Poor Girl Says Old School Teacher Is ‘Horrible,' Secretly Records Him to Have Him Fired
The girl was packing her things after class ended when her chemistry teacher suddenly approached her. He cornered her and blocked her access to the door while the recorder on her phone secretly taped everything he did.
A Redditor recalled an incident in high school that provoked her to get her chemistry teacher fired. She turned to the "ProRevenge" subreddit with her story, and the internet felt justice was finally served for what the guy did to her.
Posting under HS20802548, the woman attended a ghetto high school in an impoverished community. Her parents wanted her to establish a better life away from the area, but little did they know the terrible things an old chemistry teacher did to her.
Source: Flickr / Peter Huys | Alan Levine
The Original Poster (OP) was a woman of color with good grades, and she took five advanced courses that required more of her time. OP's school never offered any tutoring aides, but she was determined to keep high grades. However, things took a different turn when she took a chemistry course in her senior year.
OP felt uneasy and insisted she was getting late for class. The man blocked her way and told her that he was willing to stay back after class and help her with the subject.
She wanted to study chemistry in college, so despite several warnings from fellow students, she took the course. Her chemistry teacher never offered any after-class support, which OP thought was okay.
But things began taking a toll on her grades when the man refused to provide in-class support too. He turned her down whenever she approached him for help with the subject.
Since OP's parents couldn't afford to pay for her tuition, she busted her chops to save her tanking grades. However, she couldn't be more disappointed when she got a "D-"on her first chemistry test, and she had no notes to refer to and check what went wrong.
Things turned awry for OP after she took chemistry in high school. | Source: Pexels
OP waited until the class was over and talked to her teacher about it. But the man bluntly told her to refer to the textbook because he didn't have time for her.
OP let it slide and thought these were petty reasons to report him to the administration. But the real threat dawned on her during a practical class in the chemistry lab. While experimenting with magnesium and hydrochloric acid, one of OP's classmates had trouble holding the apparatus after the holder was dismantled.
OP immediately sought her teacher's help and asked him how to retrieve the tube back. From what she read in the safety instructions, she assumed he would advise her to discard the acid, rinse with water, and start over.
But no…the man told her to slip her ungloved hand into the solution, grab the plug with bare, unprotected hands, and fix it back. OP refused as she didn't want to risk her safety.
The chemistry teacher was often negligent when it came to students' safety during experiments. | Source: Unsplash
Unsurprisingly, the man's carelessness didn't stop there, and OP encountered something new and terrible day by day. She felt unsafe in the class as the man's attitude worsened with time.
For instance, one day, he brought what he claimed as "illegal fireworks" into the classroom and set them off, thinking it was funny. If that weren't enough, he often left the class unattended while his students played with burners and chemicals in his absence.
And then came time for grading. OP realized that most of the ladies in class, including her, got poor grades in the subject compared to the boys who always got an "A." In one instance, the chemistry teacher lost a boy's test paper but declared the guy would be getting an A- since he assumed the boy would've performed well.
OP discussed her grades with the other girls in class and figured out that they all got the same grades as her. She thought it was weird, then realized that the teacher was also a "sexist."
With such problems prevailing, OP knew she couldn't stand a chance against him because he was tenured. But with college ahead of her, she realized she had to do something.
As time passed, OP realized she had to do something to save her sinking grades in chemistry. | Source: Pexels
She looked up the recording laws for her state to gather evidence against him. The law allowed her to record as long as the institution was okay with it. Since OP's school didn't have any prohibition policy mentioned, she devised a plan against the teacher.
OP's grades kept tanking, but she didn't back off from her plan. She recorded the man setting off fireworks in class, berating female students, secretly crying in the chemical storage room, and leaving students unattended.
A month later, OP sent the recordings from a throwaway email to her superintendent with an ultimatum demanding immediate action, rejection of which would provoke her to email the evidence to the local news.
OP recorded her chemistry teacher in order to provide proof against him. | Source: Unsplash
The supervisor responded within a day and assured OP that she wouldn't be punished for ratting out the teacher. Shortly after, OP met the woman with her parents and went over her grades, unmarked tests, and the recordings.
The superintendent then told OP that they would need to discuss her concerns with her chemistry teacher to hear "his side of the story." Although OP was reluctant, she thought it was fair enough as long as her name wasn't revealed in this.
The next day, the chemistry teacher told OP that he wanted to talk to her alone after class. She declined, saying she had to attend another class, but the teacher sounded cold.
OP turned her recorder on before the chemistry class ended. | Source: Pexels
Before the class ended, OP turned on her recorder and began packing her stuff. Then the man approached and cornered her. He told her that someone in the class had reported "unfounded concerns" and "lies" about him to the administration and that he hoped it wasn't her.
OP felt uneasy and insisted she was late for her next class. But the man blocked her way and told her that he was willing to stay back after class and help her with the subject.
At some point, OP lost it. She told him that she needed to go to the class. The teacher finally moved out of her way but left OP fuming in the process. She immediately emailed the recording to the administration and her parents.
OP's mom threatened legal action, although they couldn't afford a lawyer. Nevertheless, her fake threat was enough to set the alarm bells ringing for the superintendent. Although the district couldn't fire the chemistry teacher, he was put on "permanent medical leave." The man was semi-fired while the district still paid him.
The chemistry teacher was put on permanent medical leave. | Source: Pexels
Meanwhile, several unqualified teachers filled in for his position until one female teacher was pulled out of retirement to take over his role. The students in OP's class achieved a 50% passing rate within two months of her joining.
Grateful for her help, the superintendent wrote OP a thank-you recommendation letter for her college application. OP felt it was partially to silence her from leaking the issue outside and helping get rid of the man.
OP's post amassed an overwhelming response from anonymous Redditors who flocked to the thread to share similar ill-fated consequences their teachers had to face due to what they did.
After the man was fired, an experienced teacher was pulled out of retirement to fill his position. | Source: Pexels
"I got my high school journalism teacher fired. He would call us stupid and totally botched our yearbook," the post's top-voted commenter crocko22 recalled, adding:
"I wrote a scathing letter to the principal. He was fired and, on his way out, he stole thousands of dollars worth of equipment."
Several readers felt OP had served the best revenge to her teacher. "I was horrified reading how he was putting his students in danger by not wearing the proper protective equipment in the lab, but that blatant sexism really made me livid," Redditor usumur stated.
People on Reddit shared similar stories of how they got their teachers fired. | Source: Pexels
As for OP, she claimed she moved into a better area for college, where she met people who had no idea how the other half like her lived.
"I actually gave a presentation on my hometown where I didn't reveal that it was in the US until the end, and everyone assumed it was a third-world country," she shared.
Eventually, OP moved to a college in a better area. | Source: Pexels
Questions to Ponder:
Do you think the chemistry teacher came to regret his actions?
Of all the antics he staged in class, OP's chemistry teacher was fired due to negligence and discrimination. He never took his students' doubts regarding the subject seriously and paid no heed to their safety during experiments. OP claimed the district still paid him his full salary despite firing him, so do you think he came to regret losing his job?
If you were OP, how would you address the problem with the teacher?
OP was set on having the teacher fired when she recorded him for a month to provide evidence to the school of his incompetence and abuses. What steps would you have taken against the teacher if you were OP?
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