Who was the worst teacher you ever had?

Necro · 06-10-2017 11:11AM

Don't really have any teachers I can look back on and say 'yeah, they were a cnut'. Had run ins with a few but I was a prig in national and secondary school and would have tested anyone's patience.
One French/Irish teacher in particular though carried her hatred for me onto my younger siblings and singled them out something horrible for a few years. That annoyed me to the point of a 22 year old me going up to the school and asking to speak with her. Trouble seemed to subside after I called her out on it in front of the principal.

Did have a lecturer for two years in my short lived time in 3rd level education who was a total douche. Narcissistic doesn't even come close to describing him. Totally put me off following the database stream of my course and went into programming where I was totally, hopelessly lost before I finally dropped out.

SusieBlue · 06-10-2017 11:11AM

We had one teacher who was an awful stickler for rules and procedures in secondary. We would literally have to follow everything by the book or she would have a conniption.

We had her as our class teacher for 6th year which was a nightmare. We all had homework journals given to us by the school. There was a line at the bottom of each day for parents to sign to confirm we had completed all the homework. She decided that we all had to get our parents to sign it every night, and tick off each subject for them to confirm we had completed each piece of homework. Anyone who didn't have it signed each day by their parents would get a write up, if a student was written up twice in a month it would be detention. In our 5 years at the school, no other class teacher had insisted on this.

Most people in the year humoured her, but one lad in my class wouldn't. He actually turned 19 halfway through 6th year (was kept back as a youngster because he spent a year in hospital sick) and refused to get his parents to sign as he was legally an adult, and signed himself.

This woman would be nearly in tears every week when it came to time to check the journals when she saw his signature instead of his parents. She rang his mam who basically said he's 19, he's in 6th year, I don't have time to be checking his homework every night and to p*ss off.

One week I forgot to get one of my days signed, so did my best to forge my mams signature so I wouldn't get in trouble. Bearing in mind, I was 18 myself at this point. She noticed straight away, went ballistic, brought me to the principals office, and then got even more angry when the principal didn't care either.

It was the stupidest most pedantic thing to get riled up over but she used to go mental.

Neon_Lights · 06-10-2017 11:12AM

The Young Wan wrote: »

DCU?

Eccentric ex journo?

06-10-2017 11:13AM

PeterParker957 wrote: »

Anyone ever been caned on the knuckles ? F**king agony!

Our junior cert history teacher would reward wrong answers with a steel ruler on the knuckles. Madame guillotine he called it.

NickNickleby · 06-10-2017 11:20AM

Can remember quite a few 'Christian' Brothers from the 60's. One was quite 'touchy -feely' with the ten year olds in his care. Bastard. however, the worst thing I ever saw was this:

Christian Bastard about 35, young boy aged 10.

CB asks a question , to which the answer is "eight". Points at boy -"you, answer!"

Boy : "eight", but with that soft Dublin ending to the word.
CB : "WHAT!!!!!"
Boy : wide eyed "eight??"
CB: "GET UP HERE"
Boy : walks reluctantly to the top of the class, confused as the answer is clearly eight.
CB : removes leather from pocket and grabs boy's wrist, "WHATS THE ANSWER"
Boy : "eight"
CB: whack on the hand - full force. "NOW, WHATS THE ANSWER"
Boy : "eight???"
CB : Whack. "NOW WHATS THE ANSWER"

This went on for a good five minutes, the poor boy must've been hit 20 times by this vicious psychopath. All because he didn't like a Dublin accent. He was from Clare and had a very strong country accent. So, culchie accent: good, Dublin accent :scum filth street kids. By the time the bastard was finished, the boy was screaming "aysh, AYSH" and we were all sniffling in our seats because we knew why he was doing this. Fifty of us. This is a reason I want to believe in God and Heaven and Hell, because I hope that bastard is roasting and screaming for all eternity.

I wish I could say, posting that was cathartic, but I can't. Its a horrible image that will never leave me, nor the other little boys in that class I'm sure. it was fifty two years ago.

edit: the only names I can remember with certainty from that class are the CB and the boy in the story.

Bambi985 · 06-10-2017 11:26AM

Useless business studies teacher in secondary school. She'd come in, mumble from the course book without looking up for 45 minutes, scowl a few people for looking out the window and leave. Double business on a Monday morning was the worst kind of hell. I got caught mitching her class and my poor long-suffering mother gave me a "sorry" card and a box of Butlers chocolates to give to her as an apology. I scoffed them all and left the card in the bin. Sorry mum

Anyway, she loved talking shyte about me and how awful I was in the annual parent-teacher meetings. Told my mother I'd scrape a C in the Leaving Cert if I was lucky. Swotted my arse off for a few weeks ahead of the exams and got an A1 just to spite her. Her face was priceless :pac:

the_pen_turner · 06-10-2017 11:26AM

Here was a guy in my class who got nervous and stuttered. We had one bitch that would make him read out stuff in class
It was painful to b there and 15 years later I can still her him stuttering .
I think she got some kind of please from it

PeterParker957 · 06-10-2017 11:34AM

WhiteRoses wrote: »

We had one teacher who was an awful stickler for rules and procedures in secondary. We would literally have to follow everything by the book or she would have a conniption.

We had her as our class teacher for 6th year which was a nightmare. We all had homework journals given to us by the school. There was a line at the bottom of each day for parents to sign to confirm we had completed all the homework. She decided that we all had to get our parents to sign it every night, and tick off each subject for them to confirm we had completed each piece of homework. Anyone who didn't have it signed each day by their parents would get a write up, if a student was written up twice in a month it would be detention. In our 5 years at the school, no other class teacher had insisted on this.

Most people in the year humoured her, but one lad in my class wouldn't. He actually turned 19 halfway through 6th year (was kept back as a youngster because he spent a year in hospital sick) and refused to get his parents to sign as he was legally an adult, and signed himself.

This woman would be nearly in tears every week when it came to time to check the journals when she saw his signature instead of his parents. She rang his mam who basically said he's 19, he's in 6th year, I don't have time to be checking his homework every night and to p*ss off.

One week I forgot to get one of my days signed, so did my best to forge my mams signature so I wouldn't get in trouble. Bearing in mind, I was 18 myself at this point. She noticed straight away, went ballistic, brought me to the principals office, and then got even more angry when the principal didn't care either.

It was the stupidest most pedantic thing to get riled up over but she used to go mental.

Can I just bow at your feet for hearing the word "conniption" again ???

The mammy loved that one! In public she'd use that all the time!!!!

In private it was "having a f**king thrommy"

God I miss that woman!!!!

razorblunt · 06-10-2017 11:35AM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

Here was a guy in my class who got nervous and stuttered. We had one bitch that would make him read out stuff in class
It was painful to b there and 15 years later I can still her him stuttering .
I think she got some kind of please from it

Crikey, I'm thankful mine was literally the "worst" in an actual professional sense. When you read this and the "Eight" kid above you realise how lucky you had it!

noaddedsugar · 06-10-2017 11:36AM

In primary school the teacher I had from 3rd class to 6th class. It was a small country school and he was also the principle, his daughter was the teacher for ji to 2nd class. He would go home whenever he felt like it, he would make up photocopy scorecards for the golf club he was chairperson or something of, count the golf clubs takings, leave us playing out all day because he couldn't be bothered to teach, we never homework or actual lessons except learning our tables, he would threaten us with a golf club if we too slow. He regularly called students thick if we didn't know what he thought we should even though he never actually taught us anything, would shake students and slap us across the face. If his daughter wanted to go home at any point he would send one of us to look after the younger classes, although I never got asked again after one of the junior infants ate paint on my watch and vommed blue for the afternoon.

Secondary school where we were actually expected to learn and had hours of homework was some shock of years of pretty much no schooling!

duffysfarm · 06-10-2017 11:51AM

not going to name the teacher but was in the high school carrickmacross. he was married to the principal of the girls school - the convent. one day he came out with, i am a genius, i married a genius and i created a genius (one daughter) - i **** you not. he actually was highly intelligent, in fact one of thos people that are so intelligent they can barley communicate with anyone. he tought computers and civic studies which where nearly always free classes. the only place he would have ever got a job was in a school!

ButtersSuki · 06-10-2017 11:53AM

Had a multi-subject teacher in secondary school who for some reason hated me - this was when I was a cripplingly shy 11 year old swot and nerd in a mixed secondary school (I was also a year younger than everyone in my class which didn't help). Very early in first year I had missed the previous 9 days of school through illness and on my first day back she drops an unannounced test. I got 40% - to this day the lowest score I've ever gotten in a test, which in itself was an accomplishment as I had been absent and not covered any of the subject matter covered in said test. Despite the fact that some of my classmates failed she picked out me and called me out as basically being "thick" to the whole class. It was completely humiliating. We had another test very shortly after that and I got 100% and in front of the whole class she started screaming and shouting at me and asked me repeatedly "who did you copy?". I can still picture her doing this and I'm in my 40s. I had her for 3 subjects from 1st year until Junior Cert. She made my life hell and to this day I really have no insight as to why - I was literally the epitome of the ideal student. Until 5th I never said boo to a fly, I never misbehaved in any way, I was super-diligent, always did my homework perfectly, was super-polite - everything. Academically, I was your classic swot and behaved as such. Don't get me wrong, by LC I had long lost the shyness and was well able to give as good as I got; but at the time it was horrible. I used to dread her classes, to the point where I'd be physically sick sometimes before them. On Friday mornings I had double French, Irish and English back to back and all were taught by her. It got so bad I faked sickness on a few Fridays just to get out of it. I was too shy to say anything and didn't want to cause any trouble so just took it.

I'd love to ask her why she treated me like she did.

Sephiroth_dude · 06-10-2017 12:01PM

Had a teacher in 2nd class that use too beat us with a ruler, call us names, I remember there was an over weight chap in the class and she would regularly make fun of his weight, ****ing cow! Parents would come up too her in morning too complain and she would feign innocence and as soon as the parent was gone she would have a word in your ear not too bring your parents up again, the dick head principle knew full well what was going on but he never did anything about it, bitch should have lost her job, she really terrorised us and made the year a living hell.

Neon_Lights · 06-10-2017 12:15PM

Mikey Burke

tomwaterford · 06-10-2017 12:27PM

An irish teacher who was just woeful,and had more interest in gambling,and who I just stopped going to his class in the end and just went to outside principal office and done my homework instead

He stands out as the worst

PeterParker957 · 06-10-2017 01:03PM

How true this family legend is may be debated BUT according to my dad, my granddad - who died before I was born - was educated by the Christian Brothers in Newry.

Apparently he once got a school report that said "can take a punch like a man".

Does ring true!

Sue Pa Key Pa · 06-10-2017 01:24PM

Oatlands College Stillorgan, the 70's, take your pick from the lot of them. Lazy, nasty SOB's

the beer revolu · 06-10-2017 01:32PM

That pious fooker Mr. O Leary in primary who thought maths tables could be beaten into children. To this day, I still get anxious and struggle with mental arithmetic.

Hitman3000 · 06-10-2017 01:37PM

Seems the teaching profession from the 60's to the 80's attracted a special breed of cnut, thankfully I encountered some brilliant ones aswell. Two of which are still friends of mine to this day.

fryup · 06-10-2017 10:18PM

fryup wrote: »

@ supercell

you got me intrigued....who was the comedian (intials will do) and whats with the deodorant?

Supercell wrote: »

MR are the initials

hmmm M R ??

who could that be i wonder?

Littlehorny · 06-10-2017 10:24PM

Had an Irish teacher for the leaving and he was so bad at his job that alot of pupils failed their Irish leaving because of him over several years, add to that he was an awful sanctimonious prick.
What happend to him? why he is the principal of the kip now! You couldn't make it up.

99nsr125 · 06-10-2017 10:27PM

I think you must've had my teachers sister

Same as, but I had her for 3 weeks in September in 5th year, that's all I saw of her in 6 years. Christ nobody even knew who she was

CruelCoin wrote: »

A teacher I was meant to have but rarely did.

Woman managed to perfectly time here pregnancies so that she was perpetually on maternity leave during term.

Think I had her for 6 months in 6 years.

M.T. Cranium · 06-10-2017 10:46PM

Ma spelin teechur.

branie2 · 06-10-2017 11:32PM

I can see why

philstar · 07-10-2017 10:57AM

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

Ma spelin teechur.

you're a terror:pac:

bet you were the smart alec at the back of the class, bowsy

John_Rambo · 07-10-2017 08:25PM

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

Too many to list from my old school in Raheny. They described themselves as a "college" for some reason I never thought to work out. But to say the teachers were pretty universally awful would be an understatement.

From a Religion and Irish teacher who got teary eyed every time she discussed god (in both subjects at great length, not much Irish was taught)......

to a German teacher who periodically collected a lot of money for tatty ripped books that already were in our library for decades.......... only to coincidentally show up the following week wearing new sweaters.............

to a year head (chemistry teacher, thankfully I never took chemistry) who gave detention to anyone he found actually studying..... on the sole assumption they must have been doing homework they were meant to do the night before........ and walked around like a self satisfied goon on a power trip because being a teacher was likely the only way in his life he would get authority over everyone.

to a french teacher who did nothing but play Monty Python films for us over and over.........

to an English teacher who did nothing but make us learn reams of texts off by heart while trying to recruit us all into the boxing club and selling us his own book on leaving cert English which he apparently self published because no one else would.............

to a slurring history teacher smelling of fresh whisky with a strangely German name who spent the entire class mumbling towards the black board while half the students screamed obscenities at him and threw enormous spit balls.........

I had assumed all schools were that bad, until I repeated the Leaving Cert in Whitehall and it was the EXACT opposite and I got straight As in all the subjects I repeated there.

I went to the same school. We had a French teacher that turned up drunk (all of the time) with the bottoms of his pyjamis poking out the bottom of his trousers. Walked around mumbling with a cigarette hidden in his cupped hand, smoke used to go up his suit arm and come out around his neck. He never knew what year he was teaching and absolutely lost it when people got things wrong. Massive, full force, open handed blows to the back of the head were common.

Berserker · 07-10-2017 08:47PM

Had a male teacher, horrible person, who used to refer to me openly as 'orange b'. He was a nasty piece of work to others also. Used to call a guy in our year 'Noelle' because the lad was gay. This happened in the 90s. Not sure where that teacher is now but he was the principal of the school for a good few years after that.

freshpopcorn · 08-10-2017 12:35AM

Most of my teachers were fine some nice/strict and they varied at being good/bad at teaching.
One teacher that stuck in my head was my 1st year business/pe/computers teacher. He was a man in close to retirement(used always be the same). He used generally arrive late for class in his Nissan Micra van. Instead of pulling the handbrake he used leave it roll into a wall. He'd then waddle into class 20 minutes late or not at all. He could smell of alcohol.
He used comment on students weight, height, hair, sexuality,etc. One day we needed a ledger book and one guy didn't have it and he asked were they waiting on his father dole payment to pay for it.
He wasn't a nice guy and was terrible at teaching as well.

ger vallely · 08-10-2017 12:43AM

Sr Helen. I had her for leaving cert maths. Looking back I did need some sort of remedial help or maybe a more caring and interested human to teach me. But no, she just told me I was not able, that I didn't get it and to sit quietly in her class and not take part. Sure I was delighted. Thought it was the best ever. But it did me no good. She told me to show up for the exam and write my number and leave, that I wouldn't be able for anything more than that. This was 1988, few years ago in fairness but not so long ago that this kind of thing should've been happening. What an oul cow she was. In fact, as a whole the school just prepared 7/800 girls to be secretaries at the time. They never encouraged anything beyond that. I certainly did not fit in.

maryishere · 08-10-2017 12:49AM

What amazes me is the number of pathetic lazy people in the teaching profession - not all but some. Is the fact they cannot be sacked what draws them in?

Who was the worst teacher you ever had?

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