Called Into the Office

This past Mother’s Day, a man named Henry Wismayer paid tribute to his mum by sharing one of his favorite memories of her online.

“Once again marking Mother's Day by sharing my mum's ferocious letter to my asshole headmaster,” he wrote. Below, Wismayer attached a copy of a note his mother prepared in July 1998.

As it turns out, Wismayer’s mom was called into the headmaster’s office to discuss her son's failure to attend an athletic competition. Instead, she got an earful of her son’s supposed character. The mother was understandably furious and wrote a response as soon as she returned home.

“Dear sir,” she began. “Although common sense dictates that I delay writing this letter until I have cooled down, I am aware that the end of term is near and the opportunity to respond to your ill-considered and offensive remarks might soon be lost.”

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

“I came to your office yesterday prepared to agree with your assessment of my son’s character and prospects, and willing to support you in any decision you made regarding his future,” the mother continued, noting the original reason for the meeting.

“But in fact, this was not the purpose of the meeting at all and apart from a brief comment that, ‘I’ll have to suspend him because that’s what I did with the other boy,' you spent 45 minutes informing me that my son was worthless, arrogant, lazy, selfish and stupid.”

The angry mother then noted the headmaster threatened her son’s future and said, “No university or employer will consider him when I have finished with him,” among several other disheartening comments that she would never expect an educator to make. Then, she called the situation for what it was: bullying.

“You came across to me as the worst sort of bully — one who knows he is unlikely to be held accountable for his actions. It is easy to destroy a child with an unremitting torrent of criticism and abuse, and I am ashamed to say that I have hitherto supported you in your grossly distorted assessment of Henry’s shortcomings, believing quite mistakenly that you were a man whose judgment I could trust.”

The mom then wrapped the letter by asking the headmaster to “leave the disciplining of my son to a teacher less blinded by prejudice and spite, who might still be able to temper justice with mercy, a quality you clearly lack.”

An Epic Reaction

At the time, Wismayer had no idea his mom had written the letter. However, in a follow-up comment to the post, the man gave an update.

“To those asking what happened next, my form tutor divulged that the head went apoplectic,” he shared. So he did what any curious kid would do: He looked for the letter on his mom’s computer. When he found it, he knew how great it was, so he printed off a few dozen copies and distributed them around the school.

“My mum became a schoolyard legend. The headteacher left me alone,” he wrapped.

Wismayer eventually graduated, and his mother’s well-aimed words may have inspired him in another way: Today he is a freelance writer in London with work in more than 80 publications, including the New York Times.

The Importance of Teachers

As a parent or caregiver, you know that kids learn many lessons outside the home and beyond your reach. All you can do is try to build a positive community filled with love and support, and trust that those who are tasked with helping to raise your child can do so in a kind and clear-minded way.

Obviously, that wasn’t the case in this particular story, but this mom stepped in just when action was needed. Sometimes it’s important to stand up for yourself, or as this mom did, for your child. But this story also reminds us just how wonderful the great teachers out there really are, and how important they are to a child’s development.

So if you have a great teacher in your life, remember to thank them and let them know how much they’re appreciated. They’re an important part of your kid’s present, but their impact is often still felt many years in the future.