch with a lot of them.
But this week, Reddit user u/No-Fig-7789 asked, "What is an immediate red flag about teachers?" Students, parents, and even teachers came through with some spot-on examples:
1. "When they say, 'Most of my students fail this class.' They use it as a brag. Congrats, you suck at your job! Have this medal!"
2. "Those that primarily read off of previous teacher's notes/ textbooks and then assign a lot of homework and proceed to be confused as to why no one is turning their work in right."
3. "When they get annoyed if someone asks a question."
4. "When they're condescending when you get an answer wrong."
5. "When a site like ratemyprofessors has a fair amount of 'Avoid this class at all costs!'"
6. "When they say, 'Your teacher in college would never allow this!' all the time. Well, that's awkward because I have multiple degrees now and I've NEVER had a college professor give a shit about any of the things high school teachers say they would."
7. "When they refuse to admit when they're wrong or made a mistake."
8. "When they say, 'The bell does not dismiss you — I do.'"
9. "When they require a doctor's note for any and all absences."
10. "My son's kindergarten teacher liberally gave kids detention for not sitting still. Huge fucking red flag. They're 4-,5-,6-year-olds!"
11. "When the student asks the teacher continuously for help understanding the lesson or homework, and the teacher replies 'Read the material' every time."
12. "When they favor some students but treat others horribly. There’s a teacher at my school who’s all friendly with the popular students. They can walk in high, skip class, fuck around. She doesn’t care — she thinks it’s funny. But she yelled at a girl for not making eye contact with her when she was talking to her, and she always yells at the unpopular kids over the smallest things."
13. "When they use your grades as leverage. Like, 'Be glad you have a 96. I can make it a 0.' Not cool."
14. "When the position can't remain staffed for multiple years in a row, that has to be an indictment of both the quality of teachers being recruited and the administration."
15. "Sticking strictly to textbooks, or 'teaching' by reading directly from the textbook or their PowerPoint."
16. "They always show a movie. Sometimes, it makes sense. But all the time — something's up."
Teachers, students, faculty, everyone — sound off in the comments below! What do you think of these responses? Let me know!
Responses edited for length/clarity.