Teachers and principals in movies tend to go one of two ways. They're either incredibly kind, generous and are clearly desperate to help the children. Or, they are the absolute worst. Whether it be because they bully the children, neglect them, or simply don't care about the job, the movie world has no problem in making teachers seem like the worst. Of course, this is normally done for comedic purposes, having a teacher be poor at the job to make other people laugh.
On the other hand, they can be the worst simply to make sure that they're seen as the true villains of the movie. These characters are always easy to connect with because everyone has experienced both good and bad teachers during their time at school, but in this list, we will be focusing on the worst kind. Here are the 10 worst teachers/principals in movie history.
Mrs. Tingle (Teaching Mrs. Tingle)
We will kickstart this list with Helen Mirren's character, Mrs. Tingle, who is certainly a horrible teacher throughout Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Helen Mirren plays the role to perfection, making herself incredibly unlikeable due to how harshly she treats the students.
At times, the character can be quite charming, which makes her seem nice. But then the next minute she quickly reminds you that's not the case as she pushes Leigh Ann to extremes simply because she is an overachieving student.
Dewey Finn (School Of Rock)
Dewey Finn might be an incredibly loveable and popular character, but the fact is that he's an awful teacher. This shouldn't come as a surprise, because firstly, he is not actually a teacher. This is one of the main reasons he has to make this list because he is a rockstar that is impersonating a teacher in order to simply pay rent.
While he does grow a strong connection with his class and did actually teach them to be an awesome band (perhaps he could have been a top music teacher), the fact is he doesn't actually teach them. He takes them out of school when he shouldn't and overall is just a terrible teacher.
Terence Fletcher (Whiplash)
Unlike Dewey Finn in School Of Rock, Terence Fletcher is very much a professional trained teacher, and he is one that's held in very high regard. There's no doubt that Fletcher is an amazing teacher, working as the conductor at the Shaffer Conservatory of Music.
However, while he is a good teacher who certainly created some amazing musical talent, the manner in which he goes about it makes him the worst. Fletcher bullies his students to extreme points in order to bring the best out of them, and while some will think that it's totally fine, others will believe that the character is awful.
Mr. McAllister (Election)
Mr. McAllister is a very interesting character to make this list because he is actually well-liked within his suburb and is a popular History teacher. However, even though he has the respect of students and fellow-teachers, he despises one particular student, Tracy Flick.
He becomes obsessed with taking her down a peg and this leads to him becoming incredibly manipulative. He even goes one step further by rigging the school election and robbing her of becoming the student government president, proving how bad of a teacher he is.
Mr. Strickland (Back To The Future)
He might not be the first person you think of when it comes to the iconic Back To The Future, but that doesn't mean that Mr. Strickland wasn't a terrible teacher. He has no problem getting straight to the point and saying how he feels, and he clearly has it in for the McFly family.
He is incredibly cruel to Marty throughout the entire movie and he makes no secret of the fact he expects him to amount to absolutely nothing in his life. He has serious anger towards his students, and clearly just does the job for the money.
Assistant Principal Richard Vernon (The Breakfast Club)
The Breakfast Club is the gold standard when it comes to high school movies and therefore it is no surprise that it also features one of the worst teachers as well. Assistant Principal Richard Vernon follows the stereotype of a grumpy teacher who is in it for the money, not to actually educate.
He just doesn't care at all about the people he is supposed to be influencing in a positive manner, which makes him one of the worst teachers in movie history. He doesn't encourage or try to teach and throughout the movie, things don't improve with him.
Principal Rooney (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Ferris Bueller might be able to smooth talk his way out of every situation within this movie, but when it comes to Principal Rooney, his charisma is simply not good enough. Rooney makes it his mission to nail Ferris for his behavior as he truants school.
Deep down, Rooney clearly wants what is best for the school and their results. However, his obsession with Ferris ends up taking him too far as he abandons the school and all of its students just because he becomes obsessed with this one mission.
Elizabeth Halsey (Bad Teacher)
Any movie that is titled 'Bad Teacher,' is inevitably going to show...bad teachers. Therefore unsurprisingly, Elizabeth Halsey is one of the worst movie teachers in history, played perfectly by Cameron Diaz. Her character is one that simply hates her job and doesn't care about the kids.
She's foul-mouthed and incredibly inappropriate. She drinks and gets high and is basically everything that you would not want on a teacher, all wrapped up in one character. While the movie is incredibly funny, it does showcase some of the worst teachings in movie history.
Agatha Trunchbull (Matilda)
Matilda is an incredibly fun movie to watch, bringing Roald Dahl's popular book to life and throughout this story, it is Agatha Trunchbull who works as the main villain. She is the dominating and vile principal of the Crunchem Hall Elementary School, and she enjoys tormenting all the students.
Whether it is making them eat massive chocolate cakes or locking them in cupboards, there is nothing that Trunchbull won't do to the children. Matilda, being the brightest girl in the school instantly becomes a target for Trunchbull's menacing and horrible ways.
Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix)
While the main villain in the Harry Potter franchise is obviously Lord Voldemort, but many Potterheads would happily tell you how Dolores Umbridge was the most hated character throughout. Her time at Hogwarts was an unruly one as she did her best to take over and punish and torture the students.
She may have presented herself as a nice, charming lady with her various pink outfits. But in reality, she was a horrendous character who was sadistic and ruthless in dishing out the punishment. Her little giggle was one that would grind on audiences and the fact she was as hated as she ended up being proved just how horrible she was.