For many, getting into trouble at school is a matter of when, not if. But that's part of growing up: you make bad decisions, authority steps in, and you face the consequences for your actions, hopefully learning something useful about yourself and the world in the process.
However, not every rule—or the way it's enforced—makes sense. Reddit user Cinemacrackers asked everyone on the platform to share the most ridiculous things they were punished for as students, and the stories that poured in show just how petty and arbitrary discipline can be.
#1
For “fighting.” The school a*****e sucker punched me and I didn’t retaliate. It was even caught on tape. The zero tolerance policy is one of the stupidest things ever.
anon:
I had this exact thing happen to me as well. When I got to the office, they told me I was being suspended for "fighting". I then told the principal off, and said "That's like going outside and getting shot, and the police show up and arrest you for getting shot."
I got suspended longer than the kid who hit me for saying that.
anon:
I had this exact thing happen to me as well. When I got to the office, they told me I was being suspended for "fighting". I then told the principal off, and said "That's like going outside and getting shot, and the police show up and arrest you for getting shot."
I got suspended longer than the kid who hit me for saying that.
48points
#2
For using my asthma medication in class. I was told to keep my inhaler in the office, and to use it in there only. I was told it was 'distracting.'
Know what else is distracting? The sounds of someone gasping for air and having to be removed from class.
FitzyII:
I used to have a terror of a spanish teacher, everyone despised her and she couldn't control a class for the life of her.
One day, in my sisters class, one of the students, who was a class clown but generally respectful, started to have an asthma attack, and asked if he could be excused.
She said no.
He told her it was to get his medication.
She said no.
So he got up and tried to leave.
She blocked the door.
The student, who was a little panicked but not in severe condition, just laughed it off, and said "fine. Who needs air anyways."
He just bolted for the door when she walked away. I don't understand teachers who try to use force to discipline.
Know what else is distracting? The sounds of someone gasping for air and having to be removed from class.
FitzyII:
I used to have a terror of a spanish teacher, everyone despised her and she couldn't control a class for the life of her.
One day, in my sisters class, one of the students, who was a class clown but generally respectful, started to have an asthma attack, and asked if he could be excused.
She said no.
He told her it was to get his medication.
She said no.
So he got up and tried to leave.
She blocked the door.
The student, who was a little panicked but not in severe condition, just laughed it off, and said "fine. Who needs air anyways."
He just bolted for the door when she walked away. I don't understand teachers who try to use force to discipline.
36points
Katie Novak, Ed.D., has over two decades of experience in education and is the founder of Novak Education, a company that provides evidence-based professional development and consulting to help schools implement inclusive teaching and leadership practices. She also remembers being in such a position when she was young.
"My friends were causing quite a stir [during a physical science class in high school]. In no way did I try to stop them, and I definitely got a kick out of it, but I sat there pretty quietly, answering questions from the textbook. Although I did not partake in it, I did nothing to quiet them and probably laughed along with them," Novak recalled.
"When he had enough, my teacher directed his attention at us, scolded all of us, and then asked me to move my seat. At first, I thought it was a joke because I wasn't the one who was making trouble. I was outraged, embarrassed, indignant. When I went home that night, at the dinner table, I told my parents about his mistake."
#3
I tripped on a loose tile and bumped into a teacher causing her to spill her coffee on herself. I apologized and showed her the tile.
She went on for months about how I did it on purpose. Even got the principal and my folks involved. For the rest of the year she told me I couldn't come back to her class unless I apologized for doing it on purpose.
Never went back to her class. Though I initially apologized for the incident, I never once apologized for doing it "on purpose". F**k you Ms. Helm.
ComicWriter2020:
I honestly hate hearing these stories. I want to hear that someone stood up for the victims and said “you are a person with authority over us and you should know better then to act high and mighty.”
She went on for months about how I did it on purpose. Even got the principal and my folks involved. For the rest of the year she told me I couldn't come back to her class unless I apologized for doing it on purpose.
Never went back to her class. Though I initially apologized for the incident, I never once apologized for doing it "on purpose". F**k you Ms. Helm.
ComicWriter2020:
I honestly hate hearing these stories. I want to hear that someone stood up for the victims and said “you are a person with authority over us and you should know better then to act high and mighty.”
33points
#4
I got in trouble for "cheating" on one of my math exams. The teacher found a piece of paper in my pencil case.
I got sent to the principal's office. When the principal asked me about what I wanted to say in my defense, I simply told him to take a look at the note. It turned out to be a shopping list.
I was alowed to re-take the exam the following week.
I got sent to the principal's office. When the principal asked me about what I wanted to say in my defense, I simply told him to take a look at the note. It turned out to be a shopping list.
I was alowed to re-take the exam the following week.
33points
#5
Someone once poked a wasp nest in the school forest, and the whole swarm came out upon the school. The entire school sat detention for an hour. Understandable if you don't know who did it, but that's not the problem. We were sitting detention because the principal's son got stung. As it eventually turned out, it was actually his fault the swarm came down on us.
I have cursed his name since the day I found out.
I have cursed his name since the day I found out.
27points
Novak's mother replied in a way that really touched the teen. "She was supportive in all the right ways, but hands off when it meant teaching us a lesson. She said, 'Well, Kate, you shouldn't have been in a situation where he thought you were doing something wrong.' And if I really wasn't doing something wrong, she explained, I needed to advocate for myself."
And that's precisely why the educator to this day believes kids can learn a lot from these accusations.
#6
Clearing my throat before reading out loud to the class. She yelled at me and threatened detention because she thought I was faking it for attention but I don’t see how.
Also more context I was a quiet kid so I wasn’t one to create drama to begin with, it just made me not want to talk more than I already didn’t want to
Edit: bruh this blew up a lot. shout all to all my quiet and awkwardly shy homies out there who feel the pain of being reprimanded for the rare times we actually do talk.
Also more context I was a quiet kid so I wasn’t one to create drama to begin with, it just made me not want to talk more than I already didn’t want to
Edit: bruh this blew up a lot. shout all to all my quiet and awkwardly shy homies out there who feel the pain of being reprimanded for the rare times we actually do talk.
26points
#7
I once got in trouble for reading Stephen King. They were like "you're reading dark books it's the reason your behavior is bad".
25points
#8
Correcting a teacher’s spelling of congratulations. It was a substitute, and it was English literature.
roccotheraccoon:
My biology teacher didn't know the different between venomous and poisonous, or that not all lizards can drop their tails. She didn't appreciate me correcting her in front of the class.
roccotheraccoon:
My biology teacher didn't know the different between venomous and poisonous, or that not all lizards can drop their tails. She didn't appreciate me correcting her in front of the class.
24points
#9
A couple of friends and me sat next to our favorite teacher at lunch. We chatted joked around it was fun. Then we left. After lunch the janitor complained the cafeteria was trashed and asked who was responsible.
The teacher who we sat with and talked to during lunch blamed us. We got detention and had to stay after school to clean. We all went to the teacher and said hey we sat and joked with you. You know we didn’t make a mess. Didn’t care stuck with the punishment.
Oh but it gets worse. I missed the bus home I lived 12-15miles out of town. I had hours of chores to do when I got home. Taking care of animals stacking firewood. Hard f*****g chores. Called my mom to pick me up. Got home they had called my dad. He didn’t care the reason I got an a*s beating for getting in trouble. Not like oh a spanking. Whipped with a belt that left welts making it hard to sit.
My mom believed me so the next day she went to the school talked to the principal and teacher. Neither of them cared.
To any teacher that reads this. Please you know the kids that are getting a***ed even if you don’t have solid proof. Please try to help them out. Don’t do this s**t that puts them in more physical danger and stress.
The teacher who we sat with and talked to during lunch blamed us. We got detention and had to stay after school to clean. We all went to the teacher and said hey we sat and joked with you. You know we didn’t make a mess. Didn’t care stuck with the punishment.
Oh but it gets worse. I missed the bus home I lived 12-15miles out of town. I had hours of chores to do when I got home. Taking care of animals stacking firewood. Hard f*****g chores. Called my mom to pick me up. Got home they had called my dad. He didn’t care the reason I got an a*s beating for getting in trouble. Not like oh a spanking. Whipped with a belt that left welts making it hard to sit.
My mom believed me so the next day she went to the school talked to the principal and teacher. Neither of them cared.
To any teacher that reads this. Please you know the kids that are getting a***ed even if you don’t have solid proof. Please try to help them out. Don’t do this s**t that puts them in more physical danger and stress.
24points
Novak said she didn't move herself away from her friends, and she didn't speak up for herself, and she realized her mother wasn't going to get involved on her behalf either.
"By not intervening with the teacher, my mom taught me a critical lesson. It was a lesson to stand up for what is right, to remove myself from situations where I would get myself into trouble, and not to care so much about fitting in with the crowd." From that point, Novak said, she has always been much more aware of what people around her are doing, and knows that she can be judged not only for her actions, but for failing to act, too.
So, being sent to the principal's office for doing nothing wrong isn't a waste of time. It's an opportunity to hone your lawyer skills.
#10
When I was in the 8th grade we had, for one day, a substitute teacher in our portuguese class. She had the job to make us do a little text about what we thought it would be the best invention ever.
I made it about toilets
We delivered the papers 10 minutes after. As she was reading them she would make comments like " too much commas" or "this needs more paragraphs".
As soon as she got to mine she stopped speaking, demanded one kid to go and get the principal. The principal comes, reads the text, also get furious, picks me up, drags me into his office. In there, he and the substitute called my mom. Made her do 30 kilometers in a traffic filled city. When she arrived, she read the text and started laughing. Like legit crying and grabbing onto her stomach.
They got so mad at my mom for laughing instead of taking it seriously that the principal suspended me for 1 week.
Call of duty and no homework for one week thanks to my mom.
I made it about toilets
We delivered the papers 10 minutes after. As she was reading them she would make comments like " too much commas" or "this needs more paragraphs".
As soon as she got to mine she stopped speaking, demanded one kid to go and get the principal. The principal comes, reads the text, also get furious, picks me up, drags me into his office. In there, he and the substitute called my mom. Made her do 30 kilometers in a traffic filled city. When she arrived, she read the text and started laughing. Like legit crying and grabbing onto her stomach.
They got so mad at my mom for laughing instead of taking it seriously that the principal suspended me for 1 week.
Call of duty and no homework for one week thanks to my mom.
22points
#11
For touching a lizard chilling on a wall. I used to be in a religious school where people were pretty supertitious, and everyone present (including a teacher and a supervisor) thought what I did would attract the devil to myself or to the school...
21points
#12
For not looking at the teacher during lesson. I wasn't fidgeting. Just sitting at my desk, staring into space.
We had a payment system in 3rd grade where you'd get dollars for good behavior (finishing homework, cleaning up after lunch) and lose them for bad behavior. At the end of each quarter we'd get to use the dollars to buy s**t at the book fair. Every kid wanted to stock up.
Now each task would get you between 1 to 2 dollars. Each day you could only get like 3 max.
She charged me TWENTY DOLLARS. It was literally heartbreaking and took me a full month to recover.
Turns out I had focal epilepsy and was having episodes in class. Got treated like a s****y kid for it all through highschool.
We had a payment system in 3rd grade where you'd get dollars for good behavior (finishing homework, cleaning up after lunch) and lose them for bad behavior. At the end of each quarter we'd get to use the dollars to buy s**t at the book fair. Every kid wanted to stock up.
Now each task would get you between 1 to 2 dollars. Each day you could only get like 3 max.
She charged me TWENTY DOLLARS. It was literally heartbreaking and took me a full month to recover.
Turns out I had focal epilepsy and was having episodes in class. Got treated like a s****y kid for it all through highschool.
18points
#13
I didn't tie my shoes the way the P.E. instructor wanted me to.
In 11th grade.
Sat in the Dean's office for an hour before they called my mom who's response I still remember: "You're calling me during my work day to ask my son to tie his shoes in a way that a P.E. teacher feels suitable? Are you f*****g kidding me?"
I played AAA hockey at the time along with varsity lacrosse. P.E. class was the least of my worries, let alone how my shoes were tied. Safe to say I didn't have to re-tie my shoes.
In 11th grade.
Sat in the Dean's office for an hour before they called my mom who's response I still remember: "You're calling me during my work day to ask my son to tie his shoes in a way that a P.E. teacher feels suitable? Are you f*****g kidding me?"
I played AAA hockey at the time along with varsity lacrosse. P.E. class was the least of my worries, let alone how my shoes were tied. Safe to say I didn't have to re-tie my shoes.
18points
#14
Someone made a paper airplane out of scrap paper that had been binned. My name was written on the sheet they used. I got sent out the room and handed a punishment exercise.
helicotremor:
I have a similar story.
A teacher accused me of littering and gave me detention. Apparently she found a piece of paper on the ground with my name on it. I was outraged as I was very anti-littering and would never have dropped rubbish on the ground intentionally. She said she no longer had it to show me but also refused to describe it. For all I know, someone else wrote my name on it.
During detention, I was made to clean school desks with chemicals that made the skin on my hands peel off. I wasn’t provided with gloves. This was in a time where we didn’t kick up a stink about that sort of thing, but I was super annoyed.
helicotremor:
I have a similar story.
A teacher accused me of littering and gave me detention. Apparently she found a piece of paper on the ground with my name on it. I was outraged as I was very anti-littering and would never have dropped rubbish on the ground intentionally. She said she no longer had it to show me but also refused to describe it. For all I know, someone else wrote my name on it.
During detention, I was made to clean school desks with chemicals that made the skin on my hands peel off. I wasn’t provided with gloves. This was in a time where we didn’t kick up a stink about that sort of thing, but I was super annoyed.
16points
#15
I checked out a book on African tribes from the library in the fourth grade. I told the teacher about how the book had topless women in it thinking I was helping, she confiscated the book and had me suspended from school.
16points
#16
At my elementary school, they didn’t really have any stuff to play with outside so we would play with sticks, rocks, pinecones, etc. But they didn’t like that so they would send us to sit at the wall for all of recess if we got caught. It was weird.
16points
#17
Got detention once for not pledging my allegiance to the Amazon rain forest. No Joke
We sang a song and the lyrics were:
"we've got to buy back the amazon. we've got to give the earth a chance to carry on. *If it's money they need, let's give them all that they want*! We've got to buy back the Amazon!"
And as a 9 year old, I thought "this seems to be a little much". I didnt sing, and bam, got detention.
We sang a song and the lyrics were:
"we've got to buy back the amazon. we've got to give the earth a chance to carry on. *If it's money they need, let's give them all that they want*! We've got to buy back the Amazon!"
And as a 9 year old, I thought "this seems to be a little much". I didnt sing, and bam, got detention.
16points
#18
For saying my school picture sucked. I had no idea "sucked" was considered a bad word until I was put in detention for it.
alexkay44:
Landmine Learning right here. Kind of like a story I heard from my mom. I think it was my grandmother who asked HER mother, "What's French kissing?" To which she was given the reply, "Don't you ever say that!!!" And she got grounded.
alexkay44:
Landmine Learning right here. Kind of like a story I heard from my mom. I think it was my grandmother who asked HER mother, "What's French kissing?" To which she was given the reply, "Don't you ever say that!!!" And she got grounded.
15points
#19
Farting so loud and long in second grade that it disturbed my class and the classroom beside us. I was later sent to the principal's office.
15points
#20
I had a teacher arrange a parent teacher meeting to complain to my mom that I passed all the tests despite not seeming to listen to him when he was teaching. Actually had a problem with me passing exams. My mom was not pleased.
15points