Middle School Teacher Asks If She Should Confront Student Who Posted A 'Nasty' Comment About Her Being The Most Hated In School
Teaching middle schoolers requires a lot of endurance.
VH-studio | Shutterstock The school year has just taken off and many teachers are already struggling to deal with concerning and inappropriate behavior from their students.
One middle school teacher was astounded to discover a negative post about her made by her students.
The teacher asked Redditors if she should confront one of her students who posted a ‘nasty’ comment about her.
After only three weeks into the school year, the teacher was already in need of some advice.
“I found a post about me. There was a poll, and kids were supposed to vote for the teacher they hate the most. I won,” the teacher wrote on Reddit. “Some of the kids are not even my students.
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"There was one comment from a student I thought I [had] a good relationship with, and it was nasty,” the educator added.
She didn’t reveal what the student’s comment entailed, just that it upset her, particularly because she felt like she had bonded with the student. The teacher then asked if she should confront the student or let it be.
Being a middle school teacher certainly requires a level of mental and emotional resilience, as middle schoolers often behave in questionable ways.
As many would agree, the transition from elementary to middle school can be quite challenging for young adolescents. Amidst the hormonal changes that come with puberty and the added pressure of middle school responsibilities, teens begin to lose interest in school and act out in various ways.
Regardless of an educator's skills and effort, students might not like their teachers simply because the curriculum is more focused on measuring performance and ensuring students achieve a certain grade, according to the American Psychological Association.
Reddit users suggested the teacher disregard the comment and stay focused on her role as an educator.
Commenters emphasized the significance of not taking students’ words and behaviors too seriously.
One teacher shared the clever way he handled a similar situation with his students. When he discovered the “mean” comments they posted about him on Rate My Teacher, he decided to use their comments in a grammar exercise.
“It was fun seeing the kids get all red and squirmy reading their own nasty words,” the teacher wrote. “I never said anything but just wrote the sentences on the board and smiled as the students went through their own nonsense and fixed it.”
“The comments dried up after a month, which was why my fun only lasted that long,” the teacher added. “It was no fun being mean to me because their words lost power. However, I had a fantastic time!”
Rather than making a big deal and confronting the kids, the teacher opted to use the experience as a lesson in class, still exposing them to their words without directly calling them out. If the students wanted to write rude comments about their teacher, they could at least do so using proper grammar!
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As many teachers in the comments pointed out, teaching middle schoolers requires a great deal of patience and maturity. If students complain about you, many teachers claim this is a compliment, not an insult.
“I taught middle school for a decade; I don't have feelings anymore,” one teacher commented on the post. “First rule of middle school: "Don't get sucked into teenage drama," another individual suggested.
“Kids are fickle. One day, you're their favorite teacher who they'll die for, and then you assign them the zero they earned by not doing any work, and you're the devil,” another teacher shared.
Middle school is a challenging time for young adolescents.
Once kids enter middle school, they begin to transition into teenagers, and they become much more self-aware and self-conscious, particularly when it comes to their peers. They might become easily influenced by friends and, as a result, say and do things they don’t mean.
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The student who wrote the inappropriate comment about their teacher may have only done so because of external influences and factors.
According to Psychology Today, young adolescents crave companionship and understanding and will typically try to conform to their environment to feel like they belong. Some of their most common social concerns include gossiping, spreading rumors, and pressuring others to go along with something if they want to feel included, just to name a few.
As various teachers identified, the best response to this experience is to brush it off and know your worth. Remember that you’re not meant to be a student’s friend; you’re meant to be their teacher.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human-interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.