Girl Suddenly Starts Fearing Teacher, Dad Broke Down After Planting Recording Camera In Her Backpack

Getting To The Bottom Of The Matter

Matt Reardon had to figure out what was wrong with his daughter, Cassie. She had become so withdrawn and angry that he couldn’t bear it any longer.

What had caused her behavior to change? Matt was going to find out if it was the last thing he did.

He couldn’t let his precious daughter suffer the way that she was. It was driving him insane.

A Single Dad

Matt shared a very close bond with his only daughter, Cassie.

She was eleven years old, but ever since they moved from Nevada to Oregon, he noticed a change.

Being a single parent was hard. His wife, Macy, was deployed in Iraq, and they looked forward to the day that she would finally return home.

Puberty Looming

Matt often struggled with the issues of being a dad to a tween daughter.

There were lots of mood changes, and he found himself doing a lot of research on what to expect.

He could see that puberty was setting in, and with a few words of encouragement and advice from Macy, he thought he was able to brave whatever tween tantrums came his way.

The Big Move

But Matt wasn’t prepared for the storm that was coming.

Cassie had changed dramatically ever since their big move, and her moods were unpredictable, to say the least.

Moving to a new state wasn’t easy, and she had to adapt to making new friends again, but Matt had no choice since the company he worked for had changed management.

A New School

Getting Cassie enrolled in a new school was tough. They had to go through many interviews until she was finally accepted at Beach Elementary School in Portland.

The mornings were especially difficult because he would drop Cassie off and not even get a goodbye kiss from her.

But things were not what they seemed at the new school.

Bad Moods

When he fetched Cassie in the afternoon after school, she was in a very bad mood. He tried to talk to her, but she wasn’t interested at all.

As soon as the car came to a halt, she grabbed the house keys and stormed inside. Matt couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

She must’ve had an exceptionally bad day at school.

Leaving Well Enough Alone

He knocked on her bedroom door but was met with a very angry “go away, Dad.”

Matt walked away from his daughter’s bedroom but wanted to know what was going on.

He resolved to give her time and vowed to watch her in the coming days. But when things didn’t look any better, Matt became increasingly worried.

Trying To Adapt

The next morning at breakfast, Matt saw the perfect opportunity to finally talk to Cassie, but she didn’t say much.

She was moody because she was trying to adapt to the new school and trying to make friends.

Matt understood her hardships. It couldn’t have been fun starting all over again. But he still felt like he was missing something.

Lunchtime Spoils

That afternoon when he fetched her, he had a plan. He was taking Cassie for lunch at the mall near their house.

She loved pancakes and ice cream, so he was going to spoil her with her favorites.

It seemed to put a bit of a smile on her face, and Matt knew that he had to jump in and try to talk to her a bit more.

Time To Talk

Over coffee and pancakes, Matt convinced Cassie to open up to him.

She didn’t want to at first, but as he ordered more of her favorites, she slowly began to talk.

“I’ve made friends, but we’re not so happy with our teacher.” Matt thought it was normal not to like your teacher, but he could see that Cassie became visibly upset when talking about it.

Was Cassie The Only One

He didn’t know how to help her, but something didn’t feel right. What was so bad with this teacher that was making his daughter so upset?

She seemed to be more and more withdrawn every day. Was it only Cassie, or were her friends also feeling angry?

He needed to find out if Cassie was the only one feeling this way.

Digging Deeper

Matt started to do some digging. He asked other parents about their children and about the teacher and even went to the school to speak to the principal.

The principal didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong and reassured Matt that the teacher was experienced and qualified.

But Matt couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Something Not Right

But when Matt heard from the other parents that their children, too, were displaying a behavioral change, he knew he was onto something.

It was unlike his daughter to be this moody for so long, so there was definitely something happening at the school.

He was going to find out exactly what it was.

The Teacher

Matt had a gut feeling that something was off at Cassie's school.

He had heard rumors about a particular teacher, Mrs. Thompson, who was known to be strict and unapproachable.

Cassie never talked about her teacher, but he noticed that her behavior started to change after she started attending Mrs. Thompson's class. Matt decided to investigate further.

The PTA Meeting

Matt attended the first PTA meeting at Cassie's school. He sat quietly in the back, observing the teachers and parents. It was there that he noticed Mrs. Thompson, the teacher he had heard so much about.

She was stern and didn't seem to care about the children's welfare.

Her focus was solely on academics, and she didn't seem to take into consideration the emotional well-being of her students.

Didn’t Know What To Do

After talking to other parents after the meeting, Matt came to the conclusion that there was something odd about the way Mrs. Thompson taught her learners.

The other parents all seemed to agree, but no one had any ideas on what to do about it.

The principal saw nothing wrong, so it was up to the parents to help their children.

What Could He Do?

He thought about talking to the teacher directly, but of course, she would just deny any wrongdoing. But how did he know what was going on if he didn’t have any proof thereof?

Although he trusted his daughter, he couldn’t just go on her word alone. He knew that her friends were unhappy, too, but what he truly needed was proof of wrongdoing, and he didn’t know how he was going to get it.

Opening Up Again

He decided to give one final push to Cassie.

He wanted to know exactly what he was dealing with before he could take action.

Cassie once again became uncomfortable, and he could see she didn’t want to talk about it, but he pushed on. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on, Cas.”

The Conversation

Matt decided to have a conversation with Cassie about her teacher. He asked her how she felt about Mrs. Thompson and if there was anything bothering her.

Cassie seemed hesitant to talk about it but finally opened up.

"She's just not what I expected a teacher to be," Cassie said. "She’s a bit unconventional. She makes me not want to go to school anymore.” Matt was stunned. But he needed to know a bit more about why they were so unhappy.

Wanted To Really Help

But just as he had come up with a plan, it was then that Cassie told him not to interfere too much.

She didn’t want him coming to school to “embarrass” her.

Matt understood what she meant, but how else was he going to solve the problem? He knew it was his moody tween talking, but he wanted to help her and her friends so badly.

The Master Plan

That day, while he was at work, he came up with the perfect solution.

It was daring, but he knew that this was going to help get the evidence he needed to present to the principal.

He left work early and headed to the store. He was feeling pretty happy with himself for coming up with the plan, and he couldn’t wait to try it out. But there was one problem.

What About Cassie?

He didn’t think about Cassie. This would involve her doing something, and he wasn’t sure if she would agree to do it.

He would have to sit her down and talk to her before he could go ahead with the plan.

After all, he didn’t want to do something without her full consent and approval.

On Board

After laying out the plan to Cassie, she was skeptical and hesitant at first, but when she thought about it, it sounded like a perfect plan to her.

Matt was so glad that he had her on board. He knew that they had made a great team.

They just had to pull off this daring operation.

Preparing The Backpack

They dug out her old backpack and strategically cut a small hole in the front of it.

Then Matt hid the little recording device he had purchased in the front so that it pointed through the hole.

All Cassie had to do was be careful and let her bag face the front of the classroom. This would be the only way to catch Mrs. Thompson in the act.

The Anxious Wait

Matt couldn’t even concentrate on his work that day. All he wanted to do was listen to the recording on the device. He couldn’t wait for the end of the day.

The day dragged on until he finally picked up Cassie from school. His nerves were shot, but he couldn’t wait to listen to what the device recorded.

But his hopes would soon be dashed.

Determined Than Ever

He grabbed Cassie’s backpack, but when he looked at it, his heart sank.

The listening device was removed. Cassie had purposely removed it from the backpack.

When Matt asked her why, all she could say was, “I just didn’t want you to listen to it and to think I was weak.” With those words, Matt became more determined than ever.

A Friendly Ultimatum

He gave Cassie a friendly ultimatum. Either she leaves the device recording, or he would come to the school himself.

Cassie didn’t appreciate the emotional blackmail, but she understood that her dad cared about her well-being.

So she agreed to keep the device to record. And she would be glad she did this time around.

A Hard Day

Cassie and her friends had a particularly hard day, and they comforted each other during break time.

Mrs. Thompson ruined their day, but Cassie was glad she had caught everything on the device.

Everything she said to them made Cassie's heart hurt, and she was just glad that they could prove it. She couldn’t wait to reveal it to her dad.

The Truth Revealed

When they got home, Cassie handed the device to her father. The tears streamed down her face, and Matt knew that he had done the right thing.

When Matt listened to the recording, he was horrified. Mrs. Thompson was even worse than he had imagined. She was verbally abusive to her students and made fun of them in front of the whole class.

Matt knew he had to take action immediately. He contacted the school principal and played the recording for him. The principal was shocked and promised to take immediate action.

The Suspension

Mrs. Thompson was immediately suspended from her position as a teacher. The principal promised to investigate further and take appropriate action.

Matt felt relieved that justice had been served, but he knew that his daughter would still have to face the aftermath of what had happened.

Cassie was happy that Mrs. Thompson was no longer her teacher, but she was still traumatized by the experience. She had lost trust in her teacher and was struggling to cope with the emotional fallout.

Matt tried his best to support her and seek counseling for her, but it was a long and difficult road to recovery.

Disclaimer: In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.