Teachers saying "you would amount to nothing"

[Thekwango]

I went to school with a guy who was told he wouldn't amount to much. Things certainly worked out for him all right. A millionaire at 26! Fred Holden he was called, he was in our dorm. God, he was thick. Thickie Holden, we used to call him. 'Hello, Thickie! How's your acne, Thickie?' He always used to come bottom in geography. He thought a glacier was a bloke who fixed windows. I mean he ended up inventing the tension sheet, it's just the stuff they used to use in packing paper. All he did was to paint it red and cut it into small squares and you know who he married? -- Sabrina Mulholland-JJones.

He was actually a billionaire.

 

[Bassmansam]

My mum said that one of her teachers told her that she would top herself by age 21. She is 63 though so maybe teachers were a bit more "brutal" back then.

 

[ThePainBarrier]

Indeed, I think people get too caught up in "if you're good at Math, you're good at solving problems" which isn't always the case. Plenty of solid developers who can't even do basic algebra.

After all, it's only 1's and 0's - even I can add up to 1!

 

[SpeedFreak]

To summarise, OP misses the irony of a teacher telling them what they needed to hear, waits 20 years for an ill judged "I told you so", assumes that income equates to true value of a person and then takes pleasure in the fact that his teachers may still be working and trying to better the lives of pupils today. If you had a similar attitude to this when you were at school I'm not surprised they had words.

 

[BongoHunter]

I remember the careers advisor telling me I could expect to struggle to get anything other than factory work or armed forces.

Others came out told they should be a vet or a doctor

None of us could figure out what determined the advice you would get - none of it was accurate looking back anyway, and no one became a careers advisor as far as I know...

 

[DanTheMan]

When I worked in the jobcentre at aged 19, I signed on my high school Maths teacher. He had quit teaching and was an unemployed magician. I think he was more worried about himself amounting to nothing rather than the kids he taught!

 

[Guest2]

My Mrs is a maths teacher, one of her main reasons for going into teaching was because her teacher at high school was terrible and often put people down with these kinds of remarks. She spoke about how she would use her as an example to the other students, making her stand at the front of class trying to solve problems in front of everybody, often way beyond her current level and for things that were completely irrelevant to the subject. Then putting her down when she obviously couldn't come up with the answers on the spot, it sounded like it was more of power trip rather than the little push to make them focus more.

Fast forward 15 years and the Mrs has become a successful teacher, pretty much waiting for a head of maths department role to open up. She was asked if she could help out and go into a couple of failing schools in the area as part of a team to assess how things were being done and provide training on areas that needed improvement. Lo and behold her old teacher was at one of these schools and had been put forward to receive some training from her

Apparently she still had an attitude and was very dismissive about receiving help, Mrs was well chuffed when she came home.

Love this story.
It was similar for me with one of the teachers in my secondary/middle school (age maybe 10-12)
I wasn't great at reading and as a punishment had to stand up and read a few pages of whatever book it was we were studying. I hated it coming around to my turn as did a few people. To this day I still hate reading for pleasure as see it as a punishment.
I only read when I need to research something as part of my job and think the last fiction book I read and enjoyed was George's marvelous medicine, in primary school with a teacher who was nice.

It's a shame teachers can have this great an impact on someone but get their comeuppance in the end

 

[malachi]

My sis-in-law was told she wouldn't amount to owt unless she studied 24/7, she'd never become a nurse like she wanted. Unfortunately this came from both the school and her grandparents of whom she lived with.

She studied hard, got the grades and went on to uni and became a nurse. Now in her late 20s she carried on with studying and has had a high level research role.

Some would say despite being told she's not good enough she's made a success of herself, near 40k a year, multiple medical qualifications etc etc.

But here's the rub. She's not happy. Constantly in a mood, nothing and no-one is good enough for her leading to her being terminally single despite wanting a relationship. She's always trying to find that next education step to take but doesn't have a clue as to where she now wants to be, the initial goal has been satisfied. Although constantly employed she moves from job to job within the NHS because her colleague 'annoy her' for not being perfection etc.

So being academically successful doesn't alway mean being a success in life.

I'm going to go slightly off subject here but that's a very common thing with women in those positions. They bust their backside to get a top end job then expect to date someone on the same level as them or above, they never date down...Men at the top don't want to date them because they don't want a Miss Busy Body.

Men CEO's don't date Women CEO's, its always the receptionist, the women at the bar, that cute women at the checkouts. But women would never do that because its seen as below them.

When people say its lonely at the top, they are not kidding

My lack of Math's has never been an issue in all those years.

Yep, had that too. "You need to be good at Math's to get a good job...Blah...Blah....Blah..." Fast forward a few decades later, everyone has a smartphone with a calculator. Calculations are done on spreadsheets, contactless payments removes the need to work out change when at a shop.

 

[Josh]

Had one who remarked "you'll end up in prison if you carry on like that" - did 8 years but as an Officer not a con.

Mostly they were either great or just uninterested tbh, he was an okay teacher, I'm sure I wasn't the most pleasant individual at that age.

 

[m@rty]

My Mrs is a maths teacher, one of her main reasons for going into teaching was because her teacher at high school was terrible and often put people down with these kinds of remarks. She spoke about how she would use her as an example to the other students, making her stand at the front of class trying to solve problems in front of everybody, often way beyond her current level and for things that were completely irrelevant to the subject. Then putting her down when she obviously couldn't come up with the answers on the spot, it sounded like it was more of power trip rather than the little push to make them focus more.

Fast forward 15 years and the Mrs has become a successful teacher, pretty much waiting for a head of maths department role to open up. She was asked if she could help out and go into a couple of failing schools in the area as part of a team to assess how things were being done and provide training on areas that needed improvement. Lo and behold her old teacher was at one of these schools and had been put forward to receive some training from her

Apparently she still had an attitude and was very dismissive about receiving help, Mrs was well chuffed when she came home.

That is fantastic

 

[Hades]

Teachers can have a dramatic affect on your life. I can see when my kids have a good teacher in a subject because they are engaged and successful. But when the teacher changes the following year to a mediocre one they are disengaged.

I still remember my science teacher when I was about 10. I was building basic electric circuits on bread boards and he told me it was the basis of a computer. To this day it might have been the reason I found them fascinating. I went on to build a great career with them.

But I think too many people focus on getting a highly paid job. I now look back, being in my 50's, and realise it's just ot that important. If I had my time again I would concentrate on what made me happy rather than building a career.

 

[Deluxe1]

Went to secondary school in the mid 80's and heard teachers say things like that but it was just water off a ducks back and nobody took offence or cried about it, if a teacher had said that to someone they had been playing up.

Now I'd bet if a teacher said that these days they would be sacked and the kid would need counselling.

 

[mattyg]

My dad was a TV engineer. One day he went to my old head of years house to repair his TV. Whilst doing so he was told i would never amount to much.
I have 3 businesses and employ over 50 people

Spoiler: This is not a dig on todays standards

Those that can, do.. those that can't....teach
No offence meant to any teachers... Teaching has changed a fair bit since the late 80'early 90's

What he failed to see is that my failure to learn in his class was more to do with his failure to teach.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I remember as kid one of two of the teachers at my primary and secondary school would say things like "you will never amount to anything" and "you will be a bin man when you're older"

Now i'm not sure if teachers still say the same sort of things to kids these days but looking back now I am around their age (36) I can safely say they were wrong and am probably on at least 2 or 3 times the average teachers salary. I highly expect some of them will still be working now, maybe as elderly substitute teachers having to top up their pension in their 60s

Did your teachers ever say your would amount to nothing and would like to shove it in their face that they were wrong?

how does someone earning £100K a year think that £250 for a cpu is expensive?

I've had my current bundle for 5 years now. It was purchased 2nd hand (already 3 years old) for £280 in early 2015. Gigabyte Z97 (Z97X-Gaming 7) motherboard, Intel i7 4790k thats runnig @4.5ghz & 16GB Kingston HyperX RAM.

It's still coping pretty well but showing it's age with things like my limited speed NVMe drive running at slower speeds in the m2 onboard slot. Gaming wise it's seems to be holding out but not sure how how long.

Everything I read points to waiting for the Ryzen 5 (3600XT?) before upgrading, but why? I never get the most recent up to date CPUs as they usually cost a bomb.

Can a 2nd hand bundle of be had for £300-£500 that would last another 5 years? Maybe like an earlier Ryzen that clocks high or an i7 / i9 that clocks to 6ghz? I have no idea what CPUs even clock to nowadays but i've ben running the i7 @4.5ghz since 2015

 

[Ninco!]

80's - 90's kid. Yep, I got told I was basically a waster. It was meant as in wasted potential rather than an out right rebel.

I was a numpty - hand in a design project unbuilt and label it a kit, obviously got a U grade. Harmless silly stuff - You think you are being clever at the time, but looking back I do cringe. But it's life!

Do I have hard feelings?

Not in the slightest, sitting watching my friends go to Uni whilst I was resitting. Yeah, I did not feel clever then. It resonated; it took a few years to get my act together but it has come good. Would I like the chance to say 'you were wrong' not really, as the course I was taking at the time warranted the comments.

Punishments - chalk board eraser lobbed, ruler, having a hand print on my bum - I was only about 5 (following a teacher putting me over her knee). I could not swim, the PE teacher thought I was winging it and went mental and made to stand in the corner (I genuinely could not swim) - some things I look back but, move on, as its in the past you can do nothing to change.

 

[mrk]

My primary school teacher said my new glasses made me look handsome.

I genuinely buried the glasses in the front garden that day after school and claimed they went missing and gave me headaches

I can still see fine.


Who said that?

 

[Luckystrike123]

I had one teacher who was particularly awful who taught GCSE and A-level business studies.

This was my favourite subject by far, i achieved an A at GCSE but was 'driven out' along with others who were less studious during A levels.

My friend, who was a big lad, had a scuffle with him and because there were no witnesses (lol) nothing happened to my friend.

This teachers actions have been acknowledged as unacceptable by my form tutor and a friend's mother who had her own bad experience with him.

Anyway, after being made to feel useless and made to hate education, I have recently graduated with a 1st class MEng (Hons) in chemical engineering, so basically, **** him.

Along the way I've met many excellent, inspirational teachers and mentors. I wish I'd met such people earlier in life.

 

[Malevolence]

80s here and another one whose parents used to get the "intelligent but lazy" spiel at parents day. The only one teacher that ever said 'I'd amount to nothing if I carry on acting like I did' was Mr Martin, my Physics/Chemistry teacher. That said though, he was a top bloke and great teacher and thought it funny as hell when I invited him to my graduation with a letter starting with something like "You know that child you kept pushing and pushing and who you kept telling would never amount to anything? Well...."

 

[checjb]

My A-level chemistry teacher told me I was hopeless at chemistry and science in general (how she figured that out as I had separate teachers for biology and physics is beyond me). Fast forward a few years and I have degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry and a doctorate in Chemistry.
Looking back, she definitely wasn't trying to motivate me, she just didn't like me. TBH, the feeling was mutual and I just went the science route because I liked it and was good at it.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Mine never said those things. I think said teacher would be fired these days.