I’m a teacher & we judge your kids constantly, why stained clothes & forgotten artwork won’t go down well

TEACHERS may be celebrated as ‘superheroes,’ but really, they’re human beings – and they’re just as prone to being judgmental as anyone else.

One parent dared to ask what educators are really thinking when kids show up with rumpled clothes, unkempt hair, or missing homework.

“Teachers – be honest please – do you judge or make assumptions?” an anonymous poster asked teachers on a MumsNet forum. “And if so, how often are you right?”

The original poster shared one judgment of their own.

“I tend to immediately make assumptions about families where the children have copious long curls, never tied back,” they wrote.

The original poster added that it’s primarily male students whose hairstyle indicates a rambunctious personality and hands-off parents.

“I just know they’re going to be all tinkly laughs and ‘oh so liberal’ while their kids are probably hooligans,” they claimed.

One teacher shared that when kids can’t follow rules or never clean out their backpacks, they feel sad for the student who has no structure at home.

“Things like not taking library books from the bag the whole week, never taking artwork out of their bags so it’s still in there the next day,” they listed as examples.

“It’s not really that I judge them exactly. Certainly not the kids,” the anonymous teacher added.

“But when I have to battle with certain children every day to keep their toy in their bag even though I personally asked the parents not to send it, it’s annoying and I wonder what on earth they’re thinking.”

“I think you try not to make judgments, but it’s human nature,” an educator reasoned.

“You’re constantly evaluating why children react in certain ways either socially and academically and a lot of it is nurture.”

One educator said that they notice a specific group of their colleagues tend to be more judgmental than others.

“Sadly I have come across a lot of judgmental teachers, especially those without children,” they revealed.

“The only thing I would judge parents on is reading,” another instructor confessed.

“The ones who never read with their children are doing their children a huge disservice.

“I have little sympathy with the parents who complain that their children won’t read at home because it’s usually their fault that they don’t like reading at home,” they explained.

Some teachers begin judging their students before they even meet them.

“People DO judge on names and you’re stuck with a name for life,” a teacher admitted.

“This is why I’m always incredulous at some of the names parents burden their kids with.

“Not only are they disadvantaged from the start but will take that name into employment,” they added.

Another teacher agreed and shared their personal list of cringe-inducing names.

“When I hear the names Mason, Alfie, Billy, Dolly, Ellie-Mai, Demi, Jade, I am already thinking ‘help!'” they wrote.

The overarching theme of the comments made clear that when teachers have strong opinions about their students, it’s really the parents who are being judged.

“I say, ‘[a] child thinks he’s better than everyone else’ but what I absolutely mean is ‘a child has been taught he can do what he likes,'” a teacher explained.

“I have opinions about the parents, not the child,” they wrote.