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24 Times Bosses, Teachers, Or Parents Went Completely Off The Rails
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
From the very moment we're born, we have to deal with authority in one way or another. Parents, teachers, bosses, and other figures with power over us keep telling us what to do and how to think, and at times, what they say isn't even reasonable. Their words can be outdated, insulting, and just plain wrong. So, when a Reddit user asked everyone on the platform to share the worst things they've heard from someone "above" them, people responded with a lot of memorable stories.
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#1
In 5th grade, I complained to a teacher about being bullied. She told me, “You’d make more friends if you got your nose out of that book every once in a while.” Ah yes, let’s discourage that nasty reading habit so that the mean girls will treat me better.
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#2
Boss was observing me one day while I was busy working and said, ‘So I pay you all this money just to push a few buttons’.
He was referring to my keyboard, so I fired back, ‘Yes, but it’s knowing which keys to press and when that’s important’….👍.
#3
The assignment was to circle or underline any words we didn't know from a two or three paragraph short story (6th grade). I read the story, then approached the teacher's desk and said that I understood everything. She told me it was impossible and to go try again.
I'm in my thirties now and this still makes my blood boil.
#4
"I don't give full stars because you can always improve". I replied, "then it never matters how hard I work for you, because you just said it doesn't matter".
#5
I once got told I was not allowed to drink water in class. Their reason “because then I would have to let everyone do it”.
Yea you should let everyone do it.
#6
When I was about 20, I told my line manager that I'd like to go for a promotion opportunity I'd been made aware of but would mean moving to a different office. There was at the time no way to "apply" for promotions, and they didn't involve interviews. If they wanted you, they promoted you, or moved you sideways, but you'd generally always make a "soft" declaration of whether you were interested or not.
He answered me in a rather blasé manner to say there's no point, because he'd already spoken to the area director, and that I would be staying put for the time being. I asked why, and he answered "because I need you here"
I was getting to the point where I was more able to stand up for myself, and I asked him if he "really had" blocked a promotion for me, just because it suited him?
I went over his head and was promoted within a couple of weeks.
#7
My boss, whose mother tongue was not English, told me that my written English was poor. (I am a native English speaker.) I asked him what he meant and he was not able to explain or give examples. He had this pleasant habit of correcting me when I was right. For example, one time, in a team meeting, I used the phrase “beck and call”. He interrupted me and said “It’s ‘beckon call’”.
#8
4th grade art teacher. "No blue wolves, no Pokemon, no comics. Just make normal art or I'm going to fail you."
Art class was supposed to be where I could have fun learning. She made sure I understood that was not the case. I still struggle to do anything my brain can tie to the word "art" more than twenty years later because I genuinely gave up after her class.
#9
I was in 6th grade, and my math teacher put an advanced problem on the board. She said whoever was the first to do it correctly and show their work wouldn't have to do homework for a week. I hated homework and jumped on this opportunity.
I finished the problem and brought it up to her desk. She checked it out and told me, "you got the correct answer, but you did your work our horizontally instead of vertically. It's supposed to be vertical, so I can't give you the homework pass.".
#10
"You have the potential to be a good nurse". After being a combat medic, paramedic and now a nurse for 8 years. Get out.
#11
My dad recommended taking my own life to me when I was a young teenager. I wasn’t infuriated at the moment, but as I processed the gravity of it, over time, it became infuriating.
#12
A very long time ago I had a manager say in a meeting that everyone needed to stop acting so selfish because "nobody here is irreplaceable. Get some perspective." Then a bit later he was replaced for sleeping with a teenager.
I still get a good laugh every time I remember it.
#13
You just need to focus on my subject, I don't care about how you do on others - my 8th grade teacher.. I still kinda hate her.
#14
“Work harder or find a different job”
In response to being asked for a COL adjustment. Tried the ‘work harder’ route, eventually found a different job at a 125% raise.
#15
I was an assistant golf pro in California at the time. I told my head golf pro that I wanted to be a golf pro in Hawaii, and he told me that was a pipe dream. Like who says that?
I ended up being a golf pro on cruise ships that sailed the Hawaiian islands, and eventually on a yacht that sailed the globe, which was better than my original dream.
#16
HS Teacher saying that i can t do maths as a girl - even after becoming second of the whole country in a maths competition. When my parents told him thats impossible he said my achievement was ‘just luck’ and ‘i guessed the right answers’… yeah right.
#17
"My expecting is that you should always exceed expectations so I cannot give you an exceeds expectations ranking because you're simply meeting my expectations".
#18
"Are you sure you are having an asthma attack and not just running away from your bullies?" Said a teacher (principal to be exact) at school.
To visibly out of breath, shaking (due to Salbutamol) and sweaty me. No I wasn't avoiding them, they weren't in my class, yes I was on puff 10 of inhaler still worsening until I was taken to the ER.
#19
"I don't like the sticky notes on your files. They're too big, also you need to use this blue pen from now on. Not black." The sticky notes were for me to remind myself of what I had done in the auditing process. Once it was ready to hand off I removed the notes. She was the ultimate micro manager.
#20
‘it’s all in your head’ – mental health commission (I walked away with a paper that read ‘fully mentally healthy’).
#22
I was once fired even though he agreed my work was fine, but I had said I was there (waiter job while in grad school) for the money. He wanted people who were there for the company. It was a british themed chain restaurant. It was dumb I just laughed and left.
#23
My manager:
"We're not that far behind. You and [coworker] just need to work harder"
This was a year ago. And we're still behind.
#24
"You don't have that symptom, you haven't been diagnosed with that disorder."
Mother, I regret to inform you that executive dysfunction is indeed a symptom of the ADHD you insisted I had, and got me diagnosed for. But my mother never admitted she was wrong so I got into a several day beef with a grown woman over this, before realizing I was wasting my time and just ignoring her. It just joined a looooong list of medical gaslighting.
Also, executive dysfunction isn't unique to ADHD? This woman is so deep in denial, I'd have to cough a tonsil stone into the palm of her hand before she'd believe I have one.
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