My teacher hates me! We’ve all heard this from a family member, friend, a complete outsider or we may have authored these words ourselves at some point in our education. The question here is that can a teacher really hate a student?
A teacher’s job is to help educate every student in their classes irrespective of their own perceptions or reservations. And while this job can be a daunting one, hating a student is unacceptable.
That said, teachers like everyone else may sometimes come in contact with someone with a personality they do not like. This is also true for students as a student may not like a teacher for one reason or the other.
With classrooms full of students with different personalities, it’s no surprise a teacher may like some students while not liking someone or others. Some even have favorites among the students they have.
While this may be the case, hating a student for any particular reason is unacceptable. Not liking a student is one thing but hate is an extreme and intense dislike that shouldn’t be tolerated in an academic environment.
Why Teachers Dislike Some Students
There’re multiple reasons to dislike a student. However, teachers need to stay professional and treat every student the same irrespective of their personal feelings. That’s said, let’s take a look at some of the reasons a teacher may dislike a student.
Latecomers
I doubt any authority figure is ever happy when a member of their group is always late for meetings and they need to now explain everything again. A teacher’s job is to educate all their students and the best way to deliver any lesson is to make sure every student is present.
Unfortunately, some students for various reasons (genuine or intentional) are always late to class. They arrive when class is ongoing and this disturbs any activities or lessons the teacher was delivering as well as the concentration of other students.
The teacher sometimes needs to restart the lesson to ensure the student is able to catch up to their peers. In cases where the teacher does not restart the class, the annoying part comes when you ask the class whether they understand, only for the latecomer to raise their hands claiming they do not understand.
No matter how good a teacher you may be, this is bound to piss you off, and worse when this trend becomes habitual. So yes, your teacher may not like you because you’re a habitual latecomer, but they do not hate you.
That said, teachers should try and determine the reasons behind any particular student’s habitual lateness in class to provide them guidance or help if necessary.
Sleepers
Ever spent sleepless nights preparing lessons for your students, trying to ensure the content is easily understandable, only to have a student sleeping in your class? Some students are constantly sleeping in class.
While it’s normal for a student to dose off in class one time, it’s a problem when this becomes a habit. Making sleeping in a teacher’s class a habit is a good way for them to dislike you.
I remember a mate in my school years who used to sleep in class all the time. What annoyed the teacher the most was the fact that he’d suddenly wake up and ask the lecturer a question only partially or not related to the subject matter in any way.
In this case, the lecturer didn’t put in any effort to identify the reason behind the student sleeping in class every time simply because this was a university. Most lecturers have little time for other activities in their day and wouldn’t care less whether a student slept in their classes or not.
Talkative Students
Talking to other students during an ongoing class is a good way for a teacher to dislike you. This disturbs the lesson and distracts other students’ concentration. Unfortunately, this happens quite a lot in our institutions.
A student would be sent out of class by a teacher for disturbing an ongoing lesson. While teachers may not hate these students, making it a habit of disturbing a teacher’s class makes it difficult for them to like you.
Late Submissions
While most students would make it a habit of submitting their assignments on time, there may be a few or someone who makes late submissions a habit. The worst part is they come up with excuses each time till the teacher gets fed up with them.
A teacher might be willing to excuse the first few incidences, but it becomes a problem when this becomes a habit, and this lands you in the teacher’s bad books.
Cheaters
Breaching academic integrity policies is also another way to get into a teacher’s bad books. Teachers like everyone else do not like cheaters in their classes. They expect their students to put in the work and even when they fail, this provides the teacher insight into how to help the student proceed.
Unfortunately, some students resort to trying to outsmart their teacher by trying various means to cheat during tests. This is another way to land in a teacher’s bad books when caught.
Bully
Let’s face it, no one likes a bully. You’ll always find someone in a school who gets their kicks from bullying other students. While every school prohibits bullying (peers, juniors, or seniors), there’s always someone willing to take the risk so long as they believe they won’t get caught.
Teachers and institutions, in general, refuse to tolerate such bad behavior and such students find themselves facing disciplinary actions.
Overenthusiastic Students
It’s difficult to hate students who always volunteer to perform certain activities when asked. There’s always that one student who will always volunteer to do everything in a class.
While teachers love such students it can become a problem when other students aren’t allowed the opportunity to grow through these activities as a result of a single student taking up everything.
Disrespectful
Ever taught a class with a student who felt above the law? For some reason, the institution wouldn’t expel this student and the student simply sees this as an opportunity to do whatever they want in the school.
They would outright disrespect the teacher in front of other students without fear of consequences. No teacher likes such students and having a student like that in your class can make teaching difficult.
No Effort
Some students in a class also care more about their reputation in the school than they do their studies. Their appearance and other students’ perception of them seem to be their priority.
As a teacher, it can be difficult to deal with such students especially when you know they aren’t putting in the necessary effort to improve themselves academically and any advice you offer simply go unheeded.
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Why Students Think Teachers Hate Them
There’re various reasons why a student may think their teacher hates them. While this is mostly false, there may be rare instances where this may be true. This impression that a teacher hates a student is created when:
Teacher Screams At A Student
While screaming at a student in any form is unacceptable, some teachers are unable to hold their anger in some situations. They, unfortunately, end up screaming at students which gives students the negative impression of the teacher hating them.
Irrespective of your reasons, justified or not, screaming at a student is unacceptable and could have a negative impact on the student’s confidence. Even when they’ve done something obviously wrong it’s advisable to refrain from shouting at them.
Calling Them Names
Calling a student names is disrespectful and equivalent to bullying them. The worst part is that other students see this as a go-ahead from their teacher to also call the student names or even bully them. This gives the same impression that the teacher hates the student.
Criticize Performance Openly
A student’s performance is between the teacher and their legal guardians when applicable. Criticizing the performance in the presence of their peers is unacceptable and these students develop the opinion that the teacher hates them.
Pointing Out Student To Answer Question
Some quiet students who are uncomfortable talking in class can develop the mentality that a teacher hates them when they keep pointing them out to answer questions in class.
If the intention of the teacher was to bring the quiet student out of their shells, this strategy may not produce the best results as it can easily backfire.
Poor Grades
Imagine putting in the effort to produce the best work you can only for a teacher to grade you poorly without pointing out the mistakes you made. While teachers may not be able to point out every mistake a student made in their delivery, it’s advisable that they provide some level of explanation.
This is because students sometimes translate poorly grades as a show of hatred from the teacher.
Can A Teacher Hate A Student
Now that we have a better understanding of why teachers may dislike some students, it’s time to answer the question of whether a teacher can hate a student.
Yes, teachers sometimes dislike certain students including talkative students, bullies, habitual latecomers, cheaters, and disrespectful students. That said, teachers are trained professionally to treat all students the same regardless of their own reservations.
What To Do If Your Teacher Hates You
If you believe your teacher hates you, you can leverage some of these options to resolve clear any misunderstandings.
Apologize
If you know what you might have done to warrant a teacher’s dislike or hatred, simply apologizing will go a long way with the teacher. A simple apology for your wrongdoing will go a long way towards getting you back in the teacher’s good books.
Privately And Kindly Confront
If you don’t know what you did wrong to warrant the teacher’s hatred, you can confront the teacher. You can tell them you love their class and would love to do well but you get the feeling the teacher doesn’t like you very much.
In most cases, your impression of the teacher’s hatred may be false and the teacher can help clarify any misunderstandings.
Do Teachers Dislike Bad Students
No, teachers want their students to get good grades but they do not dislike students with bad grades. Teachers might dislike bullies, talkative students, habitual latecomers, cheaters, and disrespectful students but do not dislike students with bad grades.
A teacher’s job is to educate their students and academic achievement is not an indication that someone’s a good person. Grades in assessments simply help teachers to gather relevant information about student performance or progress in order to determine student interests and make judgments about their learning process.
