There can only one thing more daunting than being the parent who hears their angel-at-home is a terror-at-school: being the teacher who has to tell them.
The teachers of Reddit have shared their most brutal tales of run-ins with nightmare parents on parent-teacher nights.
The confessions came after one Redditor posed the question: “What is the most awful parent you ever had to deal with at a parent-teacher conference?” And wow, did they deliver.
The Disappearing Dad
“My wife is a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher. She had her purse stolen by one of her kid’s parents. She left the conference mid-way through the meeting to grab some printouts, test scores, for the dad. When she returned he was gone. She didn’t realise until about thirty minutes passed that her purse was gone, also.”
The Daughter of a True Diva
“The worst was a mother who threatened to pull her daughter out of the school system if she wasn’t given the lead soprano role in the high school’s Christmas concert.”
A Cold Confession
“There was a mum who insisted that I was being biased towards her kid. She brought up a recent essay as an example and complained about the grade her kid received on it. I had given the essay a C- and the mum was saying that it was obviously an A essay. I assured her that I was not biased and pointed out numerous issues,” they said.
“The mum then revealed that she had written the essay, not her kid. She said, ‘So it looks like you’ve got some explaining to do!’ and then sat back with a smug grin on her face.”
CSI – CS-WHY?
“I’ve told this story before, but we had a mum who threatened to do to our principal ‘what you see on CSI’. Automatic restraining order.”