"I Had A Parent Demand That Their Third Grader Be Moved Out Of My Class And Into A Thinner Teacher's Class": 24 Teachers Call Out The Entitled Parents That Were So Horrific, Some Of Them Literally Quit

Yahoo

5 days ago

I asked teachers of the BuzzFeed Community to share their entitled parent encounters that were so awful, it made them almost (or literally!) quit their job. I have said it once and I will say it a thousand more times: teachers! do! not! get! paid! enough! for! this! shit! And if you didn't believe that already, well, these 24 stories just might change your mind:
1."I had several students in my fourth-grade class with severe allergies. As such, I made it clear to parents from day one that we would not be having birthday parties in the class. One mom called me repeatedly to convince me to waive the rule (I refused), then called the principal, and then the superintendent to override the rule. Admin backed me up. Right after lunch on her daughter's birthday, the mom walked into my room with a huge platter of homemade cupcakes. I reminded her of the policy, and her daughter said, 'I told you, mom!' The mom called me a bitch in front of my entire fourth-grade class, then left. Her poor daughter was mortified."
—Anonymous
2."I had a parent demand that their third grader be moved out of my class and into a thinner teacher's class because 'if she can't take care of herself, how can she take care of her students?' I had recently lost 15 pounds and was well into my weight loss journey, too, at the time. Luckily, the principal just laughed at her request, which was really supportive!"
—25, Virginia
3."A parent once called my AP to tell her that she needed to make me change her son's grade on an assignment because SHE did it, and she's an adult, so she knows she deserves a higher grade. I said no — turns out your son isn't the only one in the family who doesn't understand ninth-grade social studies..."
—33, NYC
4."I had a parent send me a two-page message because his kid kept getting in trouble at school. This was Kindergarten, mind you, so we were trying to teach them how school worked in the first place. The parent spelled my name wrong, then proceeded to tell me that respect was earned and I had not earned his child's respect. He also told me that since I didn't have my own kids, I knew nothing about teaching. And finally, he tried to blame me for the fact that his son had apparently picked up the habit of putting his hands in his pockets. I have never made students put their hands in their pockets. Kindergarten parents are a lot."
—30, Tennessee
5."I am a pre-K teacher at a private school. One morning, at 6 a.m., I got a text from a child's mom that said, 'Today is my birthday. YAY! I would like to come to the classroom and bring a treat for the kids to celebrate.' Yes, it was the mother's birthday...not her child's birthday. We celebrate birthdays by singing a birthday song, eating the child's favorite treat, and creating a poster that shows why they love the birthday child. I let her know that she did not need to bring in a snack, but that she could come in to eat lunch with her child if she wanted to. She then asked me if I was going to have the class sing to her and tell her what they love about her. It was ridiculous..."
—Anonymous
6."An art teacher once had to stop class and make a class colors t-shirt smaller because the mother of a freshman had ordered the wrong size on the order form. She demanded that another shirt be given to her child, but the shirts were made to order, and there were no extras. Then, she demanded that the Home Ec teacher alter the T-shirt. There haven't been Home Ec teachers at this school for over 10 years. Finally, she demanded that the teacher who had designed the t-shirt, the art teacher, alter the shirt. She stopped class, got out the sewing machine, and made the shirt smaller."
—40s, Indiana
7."A parent emailed me about the bad grade her child got on a speech project. It was half the required time, filled with 'ummms' and 'uhhhs', and they read off index cards with no attempt to memorize it. Mom said the speech was fantastic, and she would know, because she was in the classroom watching it. Reader, she was NOT in my classroom."
"While I was trying to come up with a response to this unhinged email, Mom emailed me again to call herself out about claiming to have been present. I deleted my draft response and pretended the whole exchange never happened. I just wanted it to stop."
—46, United States
8."My first year as a high school graphic design and printing teacher, I had a student who was awesome. He was a super positive, engaged, and hard-working kid who was genuinely interested in my class. Sometimes he came in before school or at lunch to work on projects and make products in the print shop. In my eyes, he was a perfect 'A' student. About halfway through the year, I received an email from his dad asking for a meeting with me and the principal. When we met, he proceeded to tell us that his son was failing most of his classes, but had an A in my class."
"He went on to explain he came from a family of educators, so 'he knows how it all works.' He looked me dead in the eye and said, 'So I want to know what YOU aren't doing as a teacher that my son has an A in your class, but not the others… you must be doing something wrong.' I was speechless. Don't know what you want me to tell you, dude."
—Anonymous
9."On the day of graduation, a mom of one of my students sent an email DURING the ceremony, blaming me for her son losing his scholarship because he received a D in my class and not a C. She sent a novel of an email, so I won't go into details of her angry accusations, but it made me realize that instead of checking the parent portal and seeing WHY he got that grade, it was easier for her to blame me rather than see all the factors involved."
"He was a great student and worked hard all year, but due to 'senioritis,' he chose not to do the last two projects that were required of him, which resulted in a poor grade. Had he committed and just turned partial work in, his grade would've been higher. This was a personal choice, but instead, she decided I did this purposefully and ruined her son's future."
—Anonymous
10."Their daughter did not get elected to the homecoming court. Mother demanded to recount the votes, even though four teachers had counted them together. Her votes were not even close to the three winners. We had not kept the votes because we foolishly thought that everyone would believe us. She went to the principal and the head of the school. When she didn't get her way, she said she would sue."
"I heard that several lawyers laughed her out of their offices. She took her daughter out of the school that year and enrolled her in public school. This was October of her senior year.
I heard that in her freshman year in college, when she didn't get into the sorority she wanted, her mother sued the sorority. The girl dropped out of college."
—Anonymous
11."At the end of the year, I'd give out easy, optional homework for extra credit (or, if students could use a boost to their grade, it would go home highly recommended). One sheet I gave out to my third graders was a teacher report card. Students could fill it out, draw a silly picture, and turn it in for a bonus. Some kids actually gave valuable feedback. One particular student's grade really needed a boost. He didn't participate in class and rarely did homework. I sent the teacher report card home with him, along with some other bonus work."
"The report card was the only one that came back. His parent had filled it out, drawn a rude picture, and 'failed' me for 'never' calling on their child to answer a question, even though, as he told them, he'd raised his hand to answer every question. They wrote that I was the worst teacher and that if they saw I was still at the school the following year, they'd make a formal complaint to the principal.
That was my last interaction with a parent before I left education, and I feel incredibly secure in my decision whenever I think about it. Admin is often not supportive, but parents can be the most thankless part of the job!"
—30s, AZ
12."A parent demanded a teacher's desk for her child during an IEP meeting. When the principal said no, she then stated that the students' desks didn't hold enough for her child, and then had it written into the IEP that her child could have a bucket beside his desk for 'overflow.' I tripped over that bucket, and so did all of my students. The only thing in the buckets was the few papers that the parent originally put in there. The kid was referred to as 'bucket boy' by his peers. Deep sigh."
—Anonymous, Indiana
13."I once had a kid who was incredibly disruptive and had severe learning disabilities. She couldn't finish tests in second grade that the rest of her peers could, and the parents would claim that she was given no notification of tests, despite the fact that it was in the homework for a week in advance. She would roll around on the floor instead of doing work, play with slime, run off from teachers, go down the stairs to look for her lost toy, etc. The parents would refuse to come to meet the teacher at night or to conferences. We (my administration) eventually told the parents they needed to go to conferences, or the kid would be kicked out of school. We also suggested that while we were not fans of medicating 7-year-olds, the parents should look into ADHD meds for the child. The mother then replied, 'We pay good money for our child to go to this school so YOU can deal with her.'
"'She doesn't need to do well, she just needs to pass until she graduates high school and then she can get married. Also, I had the same issues as a kid and I was fine,' she continued.
Turns out, the mother's father had paid tutor after tutor to do the work for the mother so she'd pass as a child. The parents eventually came to conferences and said, 'There's nothing we're going to do about our child. Just let her do whatever she wants.'"
—Anonymous
14."I had a very strong middle school student shove another student clear across the room. When I asked both boys what happened, the one who got pushed admitted to instigating it, but per school policy, both got a referral. When I emailed the mom of the student who pushed the other and explained what happened, she responded back to my email and said, 'I could shove the referral right up my ass.' All the while, her child slept every single day in every single class they were ever in. But right, I'm the problem."
—31, Florida
15."A 24-year-old parent/co-worker whose lifespan was the same age as my career in teaching demanded her child be removed from my classroom because I had rules and consequences which she claimed caused her child to cry all day. The reality was that I told her child no and refused to give in to his demands, while enforcing his listening, along with redirecting his inappropriate behavior. Apparently, this was bullying for a 3-year-old. After the school's owner gave in to her demands, this parent put a target on me. I was legit scared for my safety, so I quit."
—Anonymous
16."My school had the ex-wife of an MLB player's children enrolled. She was a tall, fit brunette with a Barbie-mom attitude and thought she was better than everyone else. She was a stay-at-home mom with a full-time nanny who wouldn't stay longer than a few months, a big SUV she couldn't drive, and expensive clothes for both her kids and herself. She bragged about her wealth whenever she was given compliments, and she made people feel as small as possible. I really think she believed the world revolved around her — she would send her kids to drop-in care without asking if there was room and would pick them up late (such as fifteen to twenty minutes after closing)."
"One day, she went off on my boss because her child misplaced an expensive coat. 'I don't have to work, unlike you,' she said to my boss, who apologized numerous times for the coat. 'I can afford a $500 coat, and obviously you can't,' she said, smirking. My boss was ready to lose it. The next day, the coat was found.
A few weeks later, said-parent 'got her head taken off' by some kids in our school-age program playing soccer in the gym. Parents had to walk through the gym to get to their child's classroom. When she complained about it, my boss brushed it off. We got a good laugh about the karma."
—Anonymous
17."I'm a pre-K teacher at a private school, and I had sent a note home to let parents know that they would need to send in a sack lunch because we were going on a field trip. I also included that the more low-maintenance the lunch, the better and easier it will be for the child and teachers, because we would not be near a refrigerator. That next morning, a mom walked up to me carrying what looked like an incredibly small (approx. 2 inches tall and wide) rotisserie chicken. She said, 'This is octopus for my daughter's field trip lunch today. I am going to need you to put it on ice until she is ready to eat it.'"
"Octopus? Put it on ice? I started laughing and let her know that I was not planning on carrying a bucket of ice for her daughter's octopus lunch."
—Anonymous
18."I had a parent who refused to potty train her child before starting kindergarten, so after several days of accidents, she took her daughter to the doctor and got a note handwritten on an Rx pad telling me how to potty train a child. I was made to follow the doctor's orders. The child did not have any medical conditions, BTW, just a lazy mother."
—Anonymous
19."I had been in a quite traumatic car accident the previous school year. I had broken my arm, which required multiple surgeries due to infection and my bone not growing back. That next school year, I was still dealing with the issues with my arm and had some high-maintenance parents (in their eyes, their son never did anything wrong; I'd disagree). One day, my arm was in excruciating pain. I went to the doctor, who confirmed my bone was infected and I was going to have to go in for immediate surgery or I'd lose my arm. Finding a sub last-minute is difficult, let alone a consistent one that my students would know. I had about an hour to get my class ready and find a sub, and I was unsuccessful. I went into surgery and was then admitted to the hospital for several days. Then I started getting the emails."
"They were attacking me for not being prepared and for getting a terrible substitute for this student, and complained that the subs were changing every day. Once I returned to work (soon after, because I was out of sick days), I had to have a meeting with the parents and principal to 'discuss my incompetence.' I was going to have another surgery, which I put off as close to Christmas break as possible, so as not to miss work, but I was going to have to miss some. The parents looked at me in the principal's office and, speaking to me like a child, said, 'Since this one won't be an emergency, you'll be better prepared and you will find us a good, consistent substitute?' I told them I'd try my best. However, they're never happy; they badmouthed me to younger grade parents and told them not to put their children in my class. They even reported me to the superintendent. That was when I decided I was done with teaching."
—Anonymous
20."I had a parent ask me if I could pick up her child each morning and bring her to school with me. The school didn't open until 7, and she had a new job where she had to be at work at 7. Trying to be nice, I explained that I had two little ones of my own, and we could barely get ready and get to work on time as it was. She then asked for my address and offered to drop her daughter off at my house on her way to work. I declined and suggested the bus. She made it clear she was not happy with me."
—Anonymous
21."I had a student not get into a well-known honor society because they cheated on one of my assignments, and at least one other teacher recommended against admitting them. The mom went to the principal and single-handedly blamed ME for the student not being admitted. The principal decided the honor society needed grievance procedures for events like this. The student ended up being admitted."
"I am also the sponsor of a different, content-specific honor society. The student did not apply during their first year of eligibility. This past school year, we provided a month-long application window. Once again, no application from the student. Keep in mind, the application was on a Google form, making it totally verifiable that we had no application from this student. When the student asked me about getting in, I let them know there was no application submitted by them. I had the Google form set so they had to use their district credentials to even open the form. The student went to their mom, and the mom proceeded to criticize me, not just to my sponsor, but also to my principal, claiming I 'lost' their child's application two years in a row and basically accused me of having a personal vendetta against this kid. So. Much. Fun."
—37, Texas
22."I had a ninth-grade boy who constantly acted out in class and never did his homework, and his mom was POSITIVE it was my fault. One day, the woman showed up in my classroom because the assistant principal gave her permission to observe my class without even telling me first. Name one other profession where someone could just stand there and watch you do your job without a valid reason to be there. Of course, her son wasn't bright enough to be on his best behavior in front of his mother— he pulled the same crap he always did. The mom at least had the decency to be embarrassed and apologize for not believing me.
—jenniferj32
23."I once had a student whose behavior was horrendous — shouting, swearing, coming into class twenty minutes late, disrupting everyone, the works. They were 15, and this was my first year of teaching. When the kids were given a negative point, the parents were notified. This kid's mom must have been on the app 24/7, because whenever this kid got a negative from me, she would then email me and ask for specifics about why, then get annoyed when I was too busy teaching to reply to her."
"I'd end up with a series of six or seven emails a class, plus messages from the office to call her back when I had a moment. Admin eventually told her to arrange meetings with me instead of emails, and 'surprisingly' it stopped!"
—Anonymous
24.And finally, "My dad works at the high school I go to, and there was one student (super super nice kid, super smart, but very quiet) whose parents tried to make the school reschedule GRADUATION because the family would be on vacation. The same student's family would have my dad and me give him rides home from school after club meetings, and BOTH of the parents' cars would be in the driveway. They would come out to thank us for giving him a ride. Like GIRL, you live not even ten minutes away, get your ass over to the school and pick your kid up."
—claireclaireclairebearbearbear
Alright, now it's your turn. Teachers of BuzzFeed — in the comments below or via this anonymous form, tell us about the wildest, most unhinged encounter you've ever had with an entitled parent. You never know, your submission just might end up in a future BuzzFeed Community post.
Solve the daily Crossword