Mumsnet users discuss phrases that teachers always say

[EllieMumsnet]

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With National Teacher Day coming up on the 8th May MNHQ would love to know the phrases you remember your teachers always saying….also if you are currently a teacher please share the phrases you most commonly use during your classes.

Do you have strong memory of one of your teachers always using the ‘I’m not angry just disappointed’ line? Perhaps whenever your teacher was annoyed at someone they would say ‘It’s your own time your wasting’? Or maybe as a teacher you’re becoming known for saying one phrase in particular?

Whatever phrases you remember your teachers always saying, comment on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I work in Early Years and trot out these classics at least 250 times a day:

‘Go and put a wet paper towel on it [the tiny, minuscule hangnail being presented to me].’

‘Your tummy hurts? Might you need a poo? Maybe go and have a try.’

I've got eyes in the back of my head!

Don't stand up until I say so.

Read, read, read, read, read.

Put your hand down I haven't finished talking yet.
You should have gone to the toilet at break.
If you were listening I wouldn't need to keep repeating myself.

My Maths teacher always used to tell us if we wanted to make a lot of money to be a chiropodist. I could never understand why until I needed treatment for ingrowing toe nails & the chiropodist turned out to be my Maths teacher's son.

"We'll sit here all day if we have to" - waiting for us to be quiet.

Not in class, but at parents' evening the first thing teachers say to me is "So how do YOU think your child is doing?" If I knew I wouldn't be at this parent's evening ha ha!

If you don't do it now it will be harder for you tomorrow and I should know I've set the work myself!!

"Be prepared", "Read and then think"

One of my primary school teachers used to say "If you spent as much time working as you do talking you'd be a genius".

I always remember one of my primary school teachers who would answer to any request,

"I'm not your mammy!"

It was his most popular catchphrase!

You are all exceptional... some for good reasons, for others not so good

I had a barking mad and terrifying needlework teacher. If you had a problem with sewing machine, she would ask "have you been talking nicely to it?" Apparently that would solve all technical problems with the ancient Singer machines we used.

Also got told we had to make sure our son "fulfilled his potential". This was at his first parents evening, he was 4 years old and one of the youngest in his class. After half a term of schooling, I thought it was a little early to decide he was underachieving.

Mine would be "shhh....shhhhh.....SHHHHHHHHHHHH" and then "put your hand up if you want to talk". Repeated hundreds of time.

Sit up straight!

Don't rock back on your chair otherwise you'll fall over and crack your head open

Stop running! - always shouted at break times in the corridor, rap when we all wanted to get to the front of the lunch queue first!

mainly it was to stop talking lol

If you paid as much attention to this class as you do to looking out window! lol

One of my teachers always used to tell people "you're being very tedious". So often that some of us started getting the giggles every time he said it. I'm afraid he probably found that tedious too.

If I catch you again, I’ll have your guts for garters !!!

Walk! Don't RUN

The ones I remember are:

"Do you want to share that with the rest of the class?"

and

"You're wasting your own time, not mine"

Hmm, reading those back maybe I wasn't the well-behaved kid I thought I was... :p

"you're only wasting your time"

"Shows no interest in the subject". On every report card in a couple of subjects until I could drop them. And they were right. I had no interest in a "pizza" made from a scone with tinned tomatoes and cheddar dumped on top, in Domestic Science or a totally impractical, ugly frilly apron we had to make for Homecraft or whatever it was called.