A teacher in Ohio is suing her school district for discrimination, claiming they transferred her from the high school to the middle school – knowing that she has a fear of young kids. Wait, a teacher with a fear of kids? 61-year-old Maria C. Waltherr-Willard taught high school Spanish and French for 35 years before the district re-assigned her to a middle school. This did not go over well with her, since she suffers from pedo-phobia – a very rare but serious fear of young kids.
Being around kids causes her a great deal of stress, high blood pressure, nausea and nightmares. Maria claims in the lawsuit that the school district is aware of her condition and re-assigned her as a way to force her exit. (NY Daily News)
Personally I've never heard of pedophobia, but then again I've never heard of these phobias either.
Here’s a rundown of some unusual phobias that actually exist:
- Lutraphobia – The fear of otters.
- Arcotophobia – The fear of bears. Even teddy bears.
- Venustraphobia – The fear of beautiful women.
- Ablutophobia – The fear of washing or bathing.
- Chorophobia – The fear of dancing.
- Cathisophobia – The fear of sitting down. (BuzzFeed.com)
