These 12 Heartbreaking Parenting Stories From 2017 Will Make You Squeeze Your Loved Ones Tighter

What started as an innocent class icebreaker turned out to be a seriously heartbreaking exercise for students in Elle Deal's fifth-grade class. The teacher shared some of her students' answers to the prompt "I wish my teacher would know . . . ," and it's safe to say our tear ducts have run dry. Some of the responses included: "I wish my teacher would know, my dad is in jail and I haven't seen him in years" and "I wish my teacher would know, I don't always eat dinner because my mom works and I don't know how to work the stove."