Being the child of a teacher at your school can have advantages and disadvantages. And while, for some, the advantages are more significant, for others, it's the other way around. Just like for today's story's main character -- a 16-year-old whose teacher mom chose his bully of many years to be her mentee. And, well, let's just say that things for this mom-son relationship don't seem so bright anymore.
More info: Reddit
Just as with many other things in life, being a child of a teacher at your school comes with pros and cons
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
A teen kept getting bullied by one kid at his school for many years, which basically ruined his life at school
Things became even worse when his mom, who is a teacher at the same school and knows about the bullying, took her son's bully as her mentee
Image credits: Julia M Cameron (not the actual photo)
The son couldn't believe his mom's choice and asked her to choose any other kid in school, but she refused to do so
Image credits: Polina Tankilevitch (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Substantial-Egg-1971
So, the son ended up telling his mom that she was dead to him and that he'd break free of her the second he turned 18
The 16-year-old OP’s mom is a teacher at his school. And the school has a program where a student can become a TA during a period of an elective subject.
A TA, or teacher’s (or teaching) assistant, is a person who assists teachers in the classroom, hence the name. Usually, the teacher’s assistants are college graduates who get employed with a temporary contract at a school or a university. But in some schools, there are programs where a high school student can become an assistant and be mentored by a teacher, just like in today's story.
The problem with the teacher's aid that the mom from the story chose was that this student was her son’s nightmare -- he bullied him for years on end. And what’s even worse -- she knows about it.
So, no wonder why her choice hurt her son. When he asked why she chose him, she answered that he isn’t such a bad student -- he only has a terrible home life. But none of her reasons properly explained why exactly she, and not some other teacher, should be the one to help the bully. And the mom took it as a sign of her son’s selfishness.
So, next, the OP did something very on-brand for a 16-year-old teenager -- he told his mom that she’s dead to him if she keeps choosing her mentee over him. This would include erasing her from his life the second he turns 18. And even after these threats, his mom didn’t take his word seriously and stood behind her choice.
After a couple of days of the silent treatment, the teen was grounded, and his stuff was taken away from him when the mom tried to make her son talk to her, but he wouldn’t budge.
Things have gotten so bad that the OP is planning to change his path for the future -- instead of going to college, he will be going to a trade school so he can be independent from his parents as soon as possible.
And while it might seem that the OP’s choice to basically punish his mom is pretty harsh, apparently, to most of the people in the comments of the post, it didn’t seem too harsh, as they decided that the teen wasn’t a jerk in this situation. In fact, quite a few internet folks expressed the sentiment that they would act similarly if they found themselves in a situation like this.
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
Later on, in an update, the teen notified that after some school interference, the mom finally dropped her son’s bully as a TA and gave a half-sincere apology. Yet, the OP says that too much damage has been done at this point, and he’ll never forgive her despite not giving her the silent treatment anymore.
Well, we could say that the OP ended up in this family dynamic-disrupting situation because his mom is a teacher at the same school he studies at. And it’s quite probable that this isn’t the only disadvantage of having a mom teaching at his school that he has ever experienced.
For example, some say that teachers’ kids are expected to do more and be better students and kids than the ones whose parents work in different places. Also, other students think that teachers’ kids are getting some kind of benefit that makes their life at school easier. While, typically, this is simply a misconception, it still doesn’t stop students from assuming it. And we think it might be likely that the OP has experienced some things like this, but as it didn’t cause a major family crisis, it never became a Reddit story that we know of.
On the other hand, there are good sides to being a student at your parent’s workplace. The advantages can range from quite silly ones to more serious stuff.
Examples of silly advantages would be being able to hear some rumors and have fun by sharing them with your peers. And serious examples could be having someone to talk to at school if you’re having a bad day or a parent being more empathetic to your load of work and stress, as they are more in the know about these things as an educator themselves.
Well, having a parent who is a teacher at your school is just a thing in life that has two sides -- the good and the bad. Sadly, in today’s story, the bad side took over.
People online quite unitedly agreed that the jerk of the story was the mom who didn't choose any other kid, and some even added they would act the same way he did in a similar situation
