Students Are Taking Bad Behavior to New Levels With the Slap a Teacher Challenge

As if teachers didn't have enough to deal with, the latest set of TikTok challenges sees students targeting them specifically. First, there were the devious licks, which involved students stealing soap dispensers and other things from around the school. Now, just as that trend began to die down, the Slap a Teacher Challenge has emerged to take its place.

In the latest TikTok trend, students are asked to calmly walk up to their teachers, slap them, and then run off, making sure that they capture the whole thing on camera. If anything, this trend is even worse than the devious lick challenge, in part because it involves actual assault. Thankfully, the challenge hasn't actually begun just yet.

The Slap a Teacher challenge isn't set to officially begin until October, and that's because it's been designated as the October challenge. That means that the challenge will last the length of the month, and will then be replaced by something new in November. TikTok users have already compiled a full list that will run the course of the school year, and each trend seems to be worst than the last.

Apparently, the November challenge will be to kiss your friend's girlfriend, and in December, the challenge will be to flash the entire school in the hallway. Technically, these monthly challenges are still in their first month, but they've already received a wave of backlash online from people who think they're hugely inappropriate.

“Pray for educators as the month of October approaches cause apparently the TikTok challenge for that month is to slap a teacher," one user wrote on Twitter.

“There’s some rumored TikTok trend challenge going around where the challenge slaps a teacher. Heads up just in case! Stay safe, y’all," another added.

Clearly, those not participating in the challenge are worried about the people they know who are teachers.

Teachers certainly aren't always the nicest people in the world. In fact, some of them can be downright terrible. Even so, that's no reason to go around slapping them because of a social media challenge. Many of TikTok's challenges are harmless, or at the very least, they're only harmful to the person participating in them. This challenge, though, is just disrespectful.

For the record, teachers don't deserve respect simply because they're teachers, although they don't get paid nearly enough for the work they do. Instead, they deserve the same basic dignity and respect that all people do. Don't smack your teacher because you wouldn't just smack a random person.

TikTok has embraced plenty of counterproductive, silly trends in the past, but the Slap a Teacher Challenge has to be among the stupidest. In general, teachers are trying to help. Don't make an effort to make their job harder than it already is.