What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever said in front of your students? Something comes to mind right away, doesn’t it? While you might still be living it down, you’re in good company. Teachers around the country told us their most cringe-worthy stories, and we’re sharing them in all their glory.
When you’re accurate, but it still sounds off
“Does this look like Uranus?” —@ssmazzon
“Lake Titicaca. I even laughed.” —@kmrailey
Music teachers unite
“(Yelled) ‘Nice hand jobs!’ When my music students were doing great on a song with a lot of hand motions. Meant to say, ‘Nice job on those hands!’” —Carrie C.
“I’m a music teacher, and I told a group of 6th graders to pluck their G strings really hard.” —Tanya R.
Secs, balls, and babies
“Told a group of kids to ‘hold on to their balls’ when coming in from recess. That was not a good year for me.” —@MichelleEngle9
“Assistant principal came and asked me if I had a sec. I answered, ‘For you, I have a lot of secs!’ Then crawled under my desk and died. —Melanie B.
“My mate at school assembly was promoting sports day tug-o-war. ‘Let’s all get out on the oval and tug ourselves silly!’ You can imagine the response.” —@TheTeacherLady4
“We were finding out how many cubes fit into a prism, and I started calling the small cubes ‘babies’ and the prism ‘the momma,’ so how many of these babies fit into the momma?” —@bridget_adam
When something slips out
“Sh*t on your chair! (Meant to say sit on your chair.)” —@secretprimary1
“I was talking to my class of fourth graders about having special talents. As I finished, I was returning to my chair and tooted out loud. One boy raised his hand and asked if that was my special talent.” —Dina M.
“I was teaching handwriting to my firsties. I was trying to convey the importance of proper letter formation, and without thinking, I said, ‘Boys and girls, size matters.’” —Jackie B.
“I used to call the class to attention by saying, ‘OK, everyone, mouths closed, eyes on me.’ Except one time I said it the wrong way around.” —Jim T.
“When I was a single teacher, I had my amplifier mic on while in the hallway, and my students heard me say I thought another teacher was attractive. Didn’t realize my mic was on.” —@RyanRGuzman
“I was teaching nonfiction to middle schoolers, and I grabbed the first book off the shelf and opened it to a random page and read, ‘a black hole is not the kind you stick your finger in.’” —Sandra L.
Come share your cringe-worthy stories in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE Facebook group.
Plus, these crazy parent conference stories prove that teachers can survive anything.
