Teaching children can be challenging, but one Malaysian teacher said she was left emotionally overwhelmed after a primary school student repeatedly challenged her authority in class.
In a post on Threads, the teacher claimed the student would mock her while she was teaching and behave defiantly when reprimanded.
She said the student would interrupt lessons by saying things such as, “I already know” whenever she tried to teach.
At one point, the teacher told the student to leave the classroom if they did not want to study. According to her, the student went outside and stood in front of their friends before returning to the classroom after being instructed to do so.
She claimed the student then crawled back into the classroom.
The teacher also alleged that the student once showed her the middle finger during the azan while repeatedly telling her to “keep quiet”.
She said the student would often confidently claim to understand lessons, only to struggle when given exercises.
In a follow-up comment, the teacher said she had tried asking the student to explain what they had understood.
However, she claimed the student would remain silent when asked to explain but shake their head when asked whether they understood.
“I really don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like surrendering and crying, but I held it in. It’s sad,” she wrote.
The teacher said she had already contacted parents in previous cases involving students with behavioural problems and had documented the incidents on her phone.
However, she claimed there was little improvement after the students returned to school.
She also acknowledged that parents could be facing their own challenges, including exhaustion from work and limited time with their children.
“Sometimes I don’t even know who to blame,” she wrote, adding that primary school children could be easily influenced by their surroundings.
The post prompted other teachers to share similar experiences, with some describing the challenges of teaching Gen Alpha students as significantly different from those they faced with Gen Z pupils.
While some educators called for teachers to be firmer when students crossed boundaries, others suggested installing classroom CCTV so parents could better understand what happens during lessons.
