I did my student teaching for a transitional first grade. The kids were much further behind then the regular first graders and I believed a lot of it was due to their parents and home life. One student,he was very slow and simple but a likeable kid, I found out that both his parents are legally considered mentally retarded by the state and was taken,care of by the stste. Well his home apparently had a very bad bed bug infestation. He would,come to school covered in bites, well one day the bites seemed to get better and better until they were gone. We asked him if the bug problem was gone at his house, he shrugged and said "I dunno, I just started spraying my self with this bug spray and it works!" He was using pest spray and dousing himself......

Another kid, his dad had no idea had no idea how to spell his name correctly. Every note he sent back, if we were lucky enough to get that, his kids name was really misspelled. Chris isnt a hard name to spell.....

Alot of them showed up smelling awful and very dirty, that was a norm. Would g ave roaches crawl from their backpacks.

But tge worse and saddest, was probably when a little girl, new to the school, desperately wanted to sing in a xmas production. She was a very sweet little girl. Her dad dropped her off...late...and then just never came back. We couldnt figure out where he went or who was picking her up. Had to wait hours after ahow, trying to contact someone. Then he shows up, piss ass drunk. Couldnt let him take her, he shouldnt of been driving. Eventually got the mom, she came. The little girl was so embarrassed and crying.

Drunk or,drugs was a norm too.

Oh and the parent who showed up to a field trip wearing booty shorts and a mid,shirt.....and,weighed 400 lbs.

Not just american parents, when I taught in korea I saw some shitty stuff too. My younger students would frequently reinsct their dad coming home drunk and stumbling. Had 2 older boys, like to hit on teachers and other students, came in one day and,were bruised u p badly. Said it was just another night with their dad. Had a parent refuse to acknowledge her daughter needed help......her daughter would randomly burst out screaming several times in,class, when she wasnt scrwami ng, she was drooling and often on other kids, could not complete any class work, very socially weird.....

Yeah teaching.....you learn a lot.