Most of us have had to deal with deeply terrible teachers and professors in our time. Some might even still be going through it. Often, we just grit our teeth and finish the year, but some folks decide to have a bit of fun.
A man shared a story from his school years on how he got back at a hostile and petty teacher. This teacher decided to regularly harass him and even arbitrarily lower his grades, so at the end of the semester, he hatched a plan. We also got in touch with the person who shared the story to learn more.
Some teachers just have it out for certain students
But one man decided that he had enough of unfair treatment and wanted payback
Image credits: Media_photos / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Sam-Cat / flickr (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Generally_Tso_Tso
Teachers can and will abuse their power because they feel like it
Image credits: AnnaStills / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
We got in touch with the netizen who shared the story and he was kind enough to answer some of our questions and give a few updates. “Years later a woman walked into the police district station that I worked at and wanted to make a report “just in case” anything should happen to her. This woman feared that her life may be in danger and said that she wanted it documented because she feared that her husband may do something to her. She said that her husband was Mr. K. She said there weren’t any threats that he made and she denied any physical violence so there was nothing criminal to report. She said that she simply wanted it documented “just in case” something happened to her she wanted it to be known that he was responsible. Had I not known who Mr. K was I would have found the woman’s request to be a little unusual, but knowing Mr. K it somehow made sense.”
“I just looked up the public court records and found a divorce that was filed between them, but the filing date was from two years before I even took his class. I don’t know what to make of that, but it doesn’t look like it was ever concluded. Perhaps they had reconciled at some point. And I found a court filing for a will that she filed with the court around the same time she came to the police station. I never heard about anything with Mr. K or his wife since then. I hope he went on to be a “good citizen.””
He also shared his thoughts on why readers enjoyed this tale so much. “I think the reason that many people found interest in the story is that many could relate to having had a teacher(s) that treated them unfairly and some possibly enjoyed reading about one catching a little bit of petty revenge. Many shared stories of having teachers that treated them differently because of siblings having gone before them. I enjoyed the one comment from another student from my high school who recognized exactly who I was talking about in my story.”
There is an unfortunate tendency in human behavior, that no matter how little power someone is granted, they will find a way to abuse it. Sometimes this means truly criminal behavior, but more often than not, it’s just petty harassment. It’s important to note that in many cases, the “petty tyrant” might not even know they are abusing their power, they are just so used to acting without oversight that it’s like second nature to them.
This is particularly sad when it’s an educator who makes their students lives hell for no discernible reason. Of all positions of power, this one is quite influential. Teachers work with kids who are impressionable and often do not have any power to help themselves. Children tend to have a very developed sense of justice, so, for example, this man being unfairly treated because of his sister would leave a lasting impression.
While this man was clearly a good student, these sort of teachers can negatively impact some students for years to come. After all, why study or even try hard if you know your teacher will fail you over some grudge. Similarly, if you are going to be blamed for infractions, you might as well do them in the first place. You’ve already got the punishment, might as well enjoy the crime.
Bullies often feel like they can just get away with it
Image credits: Image-Source / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
That being said, high schoolers might be children, but they tend to have a lot more autonomy than little kids. Bullying teachers might often overlook that, as normally, the teacher is untouchable. After all, most students can’t just get up and “quit” and those lucky enough to not be bullied tend to keep their heads down.
This creates a false sense of security for the bullying teacher. After all, if the only authority above them, the principle and school board, do not do anything, then why should they modify their behavior? It is curious that this teacher already seems to have a bad reputation with the administrators, but they also seem to have elected to do nothing about it. They perhaps have their reasons, but this also means that it makes sense for this man to decide to take matters into his own hands. After all, if not him, then no one will do anything about it.
Petty revenge can be cathartic for the soul
Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
While OP’s stunt was hilarious, it most likely didn’t actually change the behavior of the teacher. This man simply was embarrassed and inconvenienced at the end of a certain day and that’s it. However, at the same time, it is a good moment of catharsis. Bullying tends to leave a lasting impression on a person, from self-esteem to even PTSD. Getting back at the bully might help this man shift his entire person’s view on high school.
The means of revenge were particularly clever as well. No one was in any real danger, and the teacher was suddenly put in a situation where he had no power at all. Ironically, this would be a fantastic teaching moment about hubris, but it’s unlikely that any real lessons were learned. But, hopefully, this event became a sort of legend at this school, striking fear into the hearts of other, terrible teachers.
Some readers wanted more details
Most thought it was hilarious
Others shared their own experiences
