Armchair Anonymous: Bad Teacher

This episode of Armchair Anonymous features two incredible stories from guests Joey and Alexis, both revolving around experiences with questionable teachers. From pathological lying to inappropriate advice, these tales highlight the impact teachers can have, both good and bad, on their students' lives.

Joey's Pathological Liar Teacher

Joey, a teacher herself, prefaces her story by emphasizing that most teachers are awesome. Her experience, however, was with a new co-teacher in the early 2000s at a private school in a liberal city. This co-teacher, who Joey refers to as Cindy, initially seemed impressive. Cindy had graduated from a well-known Division 1 university, was head of the writing center, and was even on the Division 1 volleyball team. Joey, feeling like a veteran teacher, was initially intimidated by Cindy's seemingly perfect background.

However, Cindy's stories quickly began to unravel. She started calling in sick frequently, with increasingly dramatic reasons: a relative died, then a relative was murdered. The other teachers, concerned, even considered stalking her apartment. Joey notes that in the early 2000s, it wasn't as easy to Google information, so the stories went unchecked for a while. The co-teaching arrangement suffered due to Cindy's sporadic attendance.

A particularly bizarre incident occurred during a class observation by the head of school. Cindy arrived late, started writing incorrect information on the whiteboard, mispronounced words, and even wrote a non-existent word. Joey, trying to salvage the situation, redirected attention to Cindy, who then started discussing the Vietnam War with false information. To top it all off, Cindy's thong was fully exposed due to her low-rise pants, a detail noticed by the entire class and the head of school.

The lies continued to escalate. Cindy, despite claiming to be fluent in sign language, performed a series of nonsensical hand gestures during a basketball game against a school for the deaf. Later, during a faculty volleyball game, her Division 1 volleyball skills were nowhere to be seen, leading Joey to believe this was another lie. Joey eventually discovered that Cindy's claims about her educational background were unverifiable.

The situation culminated when Cindy announced she was leaving to care for a sick relative. A few weeks later, Joey encountered Cindy promoting an energy drink at a local road race, exposing yet another lie. Joey later confirmed that Cindy's claims about her college graduation were questionable, highlighting the extent of her pathological lying.