Boy Being Reprimanded For Bad Grades Is Praised For Telling Both Of His Parents That They’re The ‘Failures’
His parents gave up on their education, but he is still striving.
BearFotos / Shutterstock Most parents raise their children with the expectation and hope that they will get a good education and lead a successful life. Parents who struggled in their life, education, or career likely hope that their children will do better than themselves and thrive in ways that they were unable to.
One teenage boy who was called a failure by his parents, stood up to them — insisting that they were actually the failures of the family. While his parents dropped out of school, their son, Caleb, has not given up and is continuing his education.
The boy argued that he was not a failure because he did not give up on his education like his parents.
One afternoon, while Caleb's family was sitting around the table, his parents began a discussion about his grades at school. They were very disappointed in him for failing his classes, but he had an argument to make, which lightened the room.
His mother, Iyonna Bland, shared the humorous interaction on TikTok, garnering over 10 million views.
Caleb brought up a conversation that he had with his mom about working hard and being successful. His mother went to college for education but wound up working at the airport because, one, she didn’t like kids, and two, she did not finish college.
"You are a failure,” Bland stated. “How do you go to college and not finish it?”
His mom tried to defend herself by saying she went to college twice, the other time for criminal justice, which still has nothing to do with the mother’s career at the airport.
When it came to the father’s education, he did not have a better answer. He also admitted that he did not finish college and dropped out.
“I’m not a failure because I’m still trying” Caled claimed. “You quit ... You’re a failure. You already failed, you're finished. I still have room to progress.”
Because his parents didn't finish school, Caleb said that they should not call him a failure for his grades. Though he admitted that his grades were not the best, there is room for improvement.
Some viewers claimed the videos were an example of a respectful and healthy family relationship, while others said Caleb was manipulating his parents.
As the viral video went around social media, some viewers expressed anger towards Caleb, claiming that his parents should have done better at punishing him for “disrespecting” them and calling them failures.
“The fact is that he’s failing in school, and adjustments need to be made to his academics or personal life to help him succeed,” one viewer commented. “He obviously isn't getting it at home because his parents both are dropouts but resort to just calling him a failure right away,” another viewer said.
“They’re warning him to stop failing so that he doesn’t become a failure. He’s definitely a great speaker, but you can’t debate your way out of literally failing,” another commenter agreed.
However, in the case of Caleb and his parents, both sides showed that they were listening and respecting each other's arguments.
Caleb's parents clearly didn't find their son's attitude disrespectful, as throughout the entire conversation, Caleb was smiling and his parents were laughing.
Still, though these parents took the conversation as a funny joke, they should make sure that Caleb knows that school grades are very serious and have an impact on your future.
He may be able to call his parents failures, but the point of the conversation is to make sure the parents' mistakes are not repeated. As his dad can be heard saying in the video, "You're supposed to be better than us."
Lauren Reams is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news.