I am a substitute teacher in a high school and... wow.

Hi there, I am a teacher for the disabled and it is an absolute dream. I sometimes substitute in high school and middle school and my gosh, I get why people don't want to teach there. I just don't understand why kids think they can treat teachers like crap.<br><br>When I am a sub, I always insist kids call me "Dr. [last name]" as a way to insist on mutual respect. Today, one kid asked why and I said, "I call you Mr. [Last Name] out of respect, so you should do the same for me." This kid raised his voice and said, "That doesn't make any sense." I told him that he was being very rude and to please, for his dignity and mine, to call me "Dr. [Last Name]." This child refused and went to the principal, who told him to call me Dr. [Last Name]. Honestly, this was very frustrating and I am just surprised at the lack of maturity in high school students, or maybe that's just what happens when you allow children to call you by your first name at a young age. I have been a sub for this one class of seniors before, and they are very well behaved, but not like this. I am a bit perplexed at how much of a change one lesson could make.<br><br>Another incident that happened was during an activity with some freshmen, a student asked me if they could use the restroom. I said, "No, please don't. I must insist." The student said, "What? But I really have to go." I said, "I insist, however, you may go if you finish this assignment." The student said, "But it's an entire chapter! I could be in there for like 30 minutes!" I said, "Well, you won't need to go that long, right?" This went back and forth for a while until the student said, "Look, I don't care if it's against school policy, or whatever, I'm going." I stood up and said, "I'm so glad you think it's okay to disrespect me... wow... let me write you a pass right now." The student said, "Wait, really?" I said, "Yes, really." The student said, "But you were gaslighting me by insisting that I don't... never mind." I said, "Thank you, now go."<br><br>The last incident was when I walked past a kid's desk and saw him doing something utterly unrelated to the assignment, so I asked him what he was doing. The kid said, "I'm just doing something my friend... never mind." I said, "Fine, I'm taking that away." The kid said, "No, you can't do that, I could sue you!" I said, "Try." The kid said, "I'm going to tell my dad." I said, "Good, please do." The kid said, "You're being very mean." I said, "I'm being mean? That's funny." The kid said, "Whatever." I said, "If you say one more thing, I will write you up. You will be quiet and do the assignment... or else." The kid did the assignment (this kid was very well behaved afterwards and actually answered a lot of questions in class, I think he was just having a bad morning).<br><br>Honestly, I think they didn't expect a sub to actually insist on them doing their work, but I'm there to teach and I'm going to... wow. I get why teachers are so frazzled and burned out, it's exhausting.