High school can be a horror story. Students know it, teachers know it, and these distressed current and former students definitely know it.
1. Driven Together
The school bus driver began to receive numerous unsigned letters suggesting she was involved romantically with the superintendent. These letters also found their way to her husband. However, this wasn't the most troubling part. Her husband received a phone call so distressing, he hastily jumped into his truck and sped away.
Tragically, he got into a crash and didn't survive. The bus driver vehemently denied any affair. Once her husband was gone, she began a relationship with the superintendent but insisted it only started after her husband's death. It all seems too convenient.
2. Create A Diversion!
Our prom night quickly escalated into a massive mess. One girl discovered she was pregnant while at the dance after taking a test. She then got into a heated argument with her sister who'd spilled the beans to everyone, even leading to a severe exchange of words on the dance floor—but this was just the tip of the iceberg.
In the midst of all this commotion, one individual seized the opportunity to rummage through people's bags and jackets, pilfering credit cards and phones in the process. He then flushed the SIM cards down the toilet.
But his act went unnoticed until he was caught lighting up on school grounds. This led our principal to alert the authorities who then searched him.
The dance was cut short with many upset parents and one soon-to-be mother.
3. Penalty Kick
During my junior or senior Christmas break—the exact year escapes me—a shocking incident gripped our school. One of our prominent football players had mysteriously vanished. After much anxiety, the unsettling truth came to light: Victim to his pent-up rage, he had tragically ended his father's life.
The father, as it happens, was no saint. Carrying a chip on his shoulder towards his wife, blaming her for their youthful pregnancy, he bore on with an embittered existence.
He once had high hopes as a notable high school football star, with potential for a college career. However, his girlfriend's unexpected pregnancy derailed his plans, leading to what he perceived as a forced marriage.
In an effort to vicariously live his squandered dreams, he pushed his children, especially the eldest son, ruthlessly. His treatment of his children was deplorable and his recent demand for the oldest son to end his relationship with his girlfriend, citing her as a "distraction," was the last straw.
No-one held the son accountable for his actions. The mental and physical torment at the hands of his father had reached a boiling point, and he simply...broke.
4. High School Musical
You know, there was a buzz about a music teacher having an affair with a student. Both of them had a knack for theatrics and didn't make any effort to quash the rumors. T
hus, half the school enjoyed the juicy speculation while the other half dismissed it as self-dramatizing fancy. Eventually, the teacher was mysteriously discharged, most of us chalked it up to budget cuts.
Many years later, I bumped into the student and she confirmed the shocking rumors. The nitty-gritties of the story were shockingly jaw-dropping. She had panicked and tried to part ways, hoping to rid herself of the sordid reputation. One rainy night, the teacher showed up on her folks' lawn, inebriated and stark naked, howling her name.
It was like a twisted rendition of John Cusack's scene in Say Anything, just devoid of the boombox.
5. Essay Or Manifesto?
Once upon a time, a student penned a deeply disturbing personal narrative essay for my class. The essay was based around an academic experience. The paper unraveled with the student expressing feeling utterly alone and like an outsider during his educational journey.
It rapidly went on a detour, straying into how he harbored strong feelings of desire towards his attractive female teachers. He went on to describe how an intense protection rose in him around these teachers, culminating in jealousy whenever other male students interacted with them.
In a disquieting twist, he unveiled his darkest fantasy: to slice off the faces of fellow male students and wear them like masks. The sheer horror of these words sent chills rattling down my spine as if I were reading a nightmarish tale.
I immediately shared this situation with my supervisor and we reached out to the advising and counseling center, reading out excerpts from this eerie essay for their evaluation.
Promptly, they took up the cause for further action. Soon, the student was removed from my class, and security was stationed outside my classroom for the subsequent two lectures to ensure nothing untoward happened.
But here's a surprise throwback: the following academic year, a girl in my class informed me that her boyfriend, who was my former student, quite liked my class. Curious, I inquired about his identity, only to have the truly shocking revelation that it was the author of that blood-curdling essay.
I had an overpowering urge to share this with her but was restrained by privacy laws.
6. Straight From The Sauce
So, one day, my buddy brought this crazy hot sauce to our high school and let a bunch of students try it during lunch. That was a huge gaffe. This stuff sat at 1.5 million on the Scoville scale. About 30 students decided to give it a shot.
Many of them started losing it because the sauce was insanely hot. It’s the kind that you're only supposed to add a drop or two into a large pot of chili to fire it up.
A few students started to boast and took a gulp of the sauce. They soon regretted it as they began to throw up due to the intense heat and sudden panic.
Several students had to be rushed off to the school nurse, and some were even sent home because they couldn't handle it—I think many of them didn't fully grasp what a Scoville scale was or the extreme heat capacity of the sauce. The whole scene was nuts.
I also tried it, but only a drop the size of a dime. The heat was so overpowering that all I could focus on was downing milk, and I usually handle spicy food pretty well! Eventually, the principal had to come on the school speaker system and plead, "Whoever brought the hot sauce, just stop." My buddy ended up in a bit of a tight spot over the incident.
7. There Has To Be An Easier Way
As a high school math teacher, I once had this rather demanding student who had a knack for finding reasons to skip class each day – a habit that her parents only further encouraged.
One day, as students were settling into their seats before class started, I was busy assisting another student at my desk. Per routine, this particular girl approached me, inquiring if she could go to the nurse. Without taking my eyes off my task, I merely instructed her to sit down and assured her that I would address her request soon.
As the lesson barely started, I suddenly recalled her question and permitted her to go to the nurse's office, handing her a hall pass. It was at that moment that I experienced quite a shock—her eye was alarmingly red and overflowing with tears. Once she left, I was pulled aside by another student, who shared some truly staggering information with me.
According to her, she had watched this very girl deliberately poke an unmodified, sharp staple into her eye in the previous session. I got a call from the nurse who was rightly astonished. This bizarre and drastic move finally granted the girl her wish—a number of school days off.
8. A Textbook Case Of Mold
In our school hallway, there was this oddly located closet not built into the wall, but standing alone in the middle. We had to walk around it. We'd often hang out there before school since it was convenient to our lockers, despite the closet's constant state of being locked.
The school was notorious for zones of mold due to lack of funding for proper maintenance, and this closet was a prime suspect. I always thought it was the janitor's stash, despite never witnessing any janitor enter it. And then one day, to our shock, the door was open. The sight was something to behold—there was mold. So. Much. Mold.
Inside it housed towers of forgotten German textbooks, all rotting away. The water-damaged pages had swelled and stuck to each other, now adorned with black mold splotches and a dusting of white mold on top. They had morphed into this melted, dried chaos.
I quietly closed the door and turned to my friends, "Well, I guess this explains why Spanish is our only foreign language option".
9. Bridge Over Troubled Water
Back in my freshman year, a girl mysteriously vanished. Later, her body was discovered in a river. Gossip circulated that she was last spotted on a bridge with her boyfriend, leading to suspicions that he played a part. However, nothing was ever proven and it was deemed to either be a tragic accident or a case of suicide.
Fast forward twenty-five years. The same boyfriend brutally takes the life of his lifelong best friend, starts a fire to conceal his act, and then goes into hiding. A few days later, he violently assaulted a woman in a rest stop bathroom to steal her car.
This led the authorities to re-investigate the old case involving his high school girlfriend. Turns out, the rumors had been true all along. He's now locked away, with a lifetime sentence awaiting him.
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10. She Got What She Asked For
In high school, I had a teacher who was young and full of ideals. She encouraged us to think creatively and write essays that were not typical. However, some of her topics were quite shocking. One that stands out in my memory was: "If you had to eliminate an entire group of people; who would they be, what strategy would you use and why would no one notice?”
Though macabre, it was an effective approach to engage teenagers, sadly enough. Interestingly, one student from my class or perhaps another class took a stand by choosing state wards or foster children as the target demographic. The student reasoned their choice on the fact that “if people really cared about them, they would’ve been adopted."
This student even elaborated on the plan of execution, which I regretfully do not remember. The teacher seemed genuinely taken aback. Given her unusual topic, I don’t know what other response she was expecting. She was so disturbed, she had to arrange a meeting with the school counselors.
11. Snakes In A School
A biology teacher kept a large boa constrictor in a classroom terrarium. One morning, everyone walked in to discover an empty snake tank. The snake was mysteriously missing. News spread quickly that a snake was hidden somewhere in the school, putting everyone on constant high alert.
Fast forward three weeks, the snake was still missing, and its absence had become largely forgotten—the perfect cover for the stealthy serpent...Suddenly, during an uneventful class elsewhere in the school, the snake dramatically tumbled from a ceiling panel, landing on a startled student.
The screams generated from that classroom were so chilling, nearby classrooms assumed something catastrophic was happening. Promptly, the school was put on lockdown as the principal's voice echoed through the PA system saying, "LOCKDOWN! THIS IS NOT A DRILL".
The SWAT team swept through each hallway of the school. This ordeal was evidently traumatic, as some students genuinely believed their lives were at risk. Back at the scene of the snake's grand entrance, the snake had not been captured. In fact, it slipped back into the ductwork through a radiator, disappearing yet again.
The snake held the school in a grip of fear for another three weeks until, finally, news broke that a janitor had discovered the snake the previous night and removed it from the building.
Details about who exactly found the snake were vague, and some doubted the truthfulness of the story. Regardless, this marked the end of the snake sightings. The boa was never seen again.
12. The Epitome Of Determination
My wife and I once held teaching positions at the same high school and had a number of students common to us both. One particular student's behavior really stood out.
In my math class, the chap was pretty agreeable and respectful towards me. He didn't seem to have a problem with the subject or with the way I taught. However, when it came to my wife's English class, it was like dealing with a different person altogether.
He deeply disliked her class and attempted to get out of it repeatedly. Let me give you a snapshot of the lengths he went to avoid her class in an eventful week before he was finally expelled. His methods were face-palm worthy...
He started by pretending to fall down a staircase and claimed he was paralyzed and couldn't attend class. Following an examination by the school nurse, he was reluctantly back in the classroom. A couple of days later, during English class, he tried a fresh, and quite drastic, escape tactic.
The boy purposefully wet his pants in class, with no semblance of shame. This time, he was successful in being sent home, albeit just for the remainder of the day. Much to everyone's dismay, he returned the following day, only to execute a grand finale of sorts.
Within a few days, in yet another English class, he engaged in an inappropriate act of a crude nature. As a direct result, he was promptly removed from the class and soon expelled from the school altogether. He was subsequently transferred to a juvenile detention center, where he continued his education.
13. Lost In Paris
Every year, the upper-level French students, or those who had the means, would journey to Paris. About eight years ago, a tragic event occurred during this trip—one of the girls snuck out of the hotel where all the students were lodged, to meet a boy. Sadly, she never returned.
I initially dismissed this as a kind of schoolyard myth, until the story was confirmed by the French teacher who was part of that fateful trip and continued to teach at our school.
14. Some People Don’t Know When To Give Up
I graduated from a small high school where I was part of a 60-student class. My inner circle consisted of two close guy pals, and one of them had an over-the-top dramatic former girlfriend named Stacia.
She had this belief that the issues in her relationship were not her doing but mine. She even went to the extent of accusing us of using illegal substances and tried to get the police involved.
Her claims fell on deaf ears, so she reported us to our school's vice-principal. Interestingly, he happens to be my cousin. So, while he let me slide, he was forced to inspect my friends' cars nonetheless and found some pot. As a result, my friends were immediately suspended, leaving me alone with unstable Stacia at school.
One day, I was in the cafeteria, my hair tied in a high bun. I heard Stacia yakking away behind me. I decided it best to ignore her until suddenly, I felt a weight on my head. My friend's startled face indicated something was off. He mouthed a swear word, causing me to yell out for the vice principal.
With confusion on his face, he turned to see Stacia, who then slowly got up from where she had been sitting on my bun. Regrettably, Stacia's reign of terror wasn't over.
Upon arriving home, she immediately alerted officials, making up a story about how me and my suspended friends had chased her granddad's Buick from the school to her house, before blocking her driveway with our supposed dangerous driving skills.
Furthermore, she accused us of hurling stones and verbally assaulting her before driving off. This prompted immediate action from the authorities.
Less than an hour after her allegations, I had a police interrogation at the school. I gladly debunked her lies, as Alex, the first friend had been grounded and his car's battery seized by his parents, while David, the other, had no vehicle and was under house arrest miles away from Stacia's house.
Ultimately, the tables turned. Stacia was charged with filing a false report, and the event triggered such backlash from our fellow students that after enduring only three days, she transferred to another school.
15. Leaving You Breathless
At my school, we had split lunch times because of the number of students. The first hint that something was amiss came during the second lunch break. I was on my way to class, taking the stairs, when I began to cough uncontrollably.
So were others around me. It felt like my throat was choked with sawdust. I was close to the science labs, so I figured some experiment had backfired.
The following lunch break, the usually bustling upper forum was eerily empty. As my friends and I ascended the staircase, we shared a similar sensation of sawdust in our throats. It got worse as we stepped through the door leading to the forum. Before we could move further, a teacher quickly herded us back into the stairwell.
We'd hardly made it to class when a school-wide evacuation began. When I discovered the reason for all this, I was stunned. To this day, they never found out who did it. Yet, it was revealed that somebody had discharged pepper spray, mace, or something similar into the air vents during lunchtime.
Even though the offender remains unknown, I did appreciate the unexpected break we got. Thanks to the 15-minute evacuation, I managed to dodge science class!
16. Life’s A Beach
There was a student in my class who, for some unspecified reason, bore a strong dislike for one of her teachers. The tension came to a head one day when the teacher walked into the room to find her feet propped up on the desk. He playfully chided her—"Take your feet down. This isn't the beach."
However, the student capitalized on this incident by alleging to the school principal that the teacher hinted at wanting to see her in a swimsuit. The baffled teacher refuted this claim, but the student was unyielding, escalating the issue to the parent's union which led to a significant uproar. After that, total chaos insued.
In response, her parents staged a demonstration outside the school one morning that sparked media attention, causing the local newspaper to cover the unfolding drama. As a result, the teacher was eventually terminated from his job.
Oddly enough, notwithstanding the multitude of eyewitnesses who could vouch that the teacher had done nothing inappropriate, no one stepped forward to defend him. It seemed that everyone preferred to stay out of the Limelight due to the student's popularity.
17. What Lies Beneath
Just a year ago, I had an intelligent but fairly inconspicuous junior high schooler in my class. She spent most of her time with a couple of friends, yet her frequent absences made her stand out—she was at school maybe once a week, at most.
This growing issue became concerning. Oddly, her parents didn't communicate about her absences, and surprisingly, her grades were mostly unaffected due to her sharp mind. Often, I would chat with her post-class regarding her consistent absences, but she would just offer a courteous apology and vow to improve the situation.
Fast forward to the holiday season—she hadn't been to school in two weeks. It was a crucial period of exam preparation, and her continuous absence was increasingly worrisome. Frustrated, I approached the principal, suggesting I should call her parents to discuss potential consequences.
Imagine my shock when the principal opposed my suggestion! It was then that he unveiled the disturbing truth. Apparently, her parents had planned to forcibly marry her to a man from their native country. They had kept her absence a mystery because she was currently under protective care of child services.
In retrospect, it made sense. The reason behind her absences was not illness, but the absurd expectation from her parents to stay home and take care of them. Constant surveillance at home restricted her from doing regular activities like hanging out with friends or staying back for school activities.
She only began to understand the abnormality of her situation after discussing it with school-friends. Hearing this news was a shocking revelation for not just me, but all of her teachers. But a year later, she's thriving. She even got a restraining order against her parents and adopted a rescue pup for companionship.
However, it saddens me to think she's being robbed of a normal teenage experience. It's angering, but she seems to appreciate her newfound autonomy and appreciates the safety above all. The most important thing is that she's safe and sound. Yet, she will always carry the scars of her past.
18. Spice Up Your Life
Last year, we witnessed an incident where a girl started using pepper spray on unsuspecting folks in our library. It appears that she was so distressed after discovering her ex-boyfriend's romantic involvement with her mother both during and post their relationship. Thankfully, no legal issues emerged as the boy was 18 when it all began.
Initially, it was just a spat unfold on Twitter when the girl learned about the affair. However, it spiraled out of control when she decided to face her ex-boyfriend about the issue, armed with a can of pepper spray. In the heat of the moment, she seemingly lost control and unleashed the spray on everyone around in the library. It's believed she got wind of him being there.
Post this unnerving event, she bid goodbye to school, and the boy received a suspension. Clearly, it was a sticky situation for the school to manage in terms of PR.
Honestly, I felt sympathy for her, having shared a class and knowing her as a pleasant person. It just seemed this turbulent situation provoked the worst reaction from her.
19. Stranger In The Restroom
You wouldn't believe the rumors flying around our school. They said there was an aged, spooky, two-story house sitting unused close by. And not just that, this plot of land also had an external bathroom that was mysteriously always locked.
Some local residents even claimed they heard strange noises at night. Word on the street was, there lived an odd individual in there, with no food to eat. So, during a break, curiosity got the best of us, and we decided to investigate. What we discovered was astonishing.
Arriving at the site, we noticed the locked bathroom had these tiny, ornamental openings. We could only get a limited view through them, so we scaled up to take a look. Lo and behold—THERE HE WAS. An unusual man really was hunkering down in that bathroom, absolutely devoid of essentials, and giving off a terrible stench.
He suddenly began yelling and tossing things at the walls. Scared, we made a quick exit and swore never to return.
20. Mama Drama
There was a senior high school girl, 18 years old, who became pregnant and kept it a secret from her parents. She sought guidance from the school counselor, a certified clinical psychologist, who counseled her through this tough time. The counselor dutifully explained all her choices, as per her responsibilities.
Even though the girl seemed to be in denial, she carried her baby deep into her pregnancy, then decided she couldn't continue. She also wasn't eating well. I don't recall all the specifics, but it seems she went to a sketchy clinic where she persuaded them she was at an earlier stage of pregnancy. It appears they didn't run any tests because they gave her medications.
The very next day she started bleeding heavily in class and was immediately taken to the hospital. The baby survived for about four hours. Naturally, her parents were now involved. During the inquiries, she falsely accused our school counselor, claiming she was forced into her decision. The entire matter went to court.
Our empathetic school counselor was unable to publicly defend herself until the case was concluded. Media reporters were permanently stationed outside our school for quite some time.
In the end, the dark truth surfaced—the girl had been dishonest, and the counselor was innocent. She had simply performed her duties and provided the girl with all the necessary information and advice needed for an informed decision.
I was struck by the counselor's exceptional professionalism and her strict adherence to confidentiality protocols regarding her client.
21. The Proof Is In The Printing
I once had a teacher who really didn't like me. I'm not sure why she felt this way—I don't remember doing anything to provoke her, or if I did, it was minor. I didn't exactly enjoy being on her bad side, so I gave her a hard time but always stayed within the school rules.
This same teacher began accusing me of not submitting my homework. Seriously? I gave it to her the exact same time everyone else did. The head of the school gets wind of this, informs my parents who, naturally, are upset and spend the next two weeks supervising every moment I spend doing my assignments.
Yet, she again claimed that I needed to buckle down on my work or risk failure. This warning found its way to the principal, and from there, to my parents. Now, they had previously doubted my innocence, but this round, they knew something was off because they had been monitoring my homework sessions.
My mom requested a meeting with the teacher. So we went to this conference and the teacher was there, looking quite pleased with herself. She told my mom, "He never completes his homework." My mom retorted, "I know for a fact he does. I've been overseeing him.”
The teacher then suggested, "Either he decides not to hand it in or he's not doing the homework for this class. Have you been helping him with his assignments? We're currently studying, let me show you the assignment". She pulled out a folder, opened it, and lo and behold, there was my unchecked assignment on top.
My name was clearly written on it. My mom saw it too, grabbed it, and shot the teacher a stern look. Without a word, she rose and marched to the principal's office. The expression on her face made the ordeal worth it.
I had never seen my teacher, or anyone else for that matter, look so crushed as she realized she had really messed up. It was quite a sight. She continued teaching until the end of that academic year, but was no longer around the following year. I heard there were numerous issues involving her.
22. The Fall Guy
The youngest one in the senior year managed to squeeze through the roof and neatly lined the interiors of our worst-loved history teacher's classroom with towels. Then, another friend passed him a hose from the side he'd accessed.
He moved out leaving the hose to spill water into the room, aiming to make a discrete exit. But that's not quite what happened.
Right before he could slip away, he tumbled through the roof, landed on a stair rail, then plunged down two whole flights of steps. Somehow, he managed to pull himself out of the mess without a scratch. Even though he found himself in heaps of trouble later on, he was allowed to sit for his final tests and swing by our end-of-year dinner and dance party.
23. Journalistic Responsibility
A teacher at our school was discovered to be texting a student inappropriately, and also had her photo on his phone. Another student snatched the phone, saw the evidence, and reported it. This made massive waves at our high-status school since maintaining a flawless reputation was paramount.
News of the investigation reached the teacher thanks to a friend, causing him to flee overnight. He returned to his parents' home where he confessed everything. His mugshot had already hit the media, highlighting his fugitive status. The aftermath of his confession is unknown, but tragically, he ended his own life hours later.
Law enforcement and officials from another law school descended on our school and interviewed all the female students involved. Allow me to share part of the story from a personal viewpoint, after all, I was “video anchor” for the school's announcements program.
Having already gained two years of experience, I knew how to navigate the storm of news stories. Seeing the flurry of shared links across the internet, I decided to consolidate. I collected the credible articles, summarised their content, and posted everything on Facebook. This post became the primary source of information for many—until it vanished.
I was summoned to the newsroom. There, I stood before my teacher, the principals, and campus authorities who labeled my actions as "immoral", "unethical", and potentially distressing for the family involved. I countered—suggesting I'd take down the post if the family contacted me. I'd even learned who the girl was through my research.
After much debate, I was essentially made to delete my post. It was replaced with an apology for any offense caused at the school's request. It was a somewhat snippy response, but it had to be done.
The tense atmosphere persisted, particularly in the teacher's class. Her stern reminder to not discuss the recent events felt personal; most classmates agreed it was directed at me.
It's worth mentioning that this teacher was training me for a career as a news anchor, a job which deals with tough stories daily. Ironically, she later resigned from her own anchor role, unable to report about a dog's death. Nerve-wracking times, very glad they have passed.
24. Meet The Parents
I've always been aware that my girlfriend's parents are educators, though we attend separate institutions. Unbelievably enough, I met them just last week.
My heart dropped when I entered their home—her dad is actually none other than my science teacher, who unequivocally can't stand me. Needless to say, that dinner was really uncomfortable.
25. Behind Closed Doors
I once had a student filling in for my regular class who was genuinely difficult to manage. She made it quite clear that she had no interest in participating, constantly defying what I had to say without any clear reason. To make matters worse, she spent a good portion of the class scribbling on the whiteboard without permission.
Throughout the class, she seemed to thrive on causing disturbances, blatantly disrespecting others, and seemed to relish the opportunity to provoke a stand-in teacher. After issuing her a detention, she expressed clear disregard towards the consequences, responding with a defiant, "Let's see if I actually show up."
I undoubtedly took her behavior to heart more than usual — it was, after all, the last class on a looming Friday. I was quietly fuming at the entire situation. Once the class had wrapped up, it was time for me to report her misconduct via our disciplinary system at school.
This system gave me access to her past incidents and also allowed me to refer this event to other key staff members. However, after discovering what was happening in her personal life, I was utterly shocked. She had recently endured a painful split from her boyfriend who was now attacking her, and those close to her in frightening ways.
His harassment extended to showing up at her home with a group in the dead of night, tormenting her with all kinds of threats. The situation had turned so terrible that law enforcement had to step in. Overwhelmed, I simply sat within the confines of the now-empty classroom and gave in to tears, feeling utterly hopeless. I didn't even have the heart to report her actions that day.
Overwhelming guilt rained down on me, clouding over my earlier anger. The harsh reality of what a teenage girl was dealing with rendered me speechless and left me fearful of what else she would have to endure in the future.
The heartbreaking reality is that she's at high risk of becoming another case of domestic violence victims, leaving me feeling helpless in the wake of such a tragic possibility.
26. Friends In The Right Places
My mom worked for 25 years as an educator in various South California schools, some of which were not exactly top-notch. One particular highschool was riddled with issues stemming from the involvement of many students in local Latino gangs.
Despite this, my mom somehow managed to be quite popular among the students. I can't exactly point out why, but even the most tough-looking guys would flash her a smile as they walked by.
However, their intimidating demeanor quickly reappeared once they were past her. One time, during an emergency lock-down triggered by a situation involving gang activity on the school premises, some of her students reassured her, saying, "No need to fret Mrs. X, we have our means to keep you secure and we won't let anything bad happen to you."
According to her, their assurance was scarcely soothing.
27. Teacher’s Secret Lair
My high school had a sizable square layout featuring an outdoor courtyard at the heart of it. Underneath the entire edifice ran a maintenance tunnel, reminiscent of eerie locations from your favorite horror flicks.
This tunnel was surrounded by various rooms, primarily used for storing forgotten relics of yesteryears. Understandably, students were barred from using the tunnel for safety reasons.
Nevertheless, during school hours, the tunnels were accessible because the doors remained unlocked for staff who might need to use them. Students, on the other hand, exploited this as a convenient route through the campus and a secluded spot for smoking.
None of the rooms in the tunnel, including the ones with the steam boilers, were locked, except for one elusive room. According to whispers around the school, this particular room served as a hideaway where staff members could engage in intimate relations.
Surprisingly, the rumors were indeed a fact and came to light when one teacher reported another for taking her to that room without her permission.
28. He Went Out On A Low Note
It turned out that rumors were flying around about the music teacher trading inappropriate favors with some students. These promises ranged from special solos, improved grades, a fancy reputation, to potential job opportunities after they left college.
The verdict was shocking: he was guilty. He received a six-month jail term and was banned from the teaching profession, and to top it all, he lost his retirement benefits. But there was an unexpected twist to this tale.
My dad was particularly stunned by this news. He and the music teacher were old college buddies, sharing a strong bond of friendship. He was utterly clueless about this.
29. Poker Party Palace
An English teacher had a unique bond with his students—he felt more like a peer than a person of authority. It was known that he would arrange poker get-togethers over the weekends with a selected group of students, serving them beverages and forbidden substances.
During one of these said weekends, someone pulled a prank and tipped off the authorities about the ongoing party. When they arrived at his house, sure enough, a party was in full swing just like the one described in the prank call. One detail stuck out, though—there were adult films playing on every television in the house.
Following this incident, the English teacher was instantly dismissed, lost his teaching license, and went off the grid for a couple of years. His students, however, weren't happy with the decision and protested against his dismissal because he was this cool, party-loving guy.
30. Singing Like A Devious Eagle
My high school choir instructor was very hard on us. He would talk to us every day about our mistakes. I remember one time, he caused me to have an anxiety attack simply because I missed a single practice session due to an AP exam. He made even some of our fellow teachers apprehensive. Eventually, after he had been in charge of the choir for 50 years, they brought in a new person to take over. Now, he's only serving as an assistant director.
31. This Rumor Blew Up
A few years ago, I found out that students in an AP Chemistry class had a final project to do. One creative student decided it would be fun to create DNT, which is actually a primary ingredient used in explosives like TNT.
Surprisingly, his chemistry teacher didn't object to this idea and even pitched in to help him create this hazardous and flammable compound in the school lab.
After creating it, the chemistry teacher casually ran the idea by the school safety officer, wondering where they should set off their invention. The safety officer, completely astounded, ended up calling in a bomb disposal team to get rid of the project. Despite the incident, the school decided to retain the teacher due to her excellent teaching skills.
Fast forward to when she was my chemistry teacher. I asked her if she had really made TNT with a student. She responded, "Well, it was just DNT, so it would have been okay!"
32. Something Didn’t Add Up
Once upon a time, there was a youthful math instructor who appeared somewhat eccentric. She consistently seemed tense and her private life was something she never shared. If someone tried to question her on it, she'd simply ignore them.
As a consequence, the overarching jest amongst us was that she might have been involved in something sinister in her previous locale, prompting her to move and dodge any potential suspicion. Regrettably, this turned out to be closer to reality than we'd ever anticipated. Our discovery was shocking.
Turns out, she'd assisted her sibling in dismembering his former partner and stashing the remains. The authorities managed to recover everything, except for the left arm, all strewn across multiple states.
33. It’s Time
During my high school years, I had this one teacher who went on to connect with me and all my friends via Snapchat soon after we graduated. Interestingly, he would snap me most weekends and, noticeably under the influence, express how he wished we could spend the night together.
He suggested that I should come over to his house to have some fun. Back in high school, this guy was considered the "attractive teacher" whom all the girls were smitten by, but he clearly has some major personal problems.
Pikrepo
34. The Favorite
In her first year of high school, my little sister decided to take a ceramics class. As part of their coursework, they were assigned a project and my sister wanted to look up some reference images on the internet.
In order to do this, she needed to ask her teacher if she could use his computer. While doing so, she noticed an open folder on his computer which was full of pictures of herself. Quite unnerving, to say the least.
Shocked, she asked him, "Why on earth do you have photos of me on your computer?" His response was a convoluted tale, so she decided to report this to our mom when she got home. Once mom discovered what had happened, she immediately phoned the school, but the teacher denied everything and the school didn't take action.
Not satisfied with the lack of response, my mom then decided to call the teacher directly and made it clear how serious she was about this issue.
I'm not sure of the exact words she used, but her message certainly hit home as the teacher never bothered my sister for the remainder of the term.
35. The Curse Continues
In the high school I attended, an eerie tale was always in the air, known as the "annual sacrifice" curse. This spooky legend suggested that each year, a strange event would result in the untimely passing of a person on the school property.
The ones who faced the unfortunate fate varied yearly—from students some years to teachers in others, and this disturbing pattern persists to this day.
But wait, there's more to the story.
Adding another layer of creepiness, my high school had a haunting history of doubling as both an asylum for mental health patients before and after World War I, as well as serving as a hospital during the tough times of World War II.
36. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
During my final year of high school, I began noticing how the Latin teacher seemed to have a liking for me, even though I had never taken any Latin classes. Dual factors adding to my discomfort were his age, and the fact that I wasn't attracted to him at all.
One surprising Sunday when I was at my parents' house, the landline rang and a chill ran down my spine—shockingly, it was him on the other end. He dared to make an advance at me!
Promptly, I asked him to back off and hung up with intensity. A part of me felt a bit sorry for him. He must've been mortified, assuming I could have him fired for his inappropriate behavior. Yet, I spared him the humiliation by not telling anyone.
Some time elapsed, and I spotted him again in a public arena, aiding his wheelchair-bound wife. Our gazes crossed paths, but we kept moving.
37. Coffee Break
One day, a police cruiser was parked in front of our school. Somebody mentioned seeing a student being taken into police custody during a restroom break. By day's end, an officer and the principal were seen at the rear windows of the car, having a discussion with someone inside. Naturally, we all figured that someone was in trouble for some reason.
The next day, my homeroom teacher revealed that during third and fourth period, a former student, around 20 years old, successfully blended in with other students and slipped unnoticed into the school corridors.
He then roamed the school, breaking into any unlocked lockers he could find, even managing to steal about 10 laptops from teachers' rooms in the process.
Surprisingly, the guy was eventually nabbed at a nearby Tim Horton's coffee shop. I'm not exactly sure what will happen to him next, but word on the street is that his mom served as his getaway driver; they were parked a few blocks away.
It seems he just couldn't resist a coffee and donut pit-stop at Timmy's. Only in Canada would someone pause a caper for a quick coffee break.
38. Mean-Spirited
When I was in my early teens, our school welcomed a new science teacher who was right out of college. Unstoppable in his enthusiasm for his subject and utterly committed to helping students, he often stayed late to provide additional assistance. However, dealing with misconduct was his Achilles' heel, given his inherently shy and timid nature.
The temptation to exploit his softness proved too much for even the well-behaved students. Soon enough, making his life miserable turned into a cruel pastime for a group of students. While I never saw him break down in tears, I have caught glimpses of him pushed to his breaking point. Then, the dreadful news came that the student pranks had finally pushed him over the edge.
Overwhelmed, he rushed out of a classroom one day on the brink of tears, leaving it up to his fellow teachers to restore order. Unfortunately, his story didn’t end there and took a sorrowful turn. Shortly afterwards, we were told he had suddenly passed away due to an unnoticed heart condition. His father was the one who discovered him.
It was a Sunday morning and his father had stopped by his place when he failed to show up for their routine golf game. He found his son lifeless in his bed, at a young age of 24. The news was a heavy blow for the students, especially the ones who had made his life difficult.
One such remorseful student was a girl who shared her guilt with me. She confessed how she had joined in the taunting despite acknowledging his excellence as a teacher. Now, she was left with a painful burden of having contributed to the unhappiness of a young and compassionate teacher who was no longer with us.
39. Insult To Injury
One year, I had an exceptional history teacher, a man who had tragically lost his teenage son to suicide. After a leave of absence, he returned to work. One day, the class joker started disrupting the class, leading the teacher to pull him aside for a private chat in the hallway. The conversation escalated quickly.
Suddenly this student pushed the boundaries way too far. He hinted that the teacher's son made the right decision because of his father. A moment later, the sound of the kid hitting the lockers echoed down the hallway. The teacher returned to the class, his eyes filled with anger and tears, and asked one of us to bring the school's resource officer. The incident resulted in the teacher being suspended for the rest of the year.
40. It’s All Fun and Games…
Two girls found themselves in an argument over a boy, secluded in a single bathroom stall. In the heat of the moment, one of the girls unveiled a pair of scissors and sadly, the other girl ended up wounded in her eye. The aggressor with the scissors was expelled, and surprisingly, the victim proved to be resilient, returning to school as if nothing ever happened.
But that's not the strangest part...My classroom was just a stone's throw away from the bathroom scene and we were oblivious to the whole incident. We only became aware when we noticed the school authorities. The chilling realization that such an event happened right under my nose still unnerves me.
41. Rumors
Two male educators formed relationships with several female students. They planned a gathering which included these students and it was discovered by the school heads. Faced with an ultimatum from the school—resign or get dismissed—they both stepped down.
Bizarrely, the school heads chose to publicly share news of their resignations, rather than letting them depart discreetly. This sparked off gossip among the students...
The gossip that circulated suggested that both teachers were indeed same-gender partners and the young ladies were merely a smokescreen. According to the whispers, one teacher was critically ill with AIDS and both opted to leave their jobs to spend his remaining time together.
This chatter lasted a few weeks and even led to a student creating a GoFundMe page for medical bills. The school authorities had to visit each classroom to clarify that this chatter was baseless and the teachers left due to different personal issues. This didn't immediately calm the students, but eventually the idle speculation did dissipate.
42. Makes Me Want To Puke
Once, our high school color-guard coach warned us against any "wobble" after the Thanksgiving holidays. That was quite harsh, but her subsequent statement was even more troubling and unforgettable. She warned, "If you ladies can't restrain yourselves, you might as well induce vomiting."
This came on the heels of a team member's recent hospitalization due to anorexia nervosa. As you might expect, her comment didn't sit well with us.
43. Scary Stories
Every year, my high school hosted a big, blowout Halloween dance. Sure, we had other dances sprinkled throughout the year, but this Halloween event was on another level.
Security was always present to check IDs at the door and shoo away anyone who arrived inebriated or carrying drinks that were obviously alcoholic but, honestly, they didn't really go out of their way. Somehow, the kids always managed to outsmart them.
During one year, a group of freshman girls arrived, drinks in tow, visibly sloshed. And since they were only in ninth grade they hadn't quite learned their limits yet, they lost control. The initial entrance hallway of our school is big, decorated with faux trees, benches, and some vintage-style lampposts, like the kind you'd see in a British film.
This hallway officially served as the dance floor as it held more people than the gym. The DJ usually took over the adjacent staircase balcony, which was a pretty cool setup. So, these intoxicated ninth graders started performing impromptu pole dances on the lampposts.
The older students brushed it off, and with such a crowd, the chaperoning teachers were clueless until it was too late. One girl, with some obvious dance or gymnastics background, took to the spotlight and started to perform tricks up high on one of the lampposts.
Before any chaperones could reach her, the lamppost came tumbling down onto the dancing crowd below. Pandemonium ensued, resulting in a student getting concussion and the pole-dancing girl and few others being escorted out of the dance amid the flurry of panicked screams.
But that wasn't the end to it. Some of them got way into the Halloween spirits and sneaked to the bathroom to drink even more. This led to them collectively throwing up in the girls' bathroom.
One was rushed to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. The following day, a wave of expulsions followed. The broken lamppost, a relic of that night, hasn't been replaced, and I know this even now, five years later.
44. A Threat To Herself
The vice-principal at our high school, who's been around for quite some time and who happens to be married to my former middle school science teacher, was caught in a scandalous affair with the high school's security guard, who is also married. When the vice-principal tried to put an end to things, the security guard took a shocking step.
Over several months, she made it look as though she was getting aggressive threats which she claimed might be from students or the vice principal's wife. However, luck wasn't on her side. Local law enforcement unmasked her deceit and she was arrested from the high school premises after the students had left for the day.
45. This Speaks Volumes
One day, a substitute teacher asked my classmate, who struggles with mobility and sight issues, to fetch his textbooks from his homeroom. Although he's not entirely dependent on others, he finds it challenging to lift heavy items. These textbooks were located far across the school property and, given his sight issues, are five large print volumes.
He's unable to wear spectacles due to his condition. I proposed to assist as I'm typically the person who retrieves the books for him. Surprisingly, the substitute teacher snapped at me, accusing me of trying to skip class. He sternly warned me that he isn't here for games and threatened to send me to the principal's office if I kept it up.
Unsurprisingly, the whole class was taken aback. When my classmate returned, he was accompanied by a fellow student from the homeroom, who expressed that next time, the teacher should send another person to fetch the books.
We asked our regular teacher to ensure the substitute teacher wouldn't return due to his insensitive behavior when she finally returned. The matter was then resolved after our teacher emailed the principal about the incident.
46. Try, Try Again
There was this girl in my class who moved in with my teacher and his wife. Sounds like a touching story, right? Well, it isn't. After we graduated, he split up with his wife and married the girl. She was likely about 16 when she started living with them, and he was already in his 50s, quite a significant age difference.
This girl had a tough home situation, so he made it look like he was just trying to help. However, doubters emerged once they officially began dating. Eventually, he lost his job over a similar incident involving another student that had taken place years before, though that relationship didn't last.
47. Bottle Service
When I was in 10th grade, the school principal implemented a new rule: students could only use the restroom once a day. Every teacher strictly enforced this rule, much to the students' dismay. In protest, students started resorting to using bottles instead. Anyone caught doing this faced a three-day suspension.
During the time this rule was in place, I believe at least 15 suspensions were given out. One student went to the extreme by filling a bottle and soaking everything on the teacher's desk before class.
The rule was eventually dropped after students began leaving school premises to use the restroom. Interestingly, we didn't see that principal the following year.
48. Fighting Dirty
In ninth-grade, my class and I had a challenging time with our social studies teacher who seemed disinterested in teaching. His laziness sucked the joy out of learning and turned our love for watching films into a chore. It was a feat that I thought was close to impossible.
I had a friend, Frank – he's majoring in history now. Despite his troublesome past, his passion for the field stood out. He loved immersing himself in projects and assignments. However, the teacher, Mr Sale, wasn't particularly appreciative of his innovative ideas.
Frank had proposed a historical project involving our city's museums and colonial structures. We planned to handwrite papers in the traditional colonial era style. It was a creative and distinct way to engage everyone in the class. But for reasons unknown, Mr Sale axed the idea each time Frank proposed it, becoming increasingly agitated.
After multiple attempts, Frank abandoned his quest. Mr Sale had lost his temper and given Frank detention, citing disrespect. Now, Frank had been to detention before for silly reasons—but this time it was different. His excitement to make school a fun place had become a reason for disciplinary action.
During detention, Frank stumbled upon a dark secret known only to him. Upon returning to class, everything seemed normal. Mr Sale arrived late as per his usual practice, took attendance and began screening another film – Driving Ms. Daisy. Frank was visibly uncomfortable but kept his peace, not wanting to react impulsively.
But something in him prompted that he couldn't let Mr Sale's behavior slide anymore. Gathering his courage, Frank approached Mr Sale during the class, politely suggesting his project idea once again. This enraged Mr Sale, who berated Frank publicly for being disrespectful.
Frank endured the verbal onslaught, waiting for the right moment to respond. When Mr Sale retaliated with the threat of in-school suspension, Frank replied, requesting an expulsion instead. His stone-faced request baffled Mr Sale. Standing tall, Frank said, "I hope the next time something tragic happens to your daughter, she'll finish the job properly." He then packed his things and walked out.
The aftermath was so, so messy. Mr Sale broke down in class and took to drinking. Frank was expelled and had to repeat the grade. Even more heartbreaking was the news that Mr Sale's eleven-year-old daughter had been assaulted by her babysitter and had tragically not survived her attempt to self-harm by year-end.
Frank never revealed how he came across such sensitive information, but he didn't hide his regret about sharing it in the way he did. The last I heard about Mr Sale, he and his wife separated.
It sounds horrifying, and it was. In the neighborhood where I grew up, it took a lot to make a teacher break down. They were tough, and cracking their tough exterior involved some deep probing. And on occasion, the probe would yield unbearable truths.
49. Muscle Inspection
In high school, I remember this PE teacher who tended to be a little too touchy with his students. I can't say much about the football team, but it really unnerved the rest of us. One day during class, we were on a short break and I was chatting with my buddies. Out of the blue, he came up, placed his hands on my shoulders, and applied pressure. I pulled away and that's when he lashed out at us to stop wasting time and resume our workout.
This carried on for the next couple of weeks—he'd isolate us and make us do extra drills until we eventually reported him to the school head. For the remainder of the year, he kept his distance, which was actually quite a relief.
50. Sticking Like A Molecule
Mr. Highberg. This unsettling older man was an ineffective teacher, who, frustratingly, misplaced half my assignments. There's so much about him that was off.
For instance, he had this massive, detailed map of our county, right up to individual street names. He handed us each a pushpin and instructed us to mark where we lived. I cheekily stuck my pushpin in the middle of a lake. Nice try, Highberg.
Also, he had this habit of addressing the girls in class with terms of endearment like "sweetheart", "honey", and "baby". But, it gets even more inappropriate.
He organized an exercise where everyone had to act out being a "water molecule" or something similar. We were expected to lock fingers in each other's belt loops, or, in the absence of belt loops, put them in one another's pockets.
And bizarrely, Mr. Highberg joined this activity and thought it was an acceptable idea to slide his hand into some unfortunate girl's back pocket.
In summary, the worst teacher I ever had.
51. Talking Shop
One time, there was a serious issue with a male shop teacher who exhibited inappropriate behavior towards a female student. He had pictures of her stored among his personal items at school, and he was also found to have some quite detailed notes written to her.
He even went as far as trying to convince her family and friends about his suitability for her. On several occasions, he put her in uncomfortable situations by cornering her and trying to initiate physical contact or a kiss. From what I can remember, the school ended up firing him, but no other actions were taken beyond that point.
52. A Crushing Story
During my time in middle school, there was an incident where a woman suffered a heart attack while she was in the car drop-off lane. She was in the middle of parking her van, in reverse, when she abruptly stiffened up and accidentally slammed on the gas pedal.
The vehicle plowed through a group of unsuspecting students and came to a halt violently against a brick wall. The result was panic-inducing—tragically, one student got trapped between the van and the wall. Although the tires were still desperately spinning, a fellow student was able to get the door open and switch off the still-humming vehicle.
We all desperately tried to push the van off the entrapped student, while the teachers attempted to pull us back for safety. The assistant principal, against caution, rushed to the scene and shouted out "NO, WE NEED EVERYONE'S HELP TO SHIFT THE VAN!"
Together, we managed to move the van just slightly, enough for one of the educators to yank out the poor child, but it was sadly in vain. The kid was no longer with us.
Piqsels
53. A Black and White Issue
My high school was tiny—think, roughly 60 students in each grade level kind of tiny. Basically, everyone's affairs were open secrets. I was on the football team, and tradition permitted us to buy our jerseys when the season ended.
There was this one guy, Mike, who bought both the home team (black) and the visitor's jerseys (white). Occasionally, the girls would sport their boyfriend's football jerseys.
This usually stirred up some entertaining drama, but one particular year took the prize for the most drama. It was a casual dress day one Friday. Two girls rolled in, each donning one of Mike's jerseys; one wore the black jersey and the other wore the white one.
There was always a murmur about which one was Mike's girlfriend since he seemed to switch his affections between the two. Whilst both girls were aware of each other, they were always engaged in disputes over who was Mike's "primary" girlfriend. However, jersey day effectively solved that mystery.
At lunchtime, the girl wearing the white jersey confronted the other girl in the black jersey, as she was upset that the other girl got to wear the home (black) jersey, which supposedly had greater significance.
54. Mixed Nuts
In high school, my best friend was a devout Christian girl, but I also had a close bond with a gay guy. I was bi and only the guy knew about it; nobody else at school did. Things took an unexpected turn when he accidentally told a few friends that I was bi and had a crush on a girl named Alicia.
This revelation didn't bother most people, but it certainly shocked my best friend. She was initially upset that I hadn't confided in her and was concerned about my afterlife.
Overcome with emotion, she interrogated me about this enigmatic Alicia and fretted over why I hadn't shared this with her. But here's the twist: Alicia didn't exist. When I confronted my male friend, he was adamant that I had admitted my feelings for this Alicia.
He was even upset at me, accusing me of lying just because I denied any feelings for this nonexistent girl. Meanwhile, my best friend continued pestering me from a judgmental standpoint. As a matter of fact, these two friends intensely disliked each other too. Talk about a complicated situation.
55. Hit List
He was an odd one, that's for sure. I'd never really paid much attention to him until everything happened. Folks used to tease him about being on the autism spectrum and being quite vocal about some pretty terrible stuff. After finishing the essentials, he left school, and he was quickly forgotten.
About a year later, rumors started spreading that he was found in the woods wielding a machete. The authorities dug deeper and discovered a chilling diary at his home, which outlined detailed plans of revenge against our school, complete with a hit list of teachers and students.
His arsenal didn't stop at words, though. They also found dangerous goods, plus the essentials for making explosives. More unsettling revelations came later when videos of him tossing Molotov cocktails around in the woods surfaced. Technically, this was confidential as he was underage, but the grapevine works in mysterious ways.
Everyone found out through friends and neighbors since he lived near the school. A gagging order was issued to preserve his anonymity, but that didn't stop us from chatting about it in class and darkly joking to rattle our teachers.
It was eerily amusing to see our teachers blanch at the mere mention of his name. I suppose we were using humor to lighten an otherwise potentially frightening situation. Looking back, our mediocre school could've done a better job of caring for him. Perhaps, with timely intervention, things may not have escalated as they did.
56. It’s Raining Chairs, Hallelujah
At my school, there's this big, sprawling pavement area, and you can see all of it from the second floor. One day, two girls started having a pretty heated disagreement.
One girl was up on the second floor and the other was down on the pavement. I'm not totally sure what sparked their fight; I think they were squabbling over some Facebook drama involving a boyfriend or something like that.
Suddenly, in the midst of their dispute, the girl on the second floor took a pause and went into the nearest classroom, coming out with a chair in her hands. She actually tossed the chair from the second floor, intending to hit her adversary—but things took a disastrous turn.
Instead of hitting her target, the flying chair struck some poor guy just walking by. From what I heard, the guy had to be rushed to the hospital and later escalated things by filing a lawsuit against the school. As for the two arguing girls, they were kicked out of school.
In the months that followed, we had a ton of rainy days. This sparked everyone's humor, they started joking about bringing umbrellas to school, not for the rain, but as a shield against raining chairs!
57. Celebratory Anaphylactic Reaction
There was a girl in our class who had many health complications, and one of the things she was allergic to was latex. Yet, one day, Ms. Morales decided to throw a birthday party for her favorite student in our classroom, filled with latex balloons everywhere.
The girl, who used a wheelchair, entered the classroom and instantly began struggling to breathe and breaking out in hives. She asked the teacher if she could head to the nurse's office. However, shockingly, the teacher replied, "Just hold on until the next period. I won't let you leave for the nurse's office yet."
Fortunately, our teaching assistant noticed the girl's reaction and persuaded Ms. Morales to let her leave. Regrettably, the girl had to wheel herself to the nurses' office on the other side of the school alone, as the teacher wouldn't allow anyone else to accompany her.
Luckily, she received an EpiPen shot at the nurse's office and was okay. But to this day, four years later, it still upsets me terribly when I think about it.
58. Roughhousing
I had a classroom packed with quite challenging students, which included a student who'd been suspended multiple times for fighting, and even several gang members. When a substitute teacher decided to target a quiet and generally well-liked girl who never caused problems, the entire class reached a tipping point.
The substitute reactively lost control, hurling accusations and yelling at the students. Soon, security was called in to escort several students out. My first hint about the incident came when the substitute found my number in the staff directory and vented for over 20 minutes about my students' supposed misconduct.
This was followed by a long-winded email, a lengthy two-page note left on my desk, and an alert from the administration questioning my lack of appropriate substitute plans.
Upon arriving at school the next morning, my students were lined up at the door, eager to share their side of the story. After settling them down, we reflected on how they could have better handled the situation. I made a promise to them not to hire that particular substitute again.
It's worth noting that I've nurtured a positive rapport with these "tough kids" by treating them with respect and fairness, which usually resulted in decent behavior in my classes.
59. That Doesn’t Count
My least favorite teacher has to be my geometry teacher from 10th grade. She was pretty clear with the class from the start about not liking to teach math. She shared with us that even though she had majored in English during college, she ended up teaching math, for whatever reason.
The results? Only one student bagged an A, a couple scored Bs, a handful managed to get Cs, and the rest either scraped through or didn't make it at all. The most frustrating part? Even if you solved the problem correctly, she'd still mark you down if you spelled a word wrongly.
I had to attend summer school to study geometry, where even our PE teacher had a better grip on teaching it. And guess what? I excelled at it. It was almost shocking for me how much sense it all made when he explained it.
60. High-Stakes Math
Believe it or not, we were once asked by a teacher to engage in "strip maths". If you failed to solve a math problem, your penalty was to remove an article of clothing. Understandably, nobody was jumping at the chance to participate. The situation was bad enough—but it got even worse.
Our teacher, in an attempt to make us more comfortable, mentioned we could keep our underwear on. That didn't change the situation, though; the room remained volunteer-free. Eventually, she picked a student to participate.
This unusual event didn't take place in the US, but it felt really strange, even more so given that we were only in the second grade.
61. The Grief Master
Sure, here's your text rephrased in a more straightforward and conversational manner:
I can't recall the name of this particular teacher, but what I do remember is her repeated acts of sheer impropriety, marking her as an incredibly unkind person. You see, when I was in second grade, I lost my grandfather. His funeral caused me to miss a day of school, along with a spelling test scheduled for that day.
When I returned to school, this teacher said, "Next time there's a death, you should try to have the funeral on a weekend." Our school was located in an uptight and unpleasant district and town that would never accept any blame. Let's just say, I'm relieved we managed to leave that place behind.
62. No Sharing With The Class
A teacher handed me a detention simply because I knew something she didn't. During an art history lesson about Japanese print making, the word 'Zen' came up in the textbook she was reading from.
When a classmate asked what 'Zen' meant, the teacher drew a blank. Having recently visited a temple in Japan, I was eager to share my insights, explaining it as a form of Buddhism native to Japan.
I wasn't attempting to be a smart aleck or rude in any way. I was merely trying to provide assistance to my fellow student while sharing some experiences from my trip—I never imagined the reaction that followed.
My teacher suddenly flipped out, shouted at me, expelled me from the class, and issued me a detention. She also conducted art lessons, at which she wasn't particularly brilliant. It seemed like she simply enjoyed exerting authority over students.
63. Call The Exorcist
Once while watching a movie, I saw a girl's head unexpectedly tilt back. She made some semi-loud grumbling sounds that were hard to hear over the film's noise. At first, I dismissed it as her making a dismissive head toss gesture, but soon realized something was seriously wrong; her head didn't return to its normal position.
It just remained there. Her neighboring peers seemed oblivious to this. Her eyes and mouth were wide open, seeming to blindly gaze at nothing. Her growls grew louder and finally caught everyone's attention.
Even I was frightened and rose from my chair, causing it to scrape loudly on the floor. In my youthful naivety, I was aware that simply observing wouldn't help, but I felt helpless and didn't know what else to do.
Our teacher escorted her out of the room, while the teacher's assistant told us to stay seated, watch the movie and assured us everything was under control. Nonsense as I realize now, but then I just went with the flow and let the day unfold. Later, they attributed her condition to insufficient food and water intake, which seemed odd to me since she hadn't fainted.
She was conscious with eye movements but appeared empty within. She claimed she couldn't remember anything, as if she had simply dozed off and woke up some time later.
64. Forgiven And Forgotten
The high school I attended consistently made headlines for all the wrong reasons since it first opened its doors. One significant incident involved a teacher—let's refer to him as Ted—who was discovered engaging in inappropriate relations with a student multiple times.
Ted, a popular young man who was both good-looking and charismatic, acted as the cross country coach and taught advanced math. He was a favorite among many students. Eventually, he found himself behind bars due to his actions, causing the student involved to relocate schools. However, the story doesn't end there.
Jumping forward three years, I find myself at a concert with a large group of people, including some college girls. All of them indulged in alcohol except for me. As I chatted with the college girls, a surprising fact was revealed.
One of them was actually Ted's fiancée. She confessed she had forgiven Ted for his past indiscretions on the ground that he had been under the influence of drugs at that time.
Wondering why he didn't accompany us at the concert? He was again in jail, this time for illegal substance possession. Quite the catch, that Ted.
65. Get Your Motor Running
During my final year of high school, we welcomed a new computer science teacher. This individual was significantly overweight, rather irritating, and behaved like a teenager despite being 35 years old.
On one occasion, he playfully grabbed my car keys, mimicked the action of starting a car while pointing the keys towards me, and then cheekily asked, "Do I turn you on?" I found this situation more startling than amusing and quickly excused myself to resume my work.
Today, he is still a member of the school's faculty and now teaches my younger brother. He occasionally inquires about my marital status, much to my annoyance.
66. By The Look Of It
I attended a prosperous private bilingual school in Peru where we had a substitute teacher who was often present; this teacher had an apparent lazy eye. A kind-hearted woman with imperfect English, she often took charge of Spanish classes, in which most privileged American students, myself included, were enrolled.
This delightful woman of humble origins found herself amid affluent international students every time she was substituting. On one occasion, as she was assisting a student with his work, he abruptly cut her off, saying, "Miss, I can't figure out if you're looking at me or the boy in the corner!"
The whole room burst into laughter, and more jokes ensued amidst the chaos. I'll confess, I joined the chuckling, but the levity soon waned when we saw her eyes welling up; she bolted from the room, burying her face in her hands.
When things settled, I left the room and found her a few doors down, leaning against a column. It was a heartrending sight.
She was crying. I approached and apologized for myself and the other unmindful American students, who had laughed at her detriment. She appreciated the gesture; as I hugged her, I realized I barely knew her before this incident.
Yet, it was clear that her condition caused her distress, and she had a scant number of friends in our close-knit academic environment--even among the professors.
I got to know her a bit more in the following days. She took up the substitute teaching job to subsidize the cost of her young daughters' kindergarten education as she wished for them to receive the finest education possible. Her ambition was to secure a full-time teaching post at our school—a highly coveted position in the local area.
She tolerated the daily guaranteed humiliation and mockery from a group of wealthy, snobbish children, all just to afford her daughters a brighter future. It tore at my heartstrings when I learned about her situation, and it grossly underlined our rich-kid bad behavior, made evident through our relentless joking and laughter.
67. Secret Sweethearts
When I walked into English class, our teacher was already in tears. You could tell she'd barely held her emotions in check after a tough previous session. Surprisingly, the usually unruly boys in the class tried their best to lift her spirits; their attempt to make her smile was a welcome change.
Typically, these boys were the source of classroom mischief and often made life difficult for the teachers. Yet this happened around Valentine's day, and roses were on sale in the school lobby.
One of these so-called troublemakers left the room, bought a rose, and returned to present it to our teacher. I never thought I'd see the day when they showed such care for someone aside from themselves.
68. Falling Out And Falling Down
So, there were these two best friends, Cammy and Carey. But one day, Cammy blew off Carey to hang out with a guy, which left Carey feeling pretty angry. The following day, when Cammy mentioned having a headache, Carey saw her chance for revenge—she offered her something for the pain.
However, instead of a regular painkiller, Carey handed Cammy two Xanax pills. Not suspecting anything, Cammy left class briefly to grab some water to take the pills. Meanwhile, Carey used that opportunity to hide something not lawful in Cammy's bag, but what it was, we're not sure.
After that, Carey turned Cammy in to the assistant principal. However, as a result of taking the Xanax, Cammy's blood pressure plummeted, landing her in the hospital. The plan didn't stay secret for long, as Carey had previously shared it with some friends. Now, Carey is facing serious consequences and is at risk of getting expelled.
69. Emo Versus Goth: Dawn Of Eyeliner
During my final year at school, the goth trend had almost fizzled out while the emo phase was reaching a peak. A few seniors still identified as goths and had a clear dislike for emo students. Among them, three emo girls drew the most attention, and not in a pleasing manner.
Generally disliked, these girls appeared to adopt the emo style just for the sake of gaining attention. They would go as far as criticizing other emos who, in their opinion, didn't quite match up to them, earning themselves the reputation of the emo mean girls.
As I mentioned before, animosity simmered between the goths and emos, and even within the emo community, these mean girls were less than popular. During the Christmas season, disagreements were escalating publicly.
The antagonism reached a point where one of the mean girls was attacked, leading her to leave school. Her departure marked the ending of several friendships within a large group.
Approximately a month before summer break, the remaining two mean girls provoked the goths with some offensive remarks. In retaliation, the goths viciously attacked one of them after school, landing her in the hospital with serious injuries.
There was a rumor about severe facial injuries, though nothing was confirmed. The incident led to several goths being expelled, and the authorities were alerted.
Naturally, the rest of the students were shocked at these escalations. Indeed, the incident became the main topic of conversation for the remaining weeks of the academic year.
70. Party Of Two
At the beginning of this term, a school cafeteria staff member, who was cherished by many, sadly passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind two children—a high school senior and a freshman—now in the care of their father, who struggles with alcoholism.
The latest information I've received says that the children are being looked after by relatives from their mother's side. In response to this tragedy, our community has rallied together, organizing numerous fundraising events and maintaining a charity fund for the children.
The elder son is hardly around these days, and I suspect this is because grappling with such overwhelming circumstances while simultaneously preparing to graduate is a tremendous emotional burden.
71. Sub Par
Our usual algebra teacher had a baby and had to take maternity leave for quite a few months. The substitute teacher we had during her absence was, frankly, terrible. It became clear that she was much more interested in teaching just three or four out of the 28 kids in the class while essentially ignoring the rest of us.
Her typical routine involved distributing a worksheet and then solely focusing her attention on her chosen few until dismissal time. She completely forgot about the existence of homework check-ups, hardly communicated with us, and any students who weren't among her favourites were totally disregarded.
As you can guess, the situation spiraled out of control quickly given we were a bunch of 14 and 15-year-olds. The class was chaotic and disorderly to a shocking extent. It's astonishing that we weren't reported by our neighbouring teachers for being boisterously loud.
After several months of enduring this, our vice principal happened to drop by our class while doing routine checks. He was visibly upset. He ordered us all to settle down and told the substitute teacher to leave, taking over the class for the remainder of the period.
We never saw that substitute again, and instead had to adapt to a rotation of six or seven different subs. Our regular teacher returned two weeks after this incident. She was heartbroken when she found out that we had learned almost nothing during her absence and discovered just how ineffective the substitute had been.
I spotted her crying at her desk when I passed by her classroom on the way to the restroom during the next period. As it turned out, a family friend who worked at the central office that managed substitute teachers confirmed that the substitute had been permanently removed from their list.
72. Disappearing Act
I was part of a tight-knit group of buddies—there was me, Matt, Mitch, and a girl named Amal. Despite being a Muslim, Amal didn't quite follow the stereotype—she was into heavy makeup, wore metal band tees, dabbled in pot, and was also Mitch's girlfriend.
Now, Mitch was a loveable chap, but not exactly the kind any parent would dream of for their kid. After a few months of dating, Mitch suddenly sent me an urgent text—and my heart dropped.
It seemed that Amal's parents had learnt about him and they were far from pleased. I checked up on Amal, who revealed her folks were planning to take her back to Pakistan in response.
The very next day, her Facebook account was nowhere to be found. The last thing she did was send Mitch a heartbreaking text confessing her love, expressing her fear of being taken away by her parents.
Mitch was furious and rang her father. According to him, Amal's dad ominously warned Mitch to stay away from their family permanently, stating that Amal's actions had disgraced them. Despite his persistent attempts, Mitch couldn't contact her again.
We all lost touch with our lively friend Amal, who absolutely did not deserve this ordeal. Even today, I can't help but wonder how the situation may have turned out if I'd acted differently—but she disappeared within a short few hours.
73. Just A Little Smooch
I had a fantastic anatomy teacher. She had a collection of human bones that she would pass around for us to discuss.
For a good chunk of our term, our focus shifted to dissecting fetal pigs. We all tirelessly worked to ensure we scored well. Our teacher was known for offering a boost in the final grade for those able to achieve the following feats: completely uncoiling the pig's gastrointestinal tract, jump-roping with it [150 jumps], and extracting the brain and spinal cord without causing any damage.
One day, the class jokester crossed a line causing us to lose the promise of extra credit. We were livid. A week passed and the same guy proposed to the teacher, "What if I kiss my pig? Would we regain our extra credit?" There was a burst of laughter, as everyone thought he wasn't serious. Her response? "The kiss must involve your tongue." Now that's...bizarre.
Next thing we knew, we were back in the lab. Our classmate had his pig ready, while everyone took out their phones to record. He was delaying though. "I will really earn the credit, right?" She warned him, "If you don't go ahead with it quickly, you might lose the opportunity." Without wasting any time, he opened the pig’s mouth, and in went his tongue.
Our teacher couldn't control her laughter and ended up on the floor. It was both hilarious and appalling. But on the bright side, we regained our extra credit.
74. Cool Story, Teach
In high school, we once had this pretty large substitute teacher who was probably in his 60s. Oddly enough, he wanted us to call him "Mommy". And no, I'm not joking. Strangely, he was this sort of cool, laid-back sub. When I was in my senior year, I was in a smaller elective class with five other female students.
Then, this eccentric substitute filled in for our teacher one day. He started off by saying he hoped we were all behaved, describing how wild high school girls used to be in his day.
He shared this bizarre story of a girl who invited a crowd over to her house and, in front of everyone, had relations with a guy on her bed, all the while everyone was clapping along.
We didn't really know how to react, mainly because we were young and naive. We found him a bit odd, but didn't feel threatened. The next day, when our regular teacher was back, one of the girls brought up the story. Our teacher was instantly concerned and probed for more details.
All we could say was, "Yeah, he's a bit out there." She reported to the principal, but I don't know what eventually happened with him since I soon lost track of the situation.
75. Failure To Tingle
I had this math teacher in 9th grade, Mr Tingley. You might find this hard to believe, but almost everyone in the class failed—except for me. Honestly, we had a hard time grasping anything he taught us. Looking back, I sometimes wonder if he was dealing with dementia. Astoundingly, I managed a 93% in the class, even though I was just as confused as my classmates.
During my high school placement, they suggested putting me into an advanced math program. I was quick to say, “No, thanks". Instead, I took a regular math class. But during my first exam in 10th grade, I only scored 34%.
That low score triggered an urgent meeting with my math teacher and the principal. They even asked if I was on drugs. But the real problem?
Well, for reasons beyond my understanding, "the Tingler," as we called him, seemed to fancy me and gave me an absurdly high score in his class. My 10th-grade teacher recommended shifting me to basic math, but I declined. Instead, I requested her to teach me 9th and 10th-grade math in one year.
She warned that it might mean three hours of daily homework just for the 9th-grade portion. I didn’t flinch. What ended up happening was even more intense—I had five hours of math homework every night! It was a tiring year of burning the midnight oil, sleeping for only 4.5 hours, just to save my grades.
But, all the effort paid off when I ended up with an 85% score in Math 10.
76. Trial By Fire
At a school where a buddy of mine went, there was a new teacher who got a piece of tile smashed over his head. Even though the school was located in an upscale neighborhood, he had students who liked to play tough.
They'd trigger the fire alarms during his classes held in a tiny temporary building off-site, douse his computer with water, lob desks around, and pull off other such antics. And that's not all...
Despite all these, the school administrators didn't lift a finger to help him out. His disciplinary referrals would go unanswered and they didn't bother to eject the most disruptive students from his class. He was left to his own devices and just told to "get his class under control."
From what I gather, it looks like they're going face legal repercussions now, as this teacher ended up with multiple stitches in his head and a concussion.
77. Mr Purveyor
During lunch at school, a male teacher discussed the dress code with my friend and me. He mentioned his dislike for "individuals who are overweight wearing short shorts," but then pointed towards a slim girl ascending the stairs in short shorts, saying to us, "That... I find acceptable".
78. Are You Even A Teacher?
I had this really odd and somewhat unsettling substitute teacher back in middle school. He filled in for my history class and was an elderly man, almost completely bald, who always donned a vibrant red vest with a striped short-sleeved shirt beneath it whenever he taught.
Despite the fact that we didn't gain much knowledge during his tenure, he would consistently offer all of us these stale peanuts from an ancient Ziploc. Additionally, his fingernails were always long and glaringly painted purple, and his lashes bore a coat of mascara. Weirdly enough, he never vocalized a word.
He simply played the movie set by the original teacher, and silently observed us. Whenever a question was raised, he either remained silent, or just nodded/ shook his head. While there wasn't any evidence to label him as an outright creeper, he still gave off somewhat eerie vibes to me.
79. In Confidence
I sought guidance from instructors to enhance my animation expertise and quicken my drawing pace. I was feeling discontented with my competence level and worried about lagging behind my classmates.
I was looking for support, but instead, an instructor devastated me. They said, "There are countless other unique young Chinese girls like you who outshine you and could easily take your place".
80. Forced Out Of The Closet
A student, who identifies as a gay male, was unfortunately attacked by a group of aggressive athletes since he confessed to friends that he had romantic feelings for one of the most celebrated sports players in our school. Yet, some truly surprising revelations surfaced.
Interestingly, he had been secretly meeting this sportsman in various hidden places, including parking lots, over the past few months. They had been engaging in private encounters that were more intimate in nature.
The very sportsman allowed his buddies to assault him over these "speculations". However, in a startling move, the student unveiled conversations and suggestive pictures by posting them on a multitude of social media networks. These posts were visible for the entire school to read.
81. Two Steps Back
On several occasions, I've taught classes that include some students with special needs, who can manage in regular classes with some extra support from a co-teacher trained in special education.
Teaching these mixed-ability classes is generally very fulfilling, but comes with its own logistical challenges. For instance, twice a year, each special ed student has a progress meeting that includes administrators, teachers, counselors, the student's guardians, and the students themselves.
These discussions focus on the student's current educational accommodations and whether any changes are needed to support their learning better.
I don't really mind attending these meetings. However, the meetings only last one period, and teachers are continuously rotating in and out of them throughout the day.
Because of this, the school has 'subs,' who are more like stand-in adults than proper substitute teachers, watch over our classes. This becomes problematic as the class dynamics could easily spiral downwards during that period.
In one instance, I had a somewhat 'difficult' student who was actually a good kid deep down, and I had put a lot of efforts into engaging her more in my class. Midway through the academic year, I was summoned to one of these progress meetings during my scheduled period with her.
Refreshingly absent for just about 45 minutes, the substitute teacher picked a small argument with my student, who felt justifiably upset but responded poorly by escalating the situation.
The tension reached a point where the student ended up serving an in-school suspension. Gleaning from information obtained from everyone involved later, it was clear the sub had instigated the incident.
My student, whom I had invested so much time and effort in, was back to square one. After a while, I was able to help her get back on track, and she ended up being one of the top performers in my class by year's end.
However, I couldn't help but wonder how much better she could have done with no such setback and how much faith she had lost in adults.
82. Right And Wrong
One day, my English teacher stated to our class, "Polar bears mostly eat penguins." At the time, we were all around 16 years old. Being more of a science whiz than a literature fan, I wasn't her favorite student. So when she made this statement, I immediately countered her claim, asserting that she was incorrect. Naturally, she objected.
I clarified, saying that polar bears actually reside in the Arctic Ocean, and although there are various types of penguins, not a single species lives in the Northern Hemisphere.
This evolved into a lively debate during class, which prompted her to look up the facts online. She proceeded to search it up. After the Internet confirmed I was right, she made me leave the classroom.
83. Identifying Bias
I wasn't present this particular instance, but we once had a substitute teacher who was an elderly Caucasian man. He'd usually pass the whole class period boasting about all the positive things he'd accomplished for students in economically disadvantaged areas.
Now, looking back, I realize his narratives were actually manifestations of a white savior complex, as he often made subtly offensive comments. Back then though, we just found him irksome and perceived him as someone who was constantly showing off.
The substitute teachers at our school weren't great, but he wasn't the worst, or, that's what we initially thought. It was the end of the first semester in 2008 when Obama was elected president for the first time. The subsequent class after the election, this substitute teacher arrived.
He spent the whole hour and fifteen minutes delivering an extremely offensive diatribe about Obama, using many inappropriate terms and drawing comparisons between a black president and a disapproved regime.
Those who were part of that class would never forget his scandalous rant, they would talk about it until they graduated. We never came across that substitute teacher again.
84. The First Rule of Student Fight Club Is…
As an educator myself, it was quite shocking when one day one of my fellow teachers was abruptly dismissed from their job. Following that, a group of furious parents appeared on a seemingly normal sunny Tuesday, with intentions to give him a piece of their mind. When I discovered what motivated their anger, I felt a chill in my veins.
Evidently, this guy had been setting up a sort of combative competition among his students. Those who came out victorious would be rewarded with guaranteed perfect grades for the semester. Tragically, this hurtful activity left some children seriously injured.
His teaching career is certainly over, and he was forced to flee the town due to the intense backlash from the community. Supposedly, the evidence of these traumatic events is circulating online, though I haven't had the heart to verify this.
85. Really Fishy
Back in my first year at high school in 1988, my history teacher was an odd, yet intriguing character. He was one teacher I would actually go back to see after leaving school.
He was a bit intimidating in class, wielding a four-foot metal stick which he used as a pointer. One time, I even saw him chip away a section of a wooden desk where a student was dozing off.
There was a time when the class was caught in a drab topic or perhaps the teacher was just rambling on and on. Amidst this, a girl in our class let out a dramatic sigh, an audible symbol of sheer boredom and disdain. He paused his monologue and the room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
With a chuckle, he broke the silence and said, "Young lady, you sound as if someone was tickling your tuna". As soon as the words left his mouth, he chuckled again and carried on with his lecture, leaving us in shock questioning if we had just heard him right.
I vividly remember the wide-eyed astonishment on the girl's face. Her look of disbelief didn't fade away for the rest of the class.
Flickr
86. A Total Hero
This is a story about my child. He was usually the quiet one, often overlooked or teased by others. One day, another student was being severely bullied near a steep hill that led to our school football field. Seeing this, my son stepped in and asked the bully to stop tormenting the other student.
But, his intervention seemed to infuriate the bully even more. The bully then lashed out and attempted to punch my son, but he made a huge mistake.
See, not many folks around school knew my son had been training in kung fu since he was in fifth grade. By that time, he was already a brown belt. His mentor greatly emphasized on real-world uses and sparring.
So, he easily evaded the bully's punch and countered with a powerful roundhouse kick that landed on the bully's jaw. The impact caused the bully to tumble down nearly the entire slope leading to the football field. The tables were certainly turned on the bully.
Consequently, my son was given a two-week suspension from regular school and had to attend an alternate school. His mother scolded him for his actions. I, on the other hand, rewarded him with a brand-new PS4.
87. A Spooky Situation
In college, I studied under a chilled-out English prof who was big on ghost stories, especially what she believed was a mysterious presence following her around her home. It was a bit creepy, but I decided to up the creep factor.
I was sitting a good distance from her, so I fired up my word processor, typed "We're coming for you" multiple times, and sent it to the classroom's printer. No one had a reason to be using the printer, so when it started printing, her face turned ashen. She looked at the printout and just said, "Oh no".
That was the cue for me to burst out laughing. Even though she scolded me, everyone, including herself, began to laugh along.
88. Heart Of The Matter
There was a substitute teacher who insisted I surrender my heart monitor right in front of my classmates. It was my junior year in high school when I was battling serious heart concerns that required me to wear a heart monitor for 15 hours daily.
This was a special device, equipped with a phone, which would relay data to my physician whenever I experienced heart murmurs. So there I was, wearing my monitor when my heart started acting up.
All of sudden, the monitor let out a buzz—and I knew something was very wrong. I was about to press the 'send' button when the substitute teacher insisted I hand over my cellphone. When I tried to explain why I couldn't, she lost patience with me.
Having no other option, I lifted my shirt right there, revealing the network of wires and sensors strapped around my chest to an audience of 50 fellow students. I'll never forget how quickly her face fell.
89. Can’t Bring Me Down
Back in high school, I had a subject that I really enjoyed, Informatics 2. It mostly covered basic graphic design and other creative digital topics. I found myself truly motivated during a project we were assigned, and I ended up doing exceedingly well.
Mr. V, the teacher, was impressed and awarded me an A+. He even used it as an example for other class sections. Later, I found out he used my video presentation to showcase what a top-notch project looked like. There was another teacher, Ms. M, who also taught Informatics 2, but not my class.
A few days after my project presentation, I bumped into her in the hallway. She said, "I saw your project. Nice work! But, you shouldn't have done that."
I was confused and asked her why. She replied, "Now, everyone has to try to match your high level of work. A student who might have received an A+ could end up facing a B or lower."
I kind of took a hit from that comment and it threw me off for a bit. I wish I could go back and confront her about it. After all, I am not responsible for grading, and I should be free to perform at my best always!
90. Spanish Teacher Nightmare
I once had a Spanish instructor who, in an effort to bond with her students, took to teasing a different one throughout each lesson. In search of a distraction from the tedious classes, students would occasionally chuckle along.
But I genuinely disliked this approach. She would specifically target students who didn’t respond or those who kept a low profile, continuously brushing it off as “just a joke!”
One day, she selected the quiet guy who never made any fuss as her new 'comedy' target. Using him for a comparison, the teacher described a homeless man in a picture.
After enduring this for a solid 10 minutes, the boy got up and, with tears in his eyes, left the class. As he was leaving, he turned around and told her that his father had died the night before and then pushed past her.
As soon as he was out of sight, she paused briefly as if she was affected, then mimicked him, saying, "My dad just died, boohoo, poor me". Without thinking, my Spanish book was then hurtling towards her face, and I found myself calling her an "ugly witch". Sure, my Spanish insult game wasn't top-notch but it got the point across!
91. Who’s Really At Fault Here?
There was a time when I got suspended for "not turning off my phone in class" and being blamed for "its incessant ringing". A heated argument followed, during which I pulled my phone out of my bag, disassembled it right there on the teacher's desk, removed the battery and sim card, and then stated, "My phone isn't the problem here".
And wouldn't you know it, another ringtone blares just as I finished my sentence. You won't believe where it was coming from. My teacher's bag started flashing and buzzing. So, I pointed out, "Mr. Southern, your phone seems to be the culprit". He retorted, "I don't own a phone".
So, I shot back, "It's clearly visible through the mesh compartment of your bag," which was met with the response, "Leave. You're suspended. Report to the admin office and we'll sort this out when you return next week". Sure thing, pal.
92. You’ve Got A Friend In Me
My mom often queries about my limited friend circle in high school. The truth is a mystery I'd rather keep from her. It stemmed from our financial struggles; we were far from wealthy and I knew of her monetary stress growing up. To keep our home life private, I usually declined any schoolmate's invite to hang out or have gatherings at my place.
In my final year of high school, things became even more complicated...Wanting to lighten the load on my mom, I chose not to ask her for cash when I needed to purchase stuff. So, I started working wherever I could, outside of classes, leaving me little time to build friendships.
It's my wish that she never uncovers this and no way do I want her to shoulder any guilt or blame herself for my minimal social interactions growing up.
Unsplash
93. Post-Secondary Disappearance
Around a decade back, a high school senior from my locality vanished, and he hasn't been found to this day. It's known that he was at a gathering right before he finished school, had some heated arguments with his girlfriend, and then decided to walk home.
Despite probing all nearby forests, rivers, and lakes rigorously and even getting a television "psychic" fascinated by the case, they only managed to discover his deserted car, with no other clues about his whereabouts.
What's even more eerie is that the tale of his disappearance is still a hot topic in my childhood town. My psychology instructor used his case during a high school lesson about dissociative fugue states. MISSING posters are still a common sight around town, and every year, the local residents organize a search party in hopes of finding him.
I can't help but ponder whether he committed suicide, met with an unfortunate accident, was a victim of foul play, or simply fled across the country.
94. Third Wheel To The Rescue
After the prom, my friend, his girlfriend (who was my best buddy then), and I, hung out at his house. I took a nap on the sofa while they were up to their own fun. Come early morning, around 6 am, they dashed downstairs to get me involved. The spectacle that presented itself to me was hard to digest—a real chuckle or vomit moment.
Imagine, they were so drunk that they merrily and probably in jest, ended up soaking each other and the bed with their own urine. They were even trying to use insecticide as their cleaner! Pure chaotic spectacle, indeed.
95. Below The Belt Hits
In my high school class, there was a guy who was known to pick on others through an act we call "de-pantsing"—pulling down someone's pants unexpectedly. He wasn't just satisfied with pants; he'd aim to get the boxers too, leaving the poor chap’s family jewels exposed to the world.
After our gym classes, this tormentor decided to target a boy named Dan. Dan, though incredibly smart and a bit socially awkward, was very tall and slim, which made him an easy prey.
What everyone didn’t know was that Dan had a secret weapon: he had just earned his black belt in jiu-jitsu and he was quite adept at sorting things out with it. So, I guess you can tell what happened next.
The bully, confident and cocky, strolled over to Dan and tugged down his shorts. Let’s just say that everything was out in the open giving everyone a good laugh.
Instead of panicking, Dan casually stepped away from his pooled shorts and proceeded to put the bully in a swift, complicated hold. After making the bully yelp, he tossed him over his shoulder and onto the bleachers. The gym teacher saw the entire scene unfold.
The bully ended up with a broken leg, was suspended from school, and had to forgo his final year in sports. As for Dan, he was cautioned not to go around breaking the legs of his fellow students.
96. On My Father’s Grave
In a regrettable encounter, my teacher once said the cruelest thing to me: "Didn’t your dad ever guide you on how to behave?" I sadly told him that my father passed away four years prior. A fortnight later, my step-dad came for me, mentioning that he was there to collect his kid.
Oddly, the teacher, on the phone with the administration, questioned, "Do you mean the late father has arrived for the child?"
This teacher continually behaved insensitively throughout high school and never felt remorse for his harsh words. He'd even follow me into different rooms if I was wearing a hat, insisting it must be removed.
This behavior served to inspire my own teaching style—I aimed to be compassionate, understanding, and a great mentor to my students. I always give my kids the benefit of the doubt and treat them with utmost respect.
97. All Over Some Cheetos
Baseball was a big deal in my school, and we used to train intensely. I also had a fast metabolism, so it was critical to snack on something before lunch. One day, I brought a bag of Cheetos into my regular English class, which wasn't for honor or AP students, and was usually quite laid-back. I attended a public school in Texas, and this level of English class usually had students who weren't too academically focused, resulting in a lively atmosphere.
I had intentionally opted for this English class to keep playing baseball, after forgetting a paper once almost made me unable to participate. I walked into class, sat down, and began enjoying my Cheetos before the lesson began. Once the teacher started the class, I stopped eating, although I did manage to sneak in one more Cheeto.
Unfortunately, my teacher noticed and told me to bin the snacks; she made quite a fuss about it and raised her voice. I was rather taken aback, but I complied and threw the bag away. I questioned her overreaction, which led her to write me up. The note she wrote was shocking—she claimed I tossed the Cheetos bag at her and reacted angrily. Consequently, I was given an in-school suspension for a week.
The situation had a silver lining, though. My stepfather used to teach at my school, so I already knew several faculty members, including the suspension supervisor who was an attendee at our family's Christmas parties. So essentially, I ended up with a pleasant week off.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
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