What are your terrible teacher memories?

[lovelyjubbly888]

A bit random - and in no way a teacher bashing thread! I was just inspired randomly by a thread about whether people make sure the sink is dry after use.
I had an absolute hag of a home economics teacher - who one day had a right go at me after I had washed up all the dishes. She lifted up the wash basin, and there were soap suds on the bottom of the basin. She got angry at me for it, and made stay behind and wash it until there was not a soap sud left. I was then late for next lesson. I'm still indignant about it, she was a fucking loose screw.
This was only 10 years ago!!!

Thank goodness for that child's father, poor thing.

Boarding in early 90's at primary and constantly being told that I was lazy, stupid, kept in at break every day of the week, never given any house points even when I did well, always the 'problem' kid. In Y2 the teacher ripped up my maths book in front of the class because I couldn't remember my tables, in Y4 one teacher red in the face screaming at me "what makes you so special?". I remember being told off for not knowing how to use shampoo or conditioner and the matron always refusing to brush my "birds nest" but would happily brush others - I was 6. Same matron wouldn't let me join in with activities as my home clothes were too small and she said I might hurt myself or others. Never seemed to think to ask my parents/grandparents to get me clothes that fit... My grandparents had to pay for my education because my dad was abusive to my alcoholic mum who had a nervous breakdown and I was going to be put into care otherwise. I don't think any of them ever thought "this is this child's home" or considered that I didn't get to go home and cry or get a hug. I really often wonder if these teachers should have had access to children let alone 'care' for them.

Yes, cookery and needlework were called Home Economics when I was at school. I left with the sixth form of 1984.

Just remembered. One of the teachers from my secondary school has not long been jailed for a lot of years.

Yep, you can guess what for.

He won't be coming out.

No I mean if the OP left school 10 years ago... That was 2013. I left high school, year 11 in 2008, home economics didn't exist even then.
It was called food technology, resistant materials etc.

So just a bit confused as they were all separate GCSE topics that we could study, not 'home economics'

Oh my god!

Not sure my story counts as 'terrible teacher'. In primary school, aged 7 and in Miss C's class, I spent a lot of time standing facing the wall in the corridor outside the classroom; my punishment for 'crying again'. I wasn't rude, or naughty or wilful. I was just upset at being told off when I was doing my best or just crying for no 'obvious to her' reason. This was usually for not knowing what was going on, not keeping up, or missing an instruction. I guess I got on her nerves big-time.

I was a serial nervous-chewer of pencils - shortening the length from both ends! I remember trying to write with about an inch of blunt pencil (too short to sharpen by that point) rather than ask her for another. I got told off anyway when she noticed.

It also didn't help that I was too afraid to say that I couldn't see what was written on the blackboard. No-one twigged I was rather short-sighted until it became too obvious to not notice.

Not nearly as bad as some of these, but I remember at primary school being sent to take a message to a teacher in another classroom. None of the other classrooms in my school had doors so there were no expectations about knocking before going into a classroom - the norm was to go in and wait quietly to speak to the teacher. So although this one classroom did have a door, I did what was usual and went straight in. The teacher made the whole class stop and listen as he dressed me down for not knocking, and then sent me out again to do it properly. I was a quiet, anxious child and found it really humiliating and in hindsight it was so unnecessary of him to act like that.

My maths teacher had no time for anyone unless they were exceptionally talented at maths.

God awful bloke, amazed he was head of department

I'm a few years older than you (37) but we still referred to the old or colloquial names a lot, 'cooking' or 'home ec', 'craft'.

They were on our GCSEs and timetables as you describe though.

Perhaps it came from parents using the old names when talking about our homework etc. Maybe the OPs school was the same. I even seem to remember teachers referring to home economics from time to time.

Mine was in infant school. We had just moved from Ireland and I am very short sighted , this was the 70s when the wait for glasses for a 6 year old was weeks and weeks. Started in a very young teacher's class. She was asked to sit me at the front of the class until my glasses arrived, which she ignored. She also couldn't understand a word I said, which I dont blame her for, but screaming at me to speak properly didn't exactly help my diction.
About 3 weeks in my mum collapsed on the way to school - ambulance job. The lovely lady that called the ambulance walked me to school AND EXPLAINED TO THE TEACHER WHY I WAS LATE.

She caned me on the hand. For being late. Or being Irish. Or being short sighted 🤷‍♀️.
Unfortunately for her my dad came to the school at lunchtime because my mum was very ill and I still had welts on my hand. He went fucking mental.

I moved to a different area and a new school aged 15. I was an awkward, lanky, red-headed, pale skinned teenager and was terrible at PE. A few girls decided to pick on me in PE lessons - commenting on my body, how crap I was at PE, how pale and skinny my legs were (usually covered up, but not an option in PE). The PE teacher joined in with them and I am fairly sure intentionally created situations where they could sit and mock me (eg in tennis we didn't have enough courts for everyone to play at the same time so some people sat out at any time. She insisted that the person who lost the game stayed on each time, so I never got to sit out (as I always lost) and insisted that I played on the court next to the bench for those sitting out).

I got smacked on the back of the hand with a ruler for getting my S's back to front when I was about 6 years old.

Also old dragon in college who gave me a C as "apple crumble is not a tea time dessert." 🙄

I got bullied by teachers and kids so bad i ended up with MH issues.
I had enough when a teacher red in the face screaming at me told me id be better off if i took my own life.
I was worthless and no other kids liked me.
And to wash the purple mark of my face it looks disgusting (Its my birth mark).
all because i said i dont understand the work.
I got slapped in the face twice by a bully and the teacher said well someone had to do it.
I walked out of school and never went back i lived in a small village with my nan so no one could bully me.
That was 2002.
Years later the same teacher got arrested for cutting a girl's hair and being abusive to students.
i still feel off if i pass any schools im scared of my own shadow.
Dont like crowds or any confrontation or arguments.
If i find out any ones im talking to is or was a teacher i clam up.
It sounds silly but thats how i am.

I went to a convent school. We had one teacher who absolutely terrorised everybody. She had the most cruel face, pinched and a permanent scowl. She was physically abusive. Would pull chairs out from under students so they fell on the floor. Gave out detentions for reasons such as "I don't like your face today". I hated her and was terrified of her. Her downfall came when she completely lost it and hit a child so hard across the face (for not sitting correctly) that the child fell off the chair. This was in the late 70's.

As an adult I wonder what was going on with her life that she thought behaving like that was OK. I wonder if she did the same to her own children. She seemed to enjoy terrorising people but it wasn't normal on reflection and she must have had some mental health difficulties. She'd be long dead now. Awful woman.

I hated school. Still have nightmares about being sent back to my excruciating ‘being bullied builds character’ all girls shitty boarding school run by horrible old dragons. So glad I don’t have to go anymore.

I started high school, two tier, in 2001 and the evil bitch PE teacher was like something from a horror movie. She once tried to tell me off for "grinning" I was squinting as the sun was in my eyes, I got called all sorts of shit for back answering. No matter what I did it didn't do in that lesson, I was blamed. Very tame in comparison to others but just another story to add to the fact that PE teachers are sadistic cunts without a brain cell between them.

Nobody in my year or any of the teachers called it home economics. It was completely dead back then!

So not sure how anyone referred to it as home economics in 2013, 5 years after I took my GCSEs!

It was Home Economics in my day but still sometimes referred to as 'cookery'.

It's odd how PE teachers very rarely show up on here to attempt to defend their department or give any explanations.

Teachers of other disciplines do, but I don't think I have ever seen a specific PE teacher. Are they afraid (as bullies so often are) that they will get their arses handed to them on a plate?

On a school trip to Jersey, I was made, with others, to stand outside of our tent in just my underwear. He then made the girls walk alongside us and said to them, "Make sure you laugh at the size of their penises." Very humiliating for an 11 year old boy!

So true!! In our school PE teachers didn't have to participate in any parent teacher meetings so I wondered if this made them feel more protected/insulated? I certainly didn't tell my mum what was said to me across all those years as I knew she wouldn't have stood for it, I wish now I had as in hindsight it certainly couldn't have been any worse. So ironic that some of the biggest bullies can be on the staff.

Despite being naturally unathletic I loved PE in primary school. It was fun, I wasn't good at anything but I enjoyed trying. Just thinking about PE in high school gives me the dread. It put me off sport for years, and it's only in the last 10 years or so I have come back to going to classes again.

It was Home Economics when I was there late 70s/early 80s. Tbh your post sounds like I made that up!!!

I am not sure it was still called Home Economics in 1992 when I left after my A Levels...

I was around 14 and our PE teacher told us to go down to the track; as we were unsupervised we all ran hell-for-leather down a grassy slope instead of along the path in a nice orderly fashion. I fell and broke my wrist, but didn't realise it was actually broken until much later that evening when it felt strange so I asked my mum to take me to A&E. The next day the teacher took me out of a lesson (she must have heard I'd broken my wrist) and gave me an absolute bollocking - emphasising how it was my fault, that I'd been really stupid for running down the slope, and generally making me feel like a terrible human being.

At the time I didn't understand and I was very apologetic to her . . . in hindsight I think she was worried about being sued