Preschool teacher calls one of her students 'creepy.' AITA?
When this preschool teacher is worried she may have said something inappropriate, she asks Reddit:
"AITA for calling one of my students creepy?"
So I’m a preschool teacher and one of my students has very light brown/hazel eyes and very dark skin. He always gets compliments on his eyes so I’m certain it isn’t an insecurity or anything.
The other day I was by myself in the classroom while the kids were playing and when I turned around I saw his creepy little eyes staring at me. And it isn’t just the eye color, he also widens his eyes for some reason (maybe to show them off?). I was startled and joked to him “don’t stare at me with those creepy eyes”.
He didn’t take it as an issue but one of my other students heard and took it as me saying a “bad word” and started running around yelling “Ms. T said a bad word!”. Now the story is all twisted and the staff think I called him creepy because of his eye color and complexion combination. Also it is not a racial thing at all, almost half of my students are of color.
I am having a meeting with his parents about the issue because it got blown out of proportion and I want to defend myself before my name gets tarnished. Wish me luck. AITA?
Let's see what readers thought.
ousemouse writes:
YTA. There are some words you just don't use with children, especially to describe a part of their body. Well done to your little student who called you out on what you said. You're a teacher and you know all the more how children distort everything. Don't use any more ambiguous words around them.
factoverfiction writes:
NTA. Maybe wrong choice of words, but it doesn't sound racially motivated to me. Sounds like the parents want to make a big deal about it.
psycholinguist writes:
YTA. I'm not even going to ask why you think they're creepy if it's not the complexion + eye color combo, because it doesn't matter. He's got the body he's got, and you're insulting hiim for it. The kid's eyes are his eyes. Too bad you think they're creepy, but that's a you problem.
Btw, it also doesn't matter that he's a kid instead of an adult, because calling someone creepy for a physical feature they can't control is AH behaviour at any age. Suppose a co-worker had light hazel eyes.
Would you want him to wear contact lenses for your comfort? (I'm getting the sense that yes, actually. But, for the avoidance of doubt, that's wrong. Jeez.)
(Yes, he widens his eyes to show them off! He's been complimented on them. Kids do things that get them positive feedback. Your implication that this is somehow vain or wrong is very strange;
if kids didn't respond to positive feedback by doing more of the thing that gets them praise, then they'd remain untoilet-trained psychopaths their entire lives.)