A Wisconsin educator, Mrs. Harris, blasts a fellow teacher, Ms. Svoboda, over student complaints. In the video, Harris reacts to a clip where the latter complains about students asking for help. This leads Harris on a tirade about not helping students who struggle, then calling them unmotivated when they disengage from what’s taught.
The video on the Wisconsin educator’s channel, spicyteachermke, begins with a clip of the complaint. In the clip, the teacher says, “I am getting so annoyed when students are raising their hands, saying they have a question.” Then shows annoyance when explaining how students ask, “How do I do this?” Harris shares immediate displeasure with the complaints. She states, “Now students gotta pass a vibe check before they can get some help.” This statement continues, “You’re only going to help them if they try?” The educator calls her out, “Guess who gets to decide what trying looks like? You do.”
Harris explains, “When a student says, ‘I don’t get it, or how do I do this?’ that is trying.” She points out that when a “student raises their hand,” that is what trying looks like. The Wisconsin educator continues, “When they sit there confused instead of putting their head down,” that is also them trying. The educator doesn’t let up, saying, “You’ve moved the goal post so far that them being vulnerable doesn’t even count anymore.” She adds, “Then we act shocked when they’re disengaged.”
Wisconsin Educator Calls Out Punishing Help-Seeking
The Wisconsin educator states, “You can’t say they have learned helplessness while actively punishing help-seeking.” She argues that the teacher created an environment where students won’t ask for help. Harris explains, “That’s not building resilience. That’s building silence.” She continues by pointing out students who are especially vulnerable to this way of thinking. This includes “the kids that are already struggling” and those “that are not on grade level.” She continues, “Especially for the kids who’ve learned that school is a performance and they’re always gonna fail that audition.”
Not only does she feel this is a failure on the teacher’s part, but Harris believes a larger issue is at work. She says, “If asking for help gets you a side-eye, why would you ever ask again?” They explain that this results in students being labeled “unmotivated and apathetic.” She calls out what’s defined as helplessness as really, “students who’ve learned it’s wrong to struggle out loud.”
This sparks a discussion in the comments. Many agree, “They made and still make me feel like I have to deserve help while I finish high school.” Another agrees, “Teachers like that are why I never asked for anything.” A third says this is why students “continue to fail every test, [and] don’t ask for help.”
