What a crazy parent conference today

@NJChicaa (125030)
United States
October 17, 2025 4:04pm CST
Today was just not the day. Both of them showed up with guns blazing. The mother was so nuts she wouldn't even look at me. I had their older daughter last year and yeah we had our moments but we got along fine, she brought me a cake at the end of the year, and she sees me multiple times each day this year and she always says hi and bye. Well they wanted a "lateral move" (switch to a different teacher at the same level") and administration doesn't do that 90% of the time. What is fun is that they make the disliked teacher sit through an in-person conference with said parents. At that point I'm just like "spare me and move the kid" but I understand why they won't do it. These 2 came in like Tomahawk missles aimed at me saying I make the students teach themselves (false), that I don't explain things (false), and that I don't care about student learning (false). They were yelling at me, the guidance counselor, and the assistant principal in on the meeting. YELLING. Then they moved on to the fact that I keep marking their daughter late when she *is* late but it isn't their fault because the traffic on the roads is so bad. That was like a 10 minute rant about district transportation. They rarely let anyone get a word in edgewise. I didn't care about that for me because I try to say as little as possible in those types of conferences. I left a few minutes before the whole thing wrapped up because it took the entire 40 minute prep period and I had to get to my next class. I was thinking "Darwin knows what they will say now that I'm gone." A couple of periods later the head building rep for the union stopped by to ask if I had had a conference where parents were yelling at me. I said "yup". He said "you should have walked out. You don't have to take that." I told him that I almost did. He said to bring a building rep and I agreed that I should have but thought having the assistant principal (who did a great job) with me would be enough. I had a couple of other people ask me if I was okay when they crossed my path during the day. They were in the office and could hear the yelling. One of them was the one who went to the head building rep to ask if that was okay. Yeah I was fine. I've been doing this job for over 2 decades. I know how it goes and how the class I teach is like a brick wall for most students in the beginning. I warn them (and their parents) from the start that it is a rough adjustment but somehow it always comes back to me being a terrible teacher. I can handle insane parents. I've been doing it for a long time. It just wasn't what I needed right after getting up early, running around like a nut, doing the bake sale, and then having to show up to that next thing. We (well THEY) eventually shut them down. Sorry. No. Your student isn't getting a new teacher. You will all have to figure it out with my help.
8 people like this
6 responses
@JudyEv (364331)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct
There are notices in just about all public places that verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated. I'm not sure what the score is in schools. I'm sorry you had to put up with this. It's good you've grown a thick skin over the years but it must still be stressful.
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (49708)
17 Oct
You may be ''fine'' but it's not right to have to listen to a tirade like that. You don't deserve to be yelled at by an irate parent(s). I can definitely see why you said you thought this might be your last year. Way, way too hard on the nerves. I'm sorry you were treated like that, I feel the assistant principal should have escorted them out the door.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (104383)
• United States
17 Oct
It’s too bad you can’t kick the student and teacher out of the school for that. I remember when a patent and teacher started doing that at my school. The student was expelled, and the parent was told if she came back the police would be called. No teacher should have to endure that abuse, and no teacher is ever going to be compensated enough for it.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (197541)
• United States
17 Oct
Sorry, that sucks. What a way to kick off the weekend
2 people like this
@jstory07 (146109)
• Roseburg, Oregon
23h
Parents do not like to blame their kids when they do bad it is always some one else's fault.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (203591)
• United States
20h
I'm speechless. I can't get over parents acting like this. I'm glad you have a hard skin; but it shouldn't have happened. You are a good teacher.
1 person likes this