Superlatives can be a fun way to recognize students for the talent and energy they bring into a classroom, but did this teacher take it too far?
TikToker Evelyn Darling (@thisgirlevelyn) says she was at her sister’s house when she saw the superlative her niece got. “It rubbed me the wrong way,” she says in the viral video.
She shows viewers the certificate with the soon-to-be 14-year-old niece’s and the teacher’s name blurred. It says the award is proudly presented to the niece for being “Messy, Arrogant, chaotic, But make it productive.”
“Why?” Darling questions. “‘Chaotic, messy, arrogant’ to a 14-year-old kid? Really?” She finds it inappropriate for a “grown [expletive] woman” to have said such things about a “little girl.” She also questions what the “but make it productive” part of the award means.
“Am I wrong for taking offense to this teacher’s idea of giving my niece this certificate?” she asks in the caption.
‘It’s out of line’
In the comments section, viewers agreed that the teacher’s behavior was wrong.
User Nicolee wrote, “As a teacher this is hilarious , but I can see how this is wrong.” Her comment was preceded by three crying laughing emojis.
“Former teacher here, unless this was an inside joke with your niece- which would have been odd- it’s out of line,” a second viewer said. “There’s silly/funny awards and then there’s hurtful.”
Darling responded, “Absolutely but they definitely don’t have a good teacher student relationship. She’s always low key disliked my niece, hence this despicable certificate.”
User Ellymanelly wrote, “It’s very weird, I don’t know how I would take it… I would say check in with niece and ask her how a normal class day looks like.. how did your niece take it ?”
Darling replied, “My nieces says that this teacher has picked on her all school year and has even been suspended once before after my niece reported her for similar behavior.”
What should I do if a teacher is bullying my child?
When we think of bullying at school, many of us may have an 80s movie vision of football players dunking a nerd’s head in the toilet or shoving them into a locker. We don’t often consider that a teacher may be a bully, but it is likely more common than you think.
ThoughtCo. reports that in a 2006 anonymous survey, 45% of teachers surveyed admitted to bullying a student. If your child is being bullied by their teacher, the website recommends talking to your child in a supportive manner. Let them know you believe them and will work to end the bullying.
Next, keep detailed written documentation of bullying incidents. The documentation should include the time and date, what happened, and who was involved. It should also have the names of any teachers, students, or parents who witnessed the bullying.
The website then recommends checking bullying laws by state on stopbullying.gov to understand what behaviors specifically constitute bullying and what the school is expected to do about such behavior.
Once that is done, the website states that you may want to meet with the teacher, depending on the severity of the situation. If you do, you should speak calmly and respectfully and allow them to share their side of the story.
“There may be reasons that the teacher appears to be singling out your student and coming across as mean or angry,” ThoughtCo. states. “Perhaps there are behavioral issues or personality conflicts that you, your child, and their teacher can discuss and resolve.”
Check with other parents
Next, the website recommends asking around for more information. Check with other parents to see if their children have similar complaints about the teacher. Talk to other teachers to see if they know of any issues between your child and the teacher in question and whether they have any general concerns about the teacher’s behavior.
“If you are still concerned about the actions of your child’s teacher after speaking with the teacher, other parents, and other teachers, follow the chain of command until the situation is addressed and satisfactorily resolved,” ThoughtCo. states. “First, talk to the school principal. If the issue remains unresolved, contact the school superintendent or the school board.”
@thisgirlevelyn Am I wrong for taking offense to this teachers idea of giving my niece this certificate? #lastdayofschool #badteacher #teacher #students #amithedrama #storytime #storytime #mean ♬ original sound – ? ℰ?ℯ??? ??????ℊ ?
The website adds that sometimes the solution is to transfer your child to another class. In extreme cases, you may want to switch schools or consider private, online, or home schooling.
The Mary Sue contacted Darling via TikTok comment and direct message.
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