Teacher Stories: Funniest Moments for World Teachers' Day

As the Head Teacher of English, I once had two rowdy Year Seven boys sent my way because they were disrupting their teacher’s lesson. 

After chatting with them, I explained that learning is like physical strength—you have to exercise your brain, and natural talent alone won’t cut it without effort and commitment. 

One of the boys seemed to get it, but the other had a gem of an excuse that I’ll never forget: “Nah, Miss, I’m taking care of my brain development the scientific way.” 

Huh?? I asked him to elaborate. He proudly explained, -

So yes, this 13-year-old was starting his day with a bowl of Weet-Bix 
and a glass of baby formula!! 
I called his dad to share the news, and we both had a good laugh!

- Ashlea

During my second year of teaching, I was on placement with a bunch of Year 6 students. 

It was an art lesson where they had to draw sports balls. 

In my most enthusiastic voice, I announced - 

Cue the entire class of pre-pubescent boys erupting into fits of laughter. 

I had no choice but to join in. Talk about a mortifying moment! 😂 

 –  Katie

I had just escorted three of my students to reflection (think of it as detention), and while heading to the bathroom, I felt a breeze. 

For our Art unit, I thought the kids would enjoy creating hybrid animals by combining two different animals. 

One student combined a turtle and a bird and named it a TURD. 

While working on his poster, his design vanished, and he shouted:

“WHERE’S MY TURD GONE??!!!”

 The name stuck, and now it proudly hangs on the wall.  

– Adele

At 26, with my baby face, the Year 1/2 class knew I was younger than most of their parents but definitely older than their siblings. 

One morning, I skipped makeup and showed up with enormous under-eye bags. 

One of the students bounced over and, with all the energy in the world, asked 

“Ms. B, did you wake up and decide to be 50 today?”

I couldn’t help but crack up, even though it was at my own expense! – Bianca

One morning, a small brown frog hopped into our Year 1 classroom, causing chaos. The girls screamed and hid, while the boys pushed to see it.

 A brave 6-year-old boy picked it up and took it outside. The next day, the same thing happened—another frog appeared, and our little hero took it outside again. 

By the third day, when a second frog showed up, he caught both frogs in his hands and proudly took them outside. 

Later, I noticed our “hero” fidgeting with his pockets. When I asked him to show me his hands, they were empty. 

But when he revealed what was in his pockets, he pulled out two frogs! 

Turns out, he wasn’t releasing them, but hiding them in his pockets to play with during class!

 😂 – Anonymous

In my second year teaching in Australia, I spent an entire lesson teaching Year 1 students about the seasons—completely backward, thanks to my European and Canadian background. 

As the kids glued in their work, the principal came by, had a walk through, and kindly pointed out my seasonal mix-up. 

One perceptive student overheard and said - 

“I’m so sorry you’re confused. My Mum gets like that when she hasn’t slept enough. Did you sleep well?” 

I had no choice but to say, “Yep, that’s why!” 😂 The principal and I shared a laugh, and I quickly sent a note to parents to avoid any drama. 

The next day, we fixed the lesson, and luckily, no permanent damage was done! – Vesna

One February morning, I walked into a colleague’s Kindy classroom to borrow supplies and found utter chaos. A child was crying loudly, another was standing by the teacher, pulling her arm and wailing because he wanted to sit on her lap for storytime. 

I was puzzled and asked the teacher if everything was okay. She explained that they were having a “standoff” because little Timmy was upset she wouldn’t let him sit on her lap.

As I was about to leave, a little girl next to me threw up all over my shoes! 😂 I quickly took off my shoes, flung open the windows, and handed the vomit kit to my friend who was trying to contain the mess. I then took the little girl to the office, reassuring her that everything would be alright and that we’d call her mum.

When I dared to return later, the classroom was quiet. Timmy was now calmly sitting next to the teacher, who smiled and said, “We’ve come to a compromise. It’s early days in Kindy!” 

– Anne-Maree

Coming from Canada, I had never seen a huntsman spider. After a tough day with behaviour issues, I gave my Year 5/6 class a stern talk and then told them to read quietly.

While I was conferencing, I reached for my folder and a huge huntsman spider unfolded from it. 

In a panic, I dropped the folder and screamed, “Tarantula, OMG, tarantula!”
I jumped on a chair while the kids laughed and tried to tell me it was just a huntsman. 

My colleague came to the rescue, and the class couldn’t stop laughing. For the rest of the week, toy spiders showed up on my desk.  – Vesna

As a PE teacher at an all-boys school, I have to wear a uniform with our school branding. 

One day, when primary school students visited, one of them looked at me and said,

 “I didn’t know girls went to this school too.” 

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh at the kid’s innocent mistake or cry because I either look short enough to be a student or boyish enough to pass as a boy!  – Ashliegh

#teacherlife! Thanks to our community for submitting your stories. We enjoyed reading them, and I hope you did too!

World Teachers' Day is the perfect time to celebrate the unique experiences that make teaching such a rewarding journey.

Whether you found yourself laughing, reminiscing, or nodding in agreement, we hope these stories brought a smile to your face.

Here's to all the incredible educators who bring their passion, humour, and heart to the classroom every day—thank you for making the classroom a brighter place!

P.S Check out all our FREE World Teachers' Day resources. 
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