Australian teacher 'Miss Purr' identifies as cat in classroom, hisses at students: report

Concerned parents of students at a high school in Queensland, Australia are claiming that a teacher is identifying as a cat, hissing at students and licking her hands during class.

According to The Courier-Mail, photos show the teacher at Marsden State High School, who reportedly asks to be called “Miss Purr,” wearing cat ears and a lanyard with the word “purr” on it.

"She … forces the children to call her Miss Purr and cat screeches and growls when they don’t listen,” a relative claimed in a Facebook post. “She sits in class and licks her hands. It’s absolutely disgusting. Something needs to be done about this.” The relative also told The Courier-Mail that she was confused by the behavior of the teacher and expected the school to receive complaints.

“I myself would like answers, it all could be innocent as I know a lot of kids can be overly dramatic,” she said. The Facebook Post included one mother claiming the teacher “made” her daughter “purr” in exchange for candy. Another parent said, “My boys just told me about this teacher yesterday.”

"It’s more frustrating that the mainstream schooling, and education system we are sending our kids to every day has teachers doing things like this,” a parent told The Courier-Mail, saying her child “barks” at the teacher when walking by.

“I want teachers who I can rely on to teach my kids what they need in life, and be someone they can look up to, which isn’t someone that wears ears,” the parent added. “How can a student respect a teacher acting and walking around with animal ears?”

In response to the controversy, a spokesperson for the Department of Education told news.com.au that the school is “aware of parents’ concerns, and the principal has addressed the issue directly with the teacher.”

"Teachers are held to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics," the spokesperson added. "This behaviour is not acceptable in Queensland state schools."