Headmaster called a boy 'worthless' in front of his mom, her response is a thing of legend

Educators are expected to be role models, guiding students with fairness and empathy. But occasionally, they can damage a child's self-esteem. Writer Henry Wismayer (@henrywismayer) shared a personal story on Twitter about his fierce mother, who stood up for him after a headmaster cruelly called him “worthless” in front of her. Henry posted a screenshot of the scathing letter his mother wrote to the headmaster, holding him accountable for his actions.

Bullying can cause a child to withdraw, stripping away their confidence and joy. It snatches away their pride and playfulness. Dated 7th July 1998, Henry’s ferocious mother's letter served as a powerful reminder that she would always stand by his side. She started the letter by stating up front that she didn't want to wait for her anger to subside before penning the letter. “Although common sense dictates that I delay writing this letter until I have cooled down, I am aware that the end of the term is near and the opportunity to respond to your ill-considered and offensive remarks might soon be lost,” she wrote.

She explained that she had been open to hearing the headmaster’s perspective—until he began berating her son. “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.” She added that the principal had claimed that the purpose of their meeting was to decide what to do with Henry’s failure to meet a commitment to attend an athletics competition. But that didn’t turn out to be his actual motive.

After informing her that Henry was going to be suspended, the principal spent 45 minutes telling her that her son was “worthless, arrogant, lazy, selfish, and stupid.” She raged that he was so cruel as to use the adjective “thick” as many as six times during their conversation, and said that Henry was “too thick to realize that his future depends on the reference he gave him.”

She went down to the brass tacks and recalled when the headmaster another “silly threat” to tarnish Henry’s reputation. “No university or employer will consider him when I am finished with him,” the headmaster warned her. She wrote that it was a strategy unbecoming of a man in his position. She shredded the man’s pride by telling him that he was clearly out of control and he had no intention of dealing with the situation rationally and constructively. “You came across to me as the worst sort of bully,” Henry’s mom put it bluntly.

She continued by outlining the damage bullying can do to a child and the educator’s responsibility to prevent it. “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. I will not do so in the future.” Following this, she nailed it with a bang-on line that Henry clipped in his tweet, “I would prefer you 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.”

She concluded the letter by lamenting the time wasted writing to the headmaster, advising him not to bother replying but to “consign it to the dustbin.” In another tweet, Henry revealed that once the letter was completed, her mom not only shoved it in the office of the headmaster but disseminated several copies around the school. As the letter reached the head, he became apoplectic while his mother became a “schoolyard legend.”

His mom’s savage attitude, he said, stemmed from her tragic early years of motherhood. In an article, Henry revealed that his father passed away at the young age of 32. His mother brought him up as a single parent, practicing psychotherapy. With her snarling response in this letter, she taught her son to be fearless and how to deal with a perceived enemy. In the end, the principal never responded and left Henry on his own while in school. In the comments section, @trudiemundell called it “the gem of a letter.”

Thousands of people were touched by the poignant episode and said they were fans of his mom. One even called her an “absolute warrior.” @searcherout called her a “Trojan mother.” @lynnepelser commented, “I only wish I had had your queen of a mother.” @wildcolonialgrl said, “Your mum is a deadset legend.” As of today, the headmaster might have dumped the letter in a trash can, but the imprint it left on his heart wouldn’t be erased for ages. Fierce, that’s what mothers are!