How To Tell If A Teacher Doesn’t Like You

You know you’re not one of the teacher’s favorites or teacher’s pet but it looks like the teacher may not simply be indifferent towards you. A few signs are making you think they probably dislike you and you’re understandably worried about this.

After all, their attitude towards you may be making their class unenjoyable and possibly impacting your academic performance.

But teachers are not always to blame for disliking students as some students can be a nightmare to deal with. Some are just incredibly rude, disruptive, and outright disrespectful in the presence of other students.

Even if this describes you, how do you confirm that your teacher dislikes you?

Common Signs Your Teacher Dislikes You

Let’s look at some of the signs that can help you determine whether your teacher dislikes you. Keep in mind that simply taking any single one of these points as an indication that your teacher hates you will be a mistake.

But if you’ve noticed a combination of several of these signs, then you’re probably spot on.

Constantly Calls On You

While this alone does not mean the teacher dislikes you, it’s still a sign that they possibly have an ulterior motive.

Could also be that they simply want to engage you in the class activities. But when they constantly call you out even when others already have their hands up, it’s possible that they just want some small revenge.

This is especially true when they can see on your face that you don’t know the answer to the question. They probably just want to embarrass you.

But keep in mind that this alone does not mean the teacher dislikes you. Some teachers like to practice tough love by forcing you out of your shell in class.

Never Calls On You

This is in direct opposition to the first point but something’s definitely wrong when you notice that the teacher is calling everyone in the class except for you.

You always have your hands up when they ask questions but they never call on you. If you’re a very intelligent student who challenges the teacher often, this simply means that they’re fed up with your “know it all” routine.

Most teachers would appreciate students who challenge their understanding but you’ll definitely find those who can’t stand such students. Ignoring you in class sates their ego.

No Bathroom Break For You

You hardly get up to go to the bathroom but the one time you do, the teacher declines permission. Others are allowed to go to the bathroom for the teacher refuses your request.

If you notice this, then the teacher most likely doesn’t like you. It would be understandable if you’re someone who’s constantly bugging them to let you use the bathroom.

But if you’re someone who hardly ever asks but the teacher declines your one request, then you can conclude that they probably dislike you.

Ignores Your Questions

If your teacher consistently ignores your questions or simply refuses to acknowledge your presence, it’s a clear sign that they most likely don’t like you. They ignore your question since they simply don’t want to engage with you.

Calls Your Name When Everyone’s Talking

So, everyone in the class is talking and somehow the teacher decides to only call your name. You don’t understand why since you were just whispering compared to the rest of the class.

But somehow, the teacher decided to call only your name. More like shout out your name. If you’ve noticed the teacher getting on your case while ignoring the offenses of others, it’s a clear signal that they don’t like you.

Don’t Want You To Get What You Want

Everyone’s pairing up for a project and you want to pair up with your friend but the teacher refuses to allow it. The teacher has no problem with other pairings but it looks like they’ve singled you out.

Lower Grades

Your delivery was perfect and you should have received a perfect score but somehow the teacher found a reason to deduct some points.

Or maybe you presented the same assignment as a friend but somehow your grade is considerably lower than theirs and you’re not sure what you did differently.

While the teacher may have over certain mistakes your friend may have done, they simply decided to penalize you for those errors.

They don’t like you and simply feel no need to show any form of mercy even for an obvious mistake they would overlook for other students.

Helping Everyone But You/Singling You Out

Your classmates make mistakes and the teacher tries to help them but they simply ignore you when you ask for their help. Or they could simply call you out on a small mistake when your peers definitely did worse.

They single you out and criticize your performance when others did worse than you. Not in a friendly way but with a stern look on their face.

Avoids Eye Contact

If the teacher tries their best to avoid eye contact with you, it could be a sign that they don’t like you. They look at everyone and smiles when interacting with them, but they seem to refrain from making eye contact with you even when you’re asking them a question.

Laugh At You

This is an obvious one. If the teacher joins other students when they’re picking on you, they most definitely don’t like you. Keep in mind that a teacher joining other students to pick on another student encourages them to keep picking on them.

While rare, any teacher who does this could also face consequences for encouraging such negative behavior in school.

How To Deal With Teachers Who Dislike You

So, you’ve reached this point where you’re certain your teacher doesn’t like you. How do you deal with this as a student?

Reflect On Past Actions And Behavior

You’re sure the teacher hates you but you don’t know why. It’s time to reflect on your actions and behavior towards them or in class.

Are you disrespectful toward the teacher? Do you disturb the class when they’re teaching? Are you performing poorly in their class? Are you always challenging them?

Reflect on your behavior to identify the reason or reasons why the teacher dislikes you before you can put in motion a plan to address this issue.

Don’t leave it just like that. Teachers are in a position of power in the school environment and any dislike could affect your performance in class and more. So, it’s advisable to tackle the issue as quickly as possible.

Approach The Teacher

Whether you successfully identified the reasons why the teacher dislikes you or not, it’s time to address the main issue. Ask them for the opportunity to speak privately and then you can bring the issue up with them.

Don’t go accusing them as that would simply backfire. But try and speak respectfully. Make sure you don’t go along with any friends so both parties can better communicate.

If you think your grades are suffering because of a specific issue you’ve identified which has resulted in the teacher disliking you, you can bring this up. Just make sure you don’t sound like you’re accusing them of intentionally sabotaging you.

If you have evidence to back up your claims, you can present them during this conversation.

Participate In Class

If they don’t like you because you refuse to take the class seriously, it’s time to show them that you’ve changed. If you were previously disrupting class activities, show them that you’ve grown.

Show them you’re serious about the class through participation in class activities. Ask questions if you don’t understand something and contribute when necessary.

Apologize

If you know you’ve been openly disrespectful to the teacher, then it’s time to show them that you regret your actions. Acknowledge your wrongdoings and the impact they may have had on the teacher and other students.

Show them that you’re willing to do better from this point forward. Be sincere about the apology and the teacher would be willing to let go of any dislike they may have had towards you.

Third-Party Support

Seek advice from your counselor or another teacher before you proceed to the principal. They can help you make sense of the situation and possibly even help you identify what you may have done wrong.

If you implement their advice and the situation doesn’t change, then it’s time to reach out to your parent or the principal. Parents would definitely get the principal involved so you can skip the middle man and approach the principal yourself.

Let them know what the problem is, how it’s impacting you, and the steps you’ve taken to address it, although, unsuccessfully.

Switch Classes

If after involving your parents and even the school principal, you don’t notice any changes, then you may want to move to a different class.

This won’t be easy so the school principal would have to help smooth out the transition. Keep in mind that this should only be a last resort once things don’t improve even after the school principal’s involvement.