What was the worst teacher you've ever had and why?

[Anonymous]

My 5th grade math teacher, who to this day, still has a Facebook page dedicated to several years of students who hated him, his class, and hated math because of the way he taught.

Mr. H was literally terrifying and as an adult, I absolutely feel like someone should have called CPS on him. I had Honors math class with him the same year as his own son. He demanded that no one speak unless spoken to so class was always dead silent. Everyone remembers he kept his class freezing and with metal chairs, this was awful. His favorite thing to do was to call on any student who did not raise their hand when he asked a question, force them to come to the board, knowing full well they didn't know the answer, and watch as they trembled, and some cried from the anxiety as he would yell out, "that's wrong! That's wrong! You stupid? Nope. Try again! What did we learn? Go! Do it stupid!"

He would also give detention for literally anything. I kid you not, someone dropped a pencil and he gave them detention for not keeping their desk neat. This class was insane, but the day that really scared all of us, was the day his son did or said something he didn't agree with and he said something back to his dad, and his dad literally picked up his son, still in his desk, and threw him a few feet. It wasn't just us that were scared of him, the other teachers too. I felt like everyone just covered for him in the worst way or of course as kids, we were scared that would happen to us too. I never saw a bruise on his son, but he was definitely always scared of his dad, and his verbal abuse, which he got a lot of too when he played baseball, because his dad was the coach. It took me a really long while to not feel genuine fear when going to a board in middle school. It was bad.

[abc3643]

In Spring 1982, I was in my 2nd semester of college taking a class called "Math III". Math III was an introduction to matrices and linear algebra. It's an important class, but the textbook sucked and, worse, the instructor was a "Visiting Assistant Professor" from Germany. He was a nice likeable man, I suppose, but he used to drive me nuts. For instance, in English, the Greek letter beta ( β ) is pronounced "bay-ta" but he'd say "bee-ta". Mostly, though, he pretty much read the book word-for-word and the book was not a good introductory textbook for this subject because linear algebra is rather abstract.
5 years later, when I was completing my MS, I was taking a class called Linear Systems. The appendix in that book was like Marine Boot Camp for matrix algebra. Everything that I should have learned in Math III, I learned in Linear Systems.

So, I consider my Math III professor my worst teacher, but this was early in his career. Also, there may have been an equally or worse teacher, but I can't think of anyone at the moment.

[abc3643]

Back to that Math III class... since he wasn't clarifying the book at all, I was really on my own from Chapter 3 on. I tuned out when I was in the class itself. I got a C. However, honestly, I got all Cs and 1 B that semester. My girlfriend left me just before the semester started and I was devastatingly heart broken for the first time in my life. I was a shit show that semester and really didn't give a shit about much. Introductory Economics was my B and that was my mental savior because it was actually interesting.

[Asker]

That doesn't strike me as really teaching if all they are going is reading word for word. Basically the equivalent of we could have done the meeting over Skype. Glad you did get a chance to actually learn what you need to later on. Better late than never.

[abc3643]

Yes. In fact, in my graduate school years, I gained a profound understanding and appreciation of the power of linear algebra and matrices. The textbook for Math III was a bit abstract from Chapter 3 on, but it wasn't very elaborative or provided motivation; you really had to "already get it" to appreciate it.

This is the textbook for Math III. I believe it was a first edition. 40+ years later, we are on the 9th or 10th edition... Hopefully, it's better now.



This is the book I had in Spring 1987 for the class Systems Analysis Techniques which has an Appendix A which is DOZENS of pages long basically being Matrix Marine Boot Camp.

[exitseven]

I had a professor for a course I took in the summer. This was before people had home computers. It was a programming course and I used to have to drive to campus on the weekend to do the assignments. The first Saturday I went in I could not login to the computer. I told the professor the next week and he told me he would fix it for me. The next Saturday it was the same thing this was a summer course that only lasted 6 weeks and we were now on week 3. I had this guy come with me after class to the computer lab. He told me that it was all fixed. The next Saturday I still could not get in. The next week I asked him if I should drop the course because I was 3 assignments behind and there is no way I could get all the assignments done and study for the final. He told me that I should take the final and I would get an incomplete and I could pass in the assignments later. I asked him if the final was going to be a out the assignments. He told me that it was going to be out of the text If I studied the book I would be okay. So I show up and take the final. It was all about the assignments that I did not do. I got a 23 on the final. He told me that even if I passed in the assignments I still could not pass with su h a bad grade on the final. He said he would submit an F which would have gotten me kicked out of the program I had to go talk to the dean who said he does not get involved with disputes over grades. I very quietly asked him what he thought would happen if I was to litigate this. Suddenly he tells me that he would talk to the professor. So I went back to work a d I wasn't there 10 minutes when this asshole all me all apologies and he says he will change the grade to an incomplete. I took the course over again in the fall with a different professor and got a B+

[DrPepper12]

That's bullshit but I've seen it before

[exitseven]

@DrPepper12 I swear it really happened. This guy almost got me kicked out of the program.

[DrPepper12]

Oh I believe you!! It's just absolute bullshit. When I fucked up as a teacher I owned it and never hurt the kid. Ever. I would rather reward the whole class than punish the kid.

[exitseven]

@DrPepper12 This guy came from a different college and he was auditioning for a full time position. The class started with about 25 students. At the end there was only around 10 left. I should have dropped the course with everyone else.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[tomboy2003]

Lol I’ve had so many bad teachers 😭 The worst teacher I had was probably that lady who teached us religious education. She was spreading so much propaganda and scared us on purpose.

[KostasKouvalis]

If I'm completely honest, the worst was probably a student teacher I had in high school history class, which is ironic because I had a huge crush on her, and I was her favorite student, but if I'm completely honest, she was kind of stupid. She didn't know how to spell "Burma", and there was some basic knowledge stuff I was shocked that she didn't know. She kicked me out of class one time because I embarrassed her. And one time I was explaining to my classmates that the term "Caucasian" derives from people who live in the Caucasus Mountains. She asked what we were doing, and I told her we were talking about Caucasians and she told us to stop talking about other races. It was even more ridiculous 'cuz she's half Armenian. Like how can someone be THAT woke and stupid? I wasn't even saying anything bad. But the thing that made me lose respect for her the most, is when some kid drew a Confederate flag and she asked him to paint over it, because it's a hate symbol. And one time, she had us write about a black person we idolize, and she didn't have us do that for any other race.

Looking back at it now, I can't believe I had a crush on her. I probably just thought she was sweet and cute, 'cuz in terms of teaching and knowledging, she was really woke and stupid.

[DrPepper12]

Mr Metviner. 10th grade algebra. Got a 66 for the year. He was the OG Mr. Mackey (South Park M'kay?). He was SO BORING, MONOTONE, PERSONALITY LESS, that One of my friends just stood up walked to the window said I can't take this anymore and jumped out on grass and Just walk to the deli. He was our hero. He couldn't be taken off task because he had a minute by minute lesson plan that he used like a conductor. He lived for math. Unmarried. No kids. Just math. Even the other teachers were like WTF? Every year in summer when schedules came out it was a line of parents in guidance saying pull my kid, anyone but him. He never bought stuff in lobby to support sports and clubs. He was so anal he had tape on floor where each of four desk legs had to be. That class was a fucking nightmare. When I started teaching I took him as my antithesis.

[DrPepper12]

If you want, go to ratemyteacher. com or ratemyproffesor. com to see anonymous kid feedback. It's a cesspool of unedited truth.

[TommyMountainFigure]

We had a maths teacher who would throw the blackboard rubber at random pupils when he lost his temper.

I lost my temper when he threw it at me once and launched it back at him.. I hit him in the head with it and caused some bleeding. I was suspended.. Can you believe that? I got suspended for it even though he threw it at me first.. It wasn't even me making a noise, it was the girl sitting next to me telling me her friend liked me!

[KostasKouvalis]

For some reason, math teachers always seem to be the angriest

[TommyMountainFigure]

@KostasKouvalis I found out afterwards in his previous job he was a Science (Possibly Chemistry, although not certain) Teacher at a different school, when a science experiment went wrong and a kid went flying out of a first floor window!
At least that was the rumour going around!

[KostasKouvalis]

Are you serous? That's honestly funny as hell! I wanna know what he was doing in there

[Asker]

That's crazy. Did you get your parents involved or was this later on in life? Like what the heck! And man the trend does seem to be crazy math teachers!

[TommyMountainFigure]

@Asker and @KostasKouvalis My School was a lunatic asylum. I was bullied for 3 years and I had to shoulder the whole thing on my own.. No.. My Mum made me promise I wouldn't get into any more fights, so I backed away.. and ended up getting beaten up daily. My dad when I finally told him said don't listen to your mother and he enrolled me into Karate Classes. Butit was only after I got into a fight with the three bullies and I put one in intensive care that it all stopped.. I originally was going to be expelled for that, but my Dad went up there and lost his temper with them.. That got reduced to a suspension.
Some of the teachers though.. they were terrible.. One teacher chased a kid all around the school.. Admittedly he gave the teacher a wallop and the teacher use to be a boxer.. that was quite funny.. but I could write a book on it!

[jahaims]

I had a lot of bad teachers

[DrPepper12]

Most of the worst had the title "Sister x". Those nuns were sadistic and dumb as a bag of hammers