Young people achieve more when there’s a healthy collaborative effort between teacher and parent. Most parents are supportive and happy to work with teachers but the ones that aren’t making quite an impression. Beyond shares some of our teacher secrets, based on things we know teachers can’t stand!

Here’s 5 types of parents teachers really can’t stand:

The “My Poor Baby Can’t Cope” Parent 

This type of parent is minutes away from wrapping their child in cotton wool so they can protect them from the woes of life. These woes include school. Their child is the one who is frequently absent due to “illness”. The parent is always going on about how it’s all too much for their precious snowflake. There’s always a reason why they can’t do what every other child is expected to do. You’ll receive emails claiming their child is worn out from the gruelling school day so  they couldn’t possibly cope under the unbearable pressure of googling 10 facts about Shakespeare for homework. Come on teachers, what would that burdensome task do to their mental health?

The”Tumbleweed” Parent 

The infamous tumbleweed parent. They are known for never answering the phone, never emailing back and of course never showing up to parents evening.This parent’s details are clearly on the system, but do they actually exist? 

The “Overzealous” Parent 

If there’s any opportunity to volunteer they are there. They stick around a little too long on parents evening and always have some tips for you.  They bombard you with “just checking” emails and want a dissertation length explanation of everything you are doing to support their child. It’s amazing to be invested in your child’s education but jeez – loosen the grip.

The “Jaded” Parent  

This parent almost always hated being at school. They either found it difficult or utterly pointless. The jaded parent ardently endorses the belief that “you don’t need school to be successful” and unlikely for us – they make sure their kid believes that too. God forbid you call them to report their child’s poor behaviour or progress. Teachers are always in the wrong and formal education is a waste of time. Man, isn’t teaching their child the funnest thing ever?

The “Snooty” Parent 

This parent has a big problem with teachers. They are often pretty successful and to them, teaching is a lowly profession that’s only chosen by people who want an “easy” life of babysitting and holidays. The teacher’s obvious incompetence is always to blame for their child’s failure. Just ignore the fact that their child spent the lesson doing everything but learning – they can’t be held accountable. They believe teachers are “lazy” and don’t know how to do their jobs. This attitude leads to massive disrespect from their children and we just have to manage it. I have a sneaking suspicion this parent is just jealous. They wish they had summers off too!

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