For many people, school days didn’t go by without witnessing awkward moments, whether it was an ignorant phrase someone blurted out or an innocent door that got in the way. It can feel uncomfortable in the moment, but after many years, they become memories that former students can fondly look back on and laugh about.
Recently, people in the AskReddit community have been discussing just that—the cringeworthy things they've observed in the classroom. Scroll down to find the most popular stories that may remind you of your own similar experiences. And if they do, share them in the comments below!
While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with social psychologist, management consultant, and executive coach Crystal Clarke, Ph.D., who kindly agreed to give some pointers on how to deal with awkward moments.
#1
I was doing a presentation in 6th or 7th grade about my family and kind of stumbled to remember my brother’s age. This loud girl in the class started to make fun of me (while I was still up there presenting…) asking me how I couldn’t remember my own brother’s age. I just said “he’s dead so I have to do the math!” Everyone went completely silent and I still remember her face.
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299points
#2
Two guys who were bullying me for being gay got caught jerking each other off under a table in 8th grade. At least they stopped bullying me, lol.
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260points
#3
A friend walked up to the front of the room to ask our teacher if he could go to the restroom and was denied. So he stood right there and pissed his pants in front of her. He got sent home.
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253points
Social psychologist, management consultant, and executive coach Crystal Clarke, Ph.D., tells Bored Panda, "When people find themselves in situations they see as awkward, they are often experiencing some form of social anxiety, maybe feelings of shame, fear, confusion, embarrassment, or self-consciousness."
According to Clarke, something that can help us deal with life's inevitable uncomfortable moments is reminding ourselves that often the awkwardness is just in our heads.
She further explains, "Feeling awkward is typically the result of 1) how we imagine ourselves to appear and 2) how we imagine others are judging us. These two beliefs are usually simply that, beliefs! Given the negativity bias many of us have, sometimes what we believe others think about us can be inaccurate."
#4
A girl kept putting her hand up to go to the bathroom, and the teacher refused. So after maybe the fifth time she just yanked something out of her skirt and slapped it on the window.
Her heavily soiled sanitary pad.
Fair enough.
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246points
#5
Teacher of a BS class (Music Appreciation) who was known as an absolute terror. I wasn't the best student in school but took the class super seriously despite being tone deaf. I honestly wanted to melt through the floor every time this woman spoke to me.
Her final was two days - one listening to music pieces and answering questions the other a big multiple choice, 100 questions in all.
Her final was two days - one listening to music pieces and answering questions the other a big multiple choice, 100 questions in all.
We take the first part and come in the next day to get our tests back before she administers the second. Hands them out by decreasing scores because she's a c**t. I didn't expect to be first but still thought I did pretty well. She hands out all the tests and stands in front of me berating me for being the worst student she ever taught and making her want to quit teaching. I got a 8/100 on a multiple choice test.
My head is spinning, and I'm trying to figure out how well I need to do on the second part to pass. I start looking around to ask people to compare answers. Get a test from another girl and my answer don't match up. Expected but they don't even match the correct answers the scantron gave. And then it dawns on me - there were two tests (A/B) and she marked mine wrong. I start to open my mouth and she flies over to my desk and drags me to hers. Sits there regarding because I figure she realized what happened and didn't want to be called out. The whole class was dead silent the whole time starting at me. I'm the color of a tomato and want to melt through the floor again.
I got a 92 on the test and no apology from that skank.
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200points
#6
There was a girl in my math class that would fall asleep with her feet up on the seat in front of her usually wearing short skirts. One day she farted so loud it woke her up. The entire class died laughing our teacher was facing the blackboard and I could see his shoulders shaking.
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191points
Even though awkwardness is often the product of people's minds, such an emotion can have real-life negative consequences, including decreased confidence. "From a social theory called "the looking-glass self," we know that humans may base their sense of self on how they believe others view them. In situations where we believe others see us as awkward, we may interpret that as something being wrong with us, which over time can eat away at our sense of self and our self-esteem," says Clarke.
#7
We had mandatory dance classes, including partner dance (think waltz and things like that). All in ballet clothes. One of the boys got a boner which is impossible to hide in ballet tights, and thought it would be best to put it up behind the waistband of the tights. I think in an attempt to hide it? Instead the tip just... poked out. Like a naked molerat popping out of the ground. When he realized, he panicked and ran out of the room. They made groin guards mandatory after that, but tbh I don't think it really helped.
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182points
#8
A teacher was out for a few days. Upon returning one kid questioned "what, did your grandma die?"
She indeed did die. The teacher just broke down.
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168points
#9
A girl loudly called out a boy who had his hand in his pants in class. Dude was nearly frozen in fear.
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150points
That said, embracing it can also be beneficial. Clarke tells us that seizing awkward moments, silences, and unmet social expectations allows us to experience something very human. "No one is perfect, and embracing or acknowledging the awkwardness can oftentimes be a way to connect with others, as awkwardness is a common experience, and they've likely had an awkward moment or two," she says.
#10
We had a teacher who had a miscarriage and was explaining that she was going to be gone for a couple weeks for mental health reasons when this one kid just said: “Well, it isn’t all bad, at least you’ll be skinny again!”
You could’ve heard a f*****g pin drop.
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148points
#11
One time a girl got mad and went to storm out of the class room. She was making a big scene, doing everything angrily and loud. She goes to open the door to step out, but her hand slipped off the knob, and just ran into the door.
147points
#12
Our math teacher was in a bad mood and held us back for a few minutes to lecture us. She saw one of our classmates outside the classroom chatting with some other kid. She went ballistic on him only to find out that was his twin waiting for his brother.
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144points
If you're stuck in an uncomfortable situation, Clarke suggests trying these three strategies:
- Breathe: In those moments that feel awkward, take a deep breath and remember that it's not the end of the world. Try keeping in mind that this feeling is common and very human.
- Laugh: Finding humor in the awkwardness of the moment can be a great way to handle the situation. It can also allow for connection with others, as they have probably also experienced similar moments or feelings.
- Try a more positive perspective: Feeling awkward is often rooted in what we believe others think about us. Instead of evaluating the moment negatively, try to put a more positive spin on it. Often, others are not evaluating us as harshly as we may believe. And we should be easier on ourselves too!
#13
In middle school, our science teacher was pissed that kids didn’t put away the lesson materials (crayons, rulers). He didn’t tell us he was upset though and instead asked everyone to bring in their “most prized possessions”.
We all thought it was a lesson plan so people brought in photos of deceased loved ones, priceless family heirlooms etc.
He collected everything in a box and said “when you treat my class materials better, you can have these items back”.
The girl I sat next to, her best friend died in a freak snow mobile accident a few months prior to this. She had one half of a “best friends” necklace; the other half was shared with the deceased girl. He took that necklace even though she was sobbing. I myself brought in a photo of my deceased father. We had explained this to him & he did not care.
All of this over unboxed crayons.
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136points
#14
Kid used to audibly make fun of me for being in a dance class cause it was gay.
He’s married to a man now.
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126points
#15
Few of the chavy/jock lads thought it funny to block the door to the loos. One of the quieter "keep to themselves" boys in the year below really needed to go. Started crying, kicking and pounding on the door, denting it, and then sh*t his pants. Waddled into the girl's bathrooms, to which we all heard screams. He then came out again and curled up into a ball on the floor. Bell rang and the few teachers shooed us all into class and/or away and dealt with it.
The guys who blocked the door weren't punished from what I understand. They were in there, just leaning against the door keeping it shut, they didn't barricade it. I guess they jumped out the window and walked around as if nothing had happened when the bell rang.
We didn't see the poor kid for a week and everyone got a bit scared. But he rocked up the week after. Didn't speak to anyone for like 2 months. If that's not the beginning of a villain arc, I don't know what is.
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125points
#16
When I was in 7th grade, I was the new kid in school and bullied pretty hard. There was a kid behind me who kept throwing paper balls at my head. When I called him out and told the teacher, I was told “not to interrupt class”. I got so f*****g mad after a while, I stood up to go punch his a*s.
Instead, I stood up and slipped on the floor, falling on my face. I tried to recover and charge at him, but I slipped again and fell on the dude ar his desk, then proceeded to girl-fight slap at him like an idiot before the teacher broke it up. I was a really heavy kid too so I’m sure it was ridiculous. This was 2007 so a little bit before every teenager had a phone to record and post it, thank god.
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116points
#17
Kid got caught writing s**t on the wall and when the teacher caught them they tried to get out of it by tickling the teacher.
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115points
#18
When I was in the 11th grade a girl came to class drunk. She was usually very quiet and kept to herself. She did this day as well but she smelled heavily of alcohol. We were all whispering about her and she put her head down on the desk for a while. The teacher came over a tapped on her shoulder. She stood up and spewed out the most vomit I have ever seen to this day. Teacher was in the blast area as well as other students. Horrifying rainbow of puke. Then the smell afterwords was insane.
113points
#19
Classmate brought her grade school sister to our high school Spanish class to help with a presentation about family that day. It was the first one of the day and their mom arrives with the little sister. The whole class is seated and facing the room door in the front next to the teacher.
Once the kid enters the classroom, our teacher greeted her and the mom. The kid blurts out “wow, Sandy (her older sister, my classmate) you were right…his breath stanks!”
Our Spanish teacher was known to have crippling coffee breath.
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102points
#20
A girl got up from her desk after being called to the front of the class to write an answer the dry erase board and there was a pool of blood on her chair from her period.
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101points