No matter how good a student you were in elementary school, it feels like we all have that ONE story where we got in trouble with a teacher for some absurd, wacky reason that made no sense.
And this week, when Reddit user DefectiveStomach asked, "What's the dumbest thing you got in trouble for in elementary school?" it really showcased how common these INJUSTICES were.
So, here are just a FEW of the wildest stories:
1. This conversation interrupter:
When I was in second or third grade my teacher made me apologize to a lunch lady and a bus driver because I walked between them while they were having a conversation. The thing was, they were both leaning on two OPPOSITE walls, so there was no way to pass by them without walking between them."
2. This case of mistaken identity:
"There were four kids named 'Aaron' in my class. Someone tattled to the teacher that 'Aaron' was throwing rocks on the playground. She asked which Aaron it was, and they didn't know, so ALL FOUR OF US got detention."
3. This sweet dress-code breaker:
"There was this girl in my class who, sadly, had a stroke. When she returned to school, she wore a bandana to cover her sutures/scars/etc., so all the other girls in the grade decided to wear bandanas in solidarity. We did it for two or three days, then the principal called a meeting to say that it wouldn't be allowed anymore due to the dress code. (The girl who was sick was obviously allowed to continue wearing hers, at least)."
4. This lemonade dealer:
"When I was 11 or 12, I got suspended for bringing pink lemonade mix to school. I thought, 'Hey, instead of buying pink lemonade from the vending machine for $1.50, I'll bring the powder and mix it with water for free!' I got called to the office and the vice principal insisted that I had drugs. He 'sent it to the lab for testing' and I told me I 'better fess up now!' I told him to just smell it...because it was clearly sugar and it was PINK."
5. This baddy bag:
"In fourth grade my teacher had a reward system where, if you didn't disobey them/break any rules, you could choose a gift out of 'The Goody Bag.' I was always a teacher's pet and LOVED The Goody Bag. Well, one time in class, a peer got upset and started crying in front of the whole class. I got out of my seat and moved over to her to console her.
I was EXCLUDED from choosing a gift that week because I moved without asking. It was the first and ONLY time I was ever demerited. I was salty about it, even at age eight."
6. This restroom request:
"I was yelled at because I asked to use the restroom during the state standardized test. I was finished with the test and had already turned it in, but I STILL wasn't allowed to use the restroom."
7. This unfair punishment:
"In third grade this boy kept trying to talk to me while the teacher was talking. I turned around to tell him to please be quiet. My teacher saw this and yelled at ME. She literally sent me straight to the principal's office, so I was going to miss lunch and recess. I was such a good student that I cried on the way there. My principal's secretary was SHOCKED when she found out what happened, and she went and got me a lunch."
8. This dehydrated demon:
"Drinking water...I'm not even kidding. It was a hot summer's day and I forgot my water bottle. So, at lunch time, I helped myself to the water jug that every table in my lunch hall had. I ended up drinking so much water that the lunch ladies had to refill them a couple times.
The next day, just before play time, my teacher stopped everyone from leaving and said that the lunch ladies COMPLAINED because someone drank 'way too much water' and they 'didn't appreciate doing that many refills.' None of us were allowed to leave until they knew who this dreaded water demon was. Being a typical kid, I kept quiet, then my 'friend' called me out. As punishment for DRINKING WATER, I wasn't allowed outside for the rest of the day."
9. This incorrect folder:
"I had (and still have) really terrible gross motor skills. I got held back from recess once in the second grade for not being able to fold or cut a piece of paper properly. I'm sure the teacher thought I was being a little shit, but I legitimately could not do it correctly."
10. This "tattler":
"When I was five, some boy was pouring glue on the table and wouldn't listen when I asked him to stop, so I went and told the teacher. Instead, I was sent to stand in the corner because it's 'bad to tell on others.' I'm still really bitter about that, and I don't quite understand why I was in the wrong."
11. This science denier:
"I was sent to the principal's office in first grade for saying I could see the moon during the day. It was right after we assembled around the flag pole and uttered the mandatory 'Pledge of Allegiance.' I looked up and said, 'Wow there's the moon!' One of the close by teachers scolded me and told me to stop lying. I instead doubled-down and pointed up saying, 'No, there it is, right there!' She smacked my hand and sent me to the principal's office."
12. This biter:
"In second grade there was a group of kids who would play tag at recess every day. For weeks, it was the same core group of kids, and then random kids would join and leave as they pleased. One day a boy named Josh joined, but got mad whenever he would be tagged 'It,' even though that's part of the game. I tagged Josh. Josh bit me, HARD. There were teeth marks and he drew blood. I'm no snitch, so I went to wash the blood off, but a teacher saw me and sent me to the office. The principal brought Josh in and Josh made up some story about how I bullied him every day. The principal gave me a week of in-school suspension. A WEEK. FOR GETTING BIT."
13. This potty mouth:
"I said, 'Ouch, my butt!' when I fell and some kids told on me??? I got sent to the principal's office with a warning to 'never say the b-word again.'"
14. This possible riot:
"I took a brown paper bag, filled it with air, and smacked it so it made a POP sound at lunch. The assistant principal said I 'caused a bomb scare'...but the entire lunch room thought it was funny and they even clapped. Because of this, however, she said I caused the adults to 'lose control of the room' and it 'could have caused a riot.' She ended up sending me back to class after seeing that I had never been in trouble before and that the principal loved me."
15. This pencil snap:
"I was picked on and bullied a lot by my classmates (and my teacher) in fifth grade. One day in class, I got bored and was playing with my pencil, kind of bending it around. It snapped. It literally felt like the world's loudest SNAP. The teacher just glared at me and asked, 'Why did you do that?' I told her it was an accident, but she made me write a note to my parents telling them what I did. The made me write a list titled, '25 reasons why pencils are good' and my parents had to sign it."
16. This sleepy face:
"I yawned in the middle of class in kindergarten because I was tired, but my teacher thought I was mocking them. So, my teacher moved my monkey magnet from 'the green zone' to 'the red zone.' It still haunts me to this day."
17. This football folly:
My second grade teacher asked who was playing the Super Bowl that weekend. She refused to believe that I actually had no idea. I didn't even know what sport that was at the time (I'm not from a sports-watching family). I ended up being called into a parent-teacher conference for 'being flippant.'"
18. And finally, this "wrong" coloring:
"I once got a talking-to in kindergarten because we were supposed to color our pages by moving our crayons 'up and down,' and I colored by moving my crayon side-to-side."
Can you top these? What's the most ABSURD thing you got in trouble for in elementary school? Share your story in the comments below!
