Top 10 “Make Me Rage” Teacher Behaviors

    Throughout my high school career, I have learned to always appreciate the efforts put forth by my teachers. They answer our questions, help us through the hardest of tasks, and wholeheartedly put up with all the snarky remarks and immature practices we have dragged on the bottom of our shoes since early adolescence. It’s true, they put up with a lot more than we will have to for a long time, but despite being students there are a few things we can’t stand. It’s the little things teachers  do that tend to drive us over the edge. So, here are the top 10 “make me rage” teacher behaviors counted down by yours truly.

10. Getting off topic

    Many of us love those random conversations a teacher will break out on once in a while, but the select few of us who care about the remaining class time despise those moments where the whole class drifts into unrelated conversation. The worst part is when it is the student’s favorite class, and a topic they could care less about. Years ago, when I was in 6th grade there was a substitute we all loved because he had the ability to teach and engage us at the same time. The thing was, anyone could throw him off topic at any time. One time, he went off and talked to us about wales and preserved deer fetuses. Sure it was somewhat interesting but because of all the time he took up talking nonsense, out classwork became homework. What a joy….

9. Keep my Mother Out of this

 “If you don’t turn in your work, we’ll have to call your Mom and Dad” said the teacher, “Oh no, don’t call my mommy and daddy” said the child. For some reason, although it is a nice attempt, teachers believe that by calling a high-school student’s parents it will make them get anything done faster, or better. In fact, it is just a very irritating thing to do. If stressing at school is not enough– by calling a student’s parents and having them hound on the student at home only makes the situation unbearable. The stress at school, the pressure at home.. come on now give us a chance to catch our breaths, school is not the only thing on our minds and life.

8. Teacher’s Pet

  It’s nice when a teacher compliments you in the middle of class, but there’s a point where it starts to grow irritating. All eyes are on that student when the teacher begins to compare them to the others, asking why the rest of the class cannot and will not do what that student did. Then on that day, a socially withdrawn nerd is born.

Every so often, they will lick (or spit on) their fingers to pick a paper off the pile, and if the student is lucky, they will get the top one.

7. Don’t look at Me, I Didn’t do It

    Sermons. We all remember when our teachers would preach to us about our bad behavior, apathy, and lazy teen attitude. Most students try their best to avoid contact when they go through one of those because once you look into those eyes, there is no way out of the guilt one will feel afterwards even if it wasn’t their fault. So, they have a habit of trying to catch you with your belt down (not literally), in the eyes. Once in a while you’ll have the daring student who asks why they always look at them; “What did I do?” which extends the speech even more.

6. Leaving Their DNA on Your Paper

    Just like licking an envelope is frowned upon, I have always found it quite irritating finding damp spots on my papers. When a teacher grows old, they dry up, and when they dry up so do their fingers and that makes if difficult for them to separate one piece of paper from another. Every so often, they will lick (or spit on) their fingers to pick a paper off the pile, and if the student is lucky, they will get the top one. The first few minutes he/she is too scared to touch the paper, to scared of the evil laughing green gremlins crawling all over your paper to infect you. The sad part is, you have to touch it or your grade is at risk…

5. The absent list

    Once in a while, for whatever reason it may be, a student will arrive late for class or the teacher just doesn’t see them. So, as a consequence the student is marked absent because of the teacher’s “ if student is out of my range of sight (with or without glasses) mark absent” reflex. So, the student goes on with their daily routine and when fourth period comes along, the teacher says “Hey, the attendance says you’re absent today”

4. Detention Slips and Losing your Dignity

    I’ve only had a detention once (knock on wood) and that was enough to realize that it is an embarrassing experience. A fair amount of teachers have a habit of letting the world know that a  student has a detention. They send in a representative -which eighty percent of the time is another student- to walk in on their class with a pink piece of paper. Conveniently, it reflects the shade on said student’s face as they slap it on their desk leaving as abruptly as they came in. If that is not embarrassing enough everyone knows what the pink sheet of paper means, so they begin to question and make jokes. There goes that student’s day for sure.

3. “Why didn’t you go Before Class?”

    I always wondered if bladders worked on a schedule, but it once in a while it tends to go off when we least want it to, and sometimes it’s in the first few minutes of class. So, you kindly ask the teacher if you can go to the bathroom, and he/she has a habit of asking “ Why didn’t you go before class?” Now, sometimes it is possible to go before making your way to class, but sometimes it surprises you and the urge to go starts 3 or 4 minutes after class starts. So one must make a choice in the hallway, go now or later? If a student had an unfortunate case of diarrhea, then they will inevitably arrive late for their following class so the best thing they can do is drop off their stuff and go. The other option is to hold it in and wait it out (boy have I done this one too many times). So when they ask the big question students say either: “a”  “ I didn’t have time between the bell” or “b” “ I didn’t need to go until now”. If they are feeling nice, they’ll let you go with your pass and a warning, and if not here is their response ….
“ No….. and by the way you’re late for class, so walk all the way back and get a late pass”.

2. Homework on Holidays

    You would think teachers would at least give you Christmas or Easter as a little break, but I have found through out my high-school career that for some reason they have a habit of handing you either multiple assignments, or a big essay to have done by the time you walk in the following week. The only choice you have is to sit down and do it, I suppose. My Christmas present this year, senior portfolio and a lump of paper in my stocking!

1. Assigning Summer Homework

    At the end of the year it’s only natural to feel a wave of freedom overcome you. There are no more assignments and for two whole months your time is dedicated to peace and relaxation. They say that over the summer you forget half of what you are taught during the past year so teachers sit behind their desks and plot their schemes for the summer. This may not apply to every teacher out there, but for those who feel the need to send out “extra prep” to their students, it’s a cruel and unusual torture. At first you think that it’s no big deal and you’ll get the homework done right away in the first week, but then you decide to wait until Monday since it’s the weekend and you feel like taking a break first. Then comes Monday and you forget, Tuesday and your just not feeling like it, and it’s back to Friday and you start nagging to yourself that you will start the next day without a doubt. The pattern goes on and on until you can’t go a day without feeling guilty, like a procrastinator. Your whole summer is full of worry and anxiety and by the time it’s over, there really wasn’t any freedom to begin with and realize that you are never free from your teacher’s clutches, in or out of school.