A Bad Teacher Can’t Change Its Spots

(I am a HUGE animal nerd in elementary school. One day my fourth-grade teacher is telling us about the savannah, and she mentions cheetahs.)

Classmate: “[Teacher], I saw in a book that some cheetahs have stripes! Why do some have stripes?”

Teacher: “Well… sometimes an African cheetah and an African tiger can mate and make striped cheetahs.”

Me: “There are no tigers in Africa! King cheetahs are the ones with thick spots that link together to look like stripes!”

Teacher: “[My Name], you didn’t raise your hand.”

Me: “Sorry! But—”

Teacher: “Don’t argue with me, [My Name]! I’m the teacher. If I say it was an African tiger and an African cheetah mixed, then that’s what it was!”

(I hated her.)