this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2026
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I had an argument with a teacher in middle school who shared the crap of, “If you swallow gum, it stays in your stomach for 7 years.” The kids told me I must be wrong, because the teacher said it so he must be right.
I was so pissed that I came in the next day with three different sources saying that it was a myth. He quietly admitted the truth to me, but refused to tell the class.
I get being frustrated with kids chewing gum in class, but if you have to lie to get them to follow rules, that’s a failure as a teacher. He was a science teacher, no less. If anybody should be open to a student pulling up sources for a claim, or to admitting they learned something new and they were wrong before, it should be a science teacher.
Thanks, Mr H. Way to prove to me that even “cool” teachers care more about controlling kids than being truthful.
To make kids look stupid in front of their peers by taking an authority figure at their word you just have to be willing to burn credibility.
98% of humanity, right there. Fuck I hate them.
Yep, it was a lesson that cut deep. Which is why I won't let such stuff pass with my own students. One of my coworkers wanted to discourage a kid from using permanent markers and told him he'd give himself ink poisoning. The kid took it to heart and started saying he was allergic to tattoo ink. It was kind of funny at first, but he kept repeating it until it got concerning. I think he was starting to be scared of markers.
I just told him the truth - he's probably not going to get sick, but permanent markers are hard to clean off of things, including skin, and that some of his peers might use them on things they aren't supposed to. He's a smart kid who just wants to understand things and will think through stuff he doesn't understand until they make sense to him, even if it means imagining an allergy to something he sees other people use just fine. It breaks my heart to think that's not the last time some adult will tell him a myth, but hopefully his natural desire to make sense of things will continue to develop into a first-rate bullshit alarm someday.