Did you mess up today?
Did you lose your temper? Was your lesson a spectacular fail? Did you forget about an important meeting?
Take heart, dear reader. Earlier this week, we asked teachers to tell us the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to them at school. At least you didn’t do what those teachers did!
“I’m a nursing mom and I pump in my classroom during PE, lunch, and recess.”
“I have a clear sign on my door and have planned out the schedule with admin. Despite all of this, a proctor ignored the sign and unlocked my door during lunch to start letting students into the room because of inclement weather. I had to yell at them to get out and close the door, but a couple second graders saw me. The whole situation was mortifying.”
—Ciera J.
“I carved a pumpkin for my students and put it in the bathroom where it was nice and dark so you could see it lit up.”
“Then I told my principal, ‘Go look at the masterpiece that I created in the boys’ bathroom.’”
—Cameron J.
“Spilling my coffee all over myself at 8 a.m. and smelling like the maple syrup I used to sweeten it with all day.”
“The embarrassing part really came in when the principal said, ‘Why does it smell like pancakes in here?’ at the staff meeting.”
—Ambryn L.
“A nonverbal student pointed to what I thought was a healing cold sore and yelled, ‘CUT!’”
“Sort of a win.”
—Maureen M.
“It was Sports Day last Friday and I came home looking like a red tomato.”
“Sunburn at 17 degrees Celsius … ridiculous! Anyway, today the lobster has turned salamander and I’ve started shedding my skin. By midafternoon, half my class was asking me what was wrong with my forehead/head/face. When it itched, the flakes would fly by past my glasses. ‘Ewww, that’s gross, Mrs. Wills!’ offered one sweet boy. ‘Yes. Yes, it is,’ I replied.”
—Racheal W.
“A sneeze/fart combo during silent reading time.”
—Andy T.
“My supervisor came in for an evaluation last-minute.”
“I had my computer projected onto the board and a student from another class was airdropping things. Before I realized, I turned around and saw a shirtless man being airdropped to my computer. Flustered, I turned my airdrop off and then proceeded to trip over a cable and almost busted my face.”
—Katherine F.
“I was going to the staff bathroom. It was not locked, and guess who was sitting there?”
“The principal.”
—Sharon N.
“I played a video with a gesture that was supposed to be wringing a neck for cruel and unusual punishment.”
That’s not what my middle schoolers saw. So we stopped and adjusted really quick.”
—Catherine C.
“Thought other teachers would dress up for Pajama Day in middle school.”
“Decked out in my flannel and slippers. Nobody else dressed up.”
—Rebecca A.
“I tripped in the hallway over NOTHING in front of a student.”
“We had a great laugh!”
—JoAnn E.
“My room is right next to the theater.”
“It was so loud in there that I stepped in to see what was happening. Total chaos with screaming, laughing, paper airplanes, and kids running everywhere. I yelled, ‘Silence!’ and proceeded to lecture them on courtesy to those around them. As I stepped back into my classroom, I heard the teacher, invisible in the pandemonium, say maybe they were too loud. I just kept going and never mentioned it to her.”
—Cindy P.
“I cannot post what I did today.”
—Jennifer H.
You can’t do that to us, Jennifer!
What’s your most embarrassing teaching moment? Let us know in the comments.
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