Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Upworthy to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

School excursions often provide unforgettable experiences and bonding opportunities for students, but for teachers, they can be loaded with logistical headaches. So when a teacher was asked to single-handedly finance a field trip—with zero compensation—Reddit user u/Unfunded_Teacher took to the platform to vent about this bizarre demand.

Representative photo by Pexels | Anny Patterson


“Want me to pay out-of-pocket to take students to the zoo? Okay, but you’ll miss out on a killer photo shoot,” read the title of their Reddit post. In 2017, the teacher oversaw a class of 18 children, and a sudden curriculum change mandated a zoo visit. However, the school insisted that, since the budget had been set months before, the teacher would foot the entire bill for all 18 students.

via Giphy


Administrators also insisted the teacher snap photos for the school’s Facebook page. With no reimbursement and an empty-handed budget, the teacher came up with a clever alternative: “I love my students but I love my savings too, not as much as my students but still. I couldn’t justify spending over €360 (approx $389) on a single, non-tangible thing. So, I took the kids down to a local farmer, Pete’s farm. All Pete asked for was a 5 euro ($5.46) donation per person and that too was voluntary.”

Representative photo by Pexels | Anastasia Shuraeva

Rather than blowing hundreds at the zoo, the teacher offered around €50 (about $54) to good old Pete, who let the students see an assortment of farm animals. “I gladly emailed the pictures to them, with a subject title of ‘Petting Zoo Pictures’. I got an email back simply saying that my conduct was not exemplary. No reprimand, no written-up warning but no photos for admin too. The kids enjoyed it though,” the teacher wrote. Although the original Reddit post was eventually deleted, commenters remained stunned by the school’s gall.

Image Source: Reddit | u/AmbitiousPirate5159

In the comment section, user u/saraphilipp suggested, “I’d have told them for $400 you can have the photos. You see, my budget was created at the beginning of the year and you’ll have to pay out of pocket for the photographer fees.” Meanwhile, u/GozerDestructor quipped, “You should make the photos look as bleak and Soviet as possible. A cold, grey field, with one sad child holding the tether of a single goat (Use the ugliest child and ugliest goat available).”

via Giphy



User u/river_song25 didn’t hold back: “I would have told the school flat out hell no. The zoo trip is the school’s idea, not mine, and I won’t be spending my money for myself and 18 kids (and probably some adults since no way am I dealing with 18 kids by myself at the zoo) … Either the school pays or the kids can simply NOT go to the zoo at all, because no way am I spending my money … to pay $360+ in admission tickets fees to the zoo for other people.”

When other commenters doubted the story’s accuracy, user squid52 retorted, “I’m shocked at the number of people who think this is unrealistic. It’s like… have you ever actually listened to a teacher? We all have stories like this… Every single teacher has spent their own money—often a lot—on things that should be provided by the employer. At the same time, having our time stolen by the employer. It’s a big mess.”

More For You

Widow keeps entire inheritance while stepdaughter faces eviction. She just got a reality check.
Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Mikhail Nilov; Reddit | u/Spiritual_Alps3413

Widow keeps entire inheritance while stepdaughter faces eviction. She just got a reality check.

Inheritance disputes often lead to heated debates, especially when a family is divided. One woman recently sparked outrage after revealing that she inherited her late husband’s entire estate—nearly a million dollars—without leaving anything for his 16-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Posting on Reddit as u/Spiritual_Alps3413, the widow asked if she was wrong for keeping everything while her stepdaughter and her mother struggled to survive.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man cancels wedding after fiancée refuses to include his daughter
Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | TranStudios Photography & Video; Reddit | u/whoevenisthat5

Man cancels wedding after fiancée refuses to include his daughter

A wedding is supposed to be a celebration of love and family, but for one man, it became the breaking point in his relationship. Reddit user u/whoevenisthat5 shared how he was forced to call off his engagement after his fiancée refused to include his 11-year-old daughter in their wedding.

At first, he thought it was just a disagreement over wedding roles—but when he found out her real reason for wanting to leave his daughter out, he realized there was no future for them.

Keep ReadingShow less
9-year-old with autism stuns the world with an IQ higher than Einstein
Cover Image Source: Instagram/Adhara Maite Pérez Sánchez

9-year-old with autism stuns the world with an IQ higher than Einstein

At just 9 years old, Adhara Pérez Sánchez has achieved what most people can’t even imagine. The Mexico City native has an IQ of 162—higher than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, who were both estimated to have IQs of 160, according to PEOPLE.

Despite facing relentless bullying due to her autism diagnosis, Pérez has not only graduated high school but is also pursuing two college degrees in systems engineering and mathematics.

Keep ReadingShow less
Teacher unleashes glorious payback against school after forced to pay for class trip himself
Representative image by Canva

Teacher unleashes glorious payback against school after forced to pay for class trip himself

School excursions often provide unforgettable experiences and bonding opportunities for students, but for teachers, they can be loaded with logistical headaches. So when a teacher was asked to single-handedly finance a field trip—with zero compensation—Reddit user u/Unfunded_Teacher took to the platform to vent about this bizarre demand.

Representative photo by Pexels | Anny Patterson

Keep ReadingShow less
The shopping cart test: the viral theory that claims to reveal who’s a “good” person
Representative photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris | Unsplash

The shopping cart test: the viral theory that claims to reveal who’s a “good” person

A simple decision at the grocery store—returning a shopping cart or leaving it in the parking lot—might say more about your personality than you realize. According to a viral theory, this everyday action is actually a litmus test for self-governance and social responsibility.

The idea, originally posted on 4chan, suggests that putting a cart back in its designated place is a sign of good character. Unlike other social norms, there are no immediate consequences for abandoning a cart, making it a pure test of whether someone will do the right thing without being forced.

Keep ReadingShow less