Fed Up Teacher Posts on Facebook After Mom of Student Humiliates Her In Front of Class
Julie Marburger, an educator from Texas, went viral in 2018 after her frustrated rant on Facebook started an unexpected surge of support for teachers.
Marburger was teaching sixth grade in a public school and wrote that she had an incident with a parent that left her so dismayed, she could not continue working that day and doubted she would ever renew her teaching contract again.
You have probably heard a similar story line before: a student is disrespectful at school, and the teacher calls the parent to explain the situation. Instead of backing up the teacher and disciplining the child, the parent turns against the teacher in a disrespectful, verbally degrading manner that leaves the teacher in a helpless situation and only encourages the child to continue behaving however he or she pleases.
“Parents have become far too disrespectful, and their children are even worse,” Marburger wrote.
She posted photos of her disordered classroom, the evidence of students who had no regard for their own education.
A bookshelf was destroyed, books were torn apart, and students left behind papers and personal belongings as though Marburger was there to clean up after them.
“I have finally had enough of the disregard for personal and school property and am drawing a line in the sand on a myriad of behaviors that I am through tolerating,” Marburger wrote.
“Unfortunately, one parent today thought it was wrong of me to hold her son accountable for his behavior and decided to very rudely tell me so, in front of her son.”
“People absolutely HAVE to stop coddling and enabling their children. It’s a problem that’s going to spread through our society like wildfire,” Marburger continued.
“It’s not fair to society, and more importantly, is not fair to the children to teach them this is okay. It will not serve them towards a successful and happy life.”
Marburger fully expected backlash from the public and her own school administration over her words, but was surprised when instead, people completely agreed with her and backed her up.
Marburger found herself fielding responses of support from other teachers and the wider community who felt the same way. She soon found herself on “Good Morning America” talking about the experiences, and was inspired to find new ways to communicate about parenting and educational topics.
“I never intended to be a spokesperson for anything. I’m not the most qualified to do so, and I’m certainly not the best teacher out there, by far. But obviously my words, spoken in desperation that day, have struck a chord with many people,” Marburger wrote.
About one year since her viral post, Marburger has stepped into new teaching roles, as a parenting coach and nanny. She now regularly writes about parenting strategies and educational issues on her blog, Julie Marburger — Ideas for Nurturing Strong Children.
Marburger is not giving up on education or on children, rather, she has turned her frustration into a vehicle to create change at the family level, by working with parents on how to raise strong, respectful children.
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